Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer

Summertime at the beach transports us to a different world. A world where kids play games with only their imaginations, shovels and sand...couples wander along the shore hand in hand... grandparents spoil the kids with huge ice cream cones eaten together in the sunshine...teenagers meeting for the first time around a bonfire...dogs chase sticks into the waves. Even if this world only lasts for an hour, a day or a week, it builds memories that last a lifetime.

This magical world comes to an end each year on Labor Day. We sit at the cafe, drink coffee and watch the town empty out. The locals call it "watching the circus parade" and--based on the variety of rigs driving down Highway 101--they have a point. But Labor Day always seems a little melancholy to me as the cars go by with children looking out the back windows saying their goodbyes to summer. Saltair Station feels empty too as the houses are closed up for the season and the laughing voices up and down the main street dwindle.

But the magic never leaves, it simply awaits their return and for their children and someday their children's children. Because this is a place where sharing simple pleasures with those we love never grows old.