Monday, May 18, 2015

Coast Guard Beach

Coast Guard Beach is one of the best-rated beaches in the entire country and two years ago, we finally went to it! It's on Cape Cod's National Seashore, which is protected land, so there are no concession stands or anything like that. It's just a beautiful, natural beach with classic grass-covered dunes and unspoiled coastline.

I took some of my most favorite beach photos ever on this particular day.
It was our first time there and it was the perfect beach day--warm and sunny, and the water felt so refreshing and good, like mild bath water, which is perfect for a hot summer day at the beach.


Sam is on the left at the edge of the water. 
He was still wary and suspicious of all that water at the beach when he was three.

He preferred seaweed to swimming.
 

I LOVE this picture of John playing in the waves. It's one of my favorites, ever!


It's beautiful water, both to look at and to be in. I even went swimming that day, and I went pretty far out, which is unusual for me because I don't like to get my head wet (because of my contact lenses and all). But going out in this water was totally worth it.

Coast Guard Beach gets nice big waves, which makes it popular for body-boarding (which is so much fun!).


 A reading couple and a walking couple. Both are great couple things to do on the beach.


Writer and naturalist Henry Beston, who lived right near here on the coast many decades ago, wrote of this area in his book The Outermost House:
"Outermost cliff and solitary dune, the plain of ocean and the far, bright rims of the world; meadowland and marsh and ancient moor;...this is the Outer Cape."






We went to Coast Guard Beach again a few weeks later when Peter was there so that he could experience this beautiful beach. It was also a bit of a family history trip because the Mayflower landed at this very beach for a short time in 1620. Peter, John, and Sam are direct descendants of a couple who were on the Mayflower, so coming here really is a bit like a family history trip!

 John prepared an ice cream cone made of sand for Sam. Don't lick it Sam! (He did.)




John had so much fun playing chase with the incoming waves on the beach.
 



I love the action and water that are frozen in time in this photo.




That view!




I hope we go back again this summer. It's one of my favorite beaches on the Cape!