This afternoon I got to enjoy one of those great simple pleasures of living in SoWal. i dropped by the beach to get some fresh sea air, chat with some friends, and watch the sunset. It was one of those afternoons that makes me cognizant of how lucky I am to live here.
It was a good evening, which is why the first twinge of a not immediately identifiable emotion took me by surprise. Walking on the beach, I saw three tourists excitedly setting up chairs, opening a bottle of wine, and getting set to watch the sunset. they were at rapt attention, not glancing over as we had been. I envied them a little bit, but I wasn't sure why.
Driving home, I decided to go the long way -- which means 30A through Seaside. There were so many vacationers bustling around, you could smell the hotel -- er -- cottage rental agency-- soap. They all had that look -- they were taking everything in and savoring it. Everyone was rosy from the sun, dressed in beachy dresses and lightly colored summer classics, heading off to have some seafood at the beach. And you knew they were going to take a special pleasure in dinner at Bud and Alley's or the Baithouse, its a once a year treat. Seaside had such a special energy tonight, I had to stop and put the top down and try to soak a little of it in. Lucky tourists.
That's right, I said l
ucky tourists. It hit me then -- I was a little jealous.
It hit me that I would never go back to the cottage from the beach,...
