Beach Trip 1957

It was a hot day in July and Daddy decided to take the whole family to the Crescent Beach. We packed up our old rusty gray ford pick up truck with everything from coolers to lawn furniture. We loaded up all of our beach toys, inner tubes and rafts which were all covered in sand from our last beach trip. My brothers and I piled in the truck bed sitting on heaps of towels and beach blankets and mom and dad were up front. We always had a couple of stops on the way. The first stop was at the ice plant. The old man that worked at the plant grabbed a huge block of ice from a cooler with a tool that looked like a claw protruding from his shirt sleeve. He put the block of ice in a machine that threw shavings all over the wooden porch and all over the old man. He poured the ice chips in our cooler and daddy put in the drinks. We were traveling down the highway with the windows down and we could hear guitars and banjos blasting out the latest country tunes all the way in the back of the truck. I can't imagine how Mama could stand it sitting in the front seat. It wasn't long before we made our next stop in Orange Mills. We always had to stop at the old Orange Mills Store. Daddy came out with his six pack of beer and a brown sack filled with penny candy for me and my brothers. With our treats in hand we headed for the white sand of Crescent Beach. The old ford sputtered across the wooden bridge that took you across the Intracoastal waterway. You were never sure that it wasn't going to crumble and our ford would fall into the swirling waters below. We all said a prayer as we heard the creaking from underneath the bridge as we passed over it. When we got to the other side we all breathed a sigh of relief and gave out a loud cheer. We made it across alive one more time, forgetting we would have to go over the bridge again at the end of the day on our return home. We made a quick stop by the pier to buy some bait and then we saw Pomars and the ramp. Now we were cruising down the hard white sand of Crescent Beach. The tide was low and the water was as smooth as a lake except for a few swells that crept across the shore just so you wouldn't forget where you were. The water was as blue as the sky and it was hard to tell where they met in the horizon. The old truck stopped and kids popped out along with toys, rafts and tubes. We all headed toward the water with our parents shouting not to go out past our knees. Floating over the top of the water was so much fun especially when it was interrupted every now and then by a big swell of water that lifted us up and sometimes flipped us over. Once in a while you would see a dolphin or a couple of dolphins swimming out in front of you. We would all laugh at the tourists as they swam toward shore screaming shark. We just loved seeing such beautiful creatures and I think they kind of enjoyed watching us. Maybe they were as curious about us as we were about them. We all were getting hungry and it was time for lunch. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches never tasted so good as they do at the beach. Along with sandy potato chips and oreo cookies this was the best lunch ever. There were plenty of cold drinks in the cooler and when you pulled one out the glass would be covered with ice and so cold you could hardly hold it in your hand. After lunch our parents banned us from the water for 30 minutes. We might get stomach cramps and sink to the bottom of the ocean and drown. Even worse the scent of peanut butter would certainly draw the sharks to us and we would become their lunch. So while we waited the buckets and shovels were passed out. We had to put on our t-shirts and hats. We were covered in tons of suntan lotion to protect us from the mid-day sun. We sat in the soft white sand and began building castles of every shape and size. The were misshapen beauties with drizzles and shells surrounding them. My brothers always had to have a mote and I was in charge of bringing up the buckets of water. I retrieved the water very carefully not going past my ankles, watching closely for the fin of a hungry shark who was waiting patiently to snatch up a small girl smelling of peanut butter. When the castle was completed it stood like a monument to be admired by all who passed by. Surely some tourist would have to have their picture taken next to it. At least Daddy got a picture of us diligently working on it and one he took afterwords as we all gathered round with big smiles, so proud of our beautiful castle of sand. As the sun moved behind gathering of clouds we knew our day at the beach was going to come to a stormy end. The rumbling in the distance told us to load up the sandy toys, chairs and other things we had brought along. We got in the truck and wearily headed home. Some of us slept and others ate the leftover cookies and chips, but we all had a wonderful day. This is a memory of one of many family times together and they are special to me and fun to share with you.