Beach Dreams

It's been a long winter, blah, blah, blah. You've heard it all before, right? Well, it's hard to keep up a garden blog during the winter anyway, let alone a winter like this one. Instead of focusing on snowflakes, or the dried brown twigs remaining from last year's garden, I decided to mostly just ride it out till the garden really does return. But now and then, I get the urge to dig back through my photos to remember warmer days. Today, I wanted to revisit all my favorite beaches, starting in my hometown.

 I grew up in a small town on the shores of Lake Michigan, called St. Joseph. Most locals simply call it. St. Joe. It's a charming little tourist beach town, attracting people from all over, but mostly in summer. I'm pretty sure they roll up the sidewalks in winter, even though there are things to enjoy in every season. I have to admit that I haven't been back to see it in winter for many, many years. But they recently installed a webcam that points right at the lighthouse, and through that, I have once again been able to see the raw beauty of the beach in winter. However, I'd much to prefer to visit in summer, like this.

Every year, I take at least one trip up there. These days, I'm a tourist there like any other. I do have some friends and family still in the area, but mostly I go there just to see the sights. Most importantly, I go for the beach. I'm not a big sun bather, I just like to be at the beach. I want to hear the waves roll in and feel the sand under my feet. It soothes me.

 Still, I can enjoy other beaches too. St. Joe is on the west coast of Michigan, but there are many other lovely beach towns along those same shores, including South Haven,

Manistee,

 Holland,

 Muskegon,

Ludington,

Whitehall,

 Sleeping Bear Dunes, and many others. Did you figure out by now that I have a particular fondness for lighthouses?

While Michigan beaches may be my favorites, we do sometimes visit more tropical beaches. I do love those too, just in a different way. One of our favorite spots is Marco Island, off the SW coast of Florida.

We also love Siesta Key,

and Sanibel Island.

So even though these beaches seem so very far away right now, it soothes me to look back at them while winter still lingers. Someday soon I hope my beach dreams will turn to reality.