It was an overcast and nippy day when the Bennett family went to the ocean. Grandparents, Parents, and Teenagers were all excited as it was for most the first ocean trip, for Father and Grandparents though it was just the first trip in awhile. They traveled in a rented RV from cold and wintry Michigan. We join our story teller Stephanie as they step onto the beach.

"Ouch!" I exclaim after slipping off my sandals and stepping onto the beach, "It’s not sand!" as I say it my mother reaches down to lift a bit of the stuff, "Why these are shell fragments!" she calls out. I squish my toes deep into the stuff and listen to the satisfying squishy noises. Tiring of this quickly I turn to the vast open waters. Peeling of my shorts I care not this day what I look like in a suit that is really to small.

All thoughts are forgotten as the waves call out to me. I dash towards the receding water then dance back as it swoops back towards me. My grandfather calls out, "Taste the water!" so naturally high on the fresh air I do as suggested. As the first drop touches my tongue I gag and spit my stomach heaving in revulsion, "It’s so salty!" I call back while trying to splash him in revenge. I turn again to look out over the waters and with a spurt of energy charge towards them laughing in glee.

My father follows me and gives me some advice, "Be careful of the under-tow, the farther you go out the stronger it will fight to pull you under. If you go under a wave and it pulls you down do not panic or open your mouth! Stay calm it will let you go and you can swim back up, ok?" I nod and look nervously at the waves now, "Remember what I said, now lets surf!" I get my grin back as he shows me how to run out into the water when is sweeps back on itself and when the big waves come in to turn your back, jump and *whhooosh* ride them as they sweep you towards shallow water again.

My legs bright pink and my tongue lolling out of my mouth I crawl to shore again only 10 minutes of surfing having tired me. The under-tow I found is very strong because of incoming high tide. Once on the beach again I grab my shell baggies and set of to search for trinkets to bring home. I know I must get some pretty shells for my cousins because I promised them I would. Most of all though like my brother I wish to find a sharks tooth! Down the beach I trek spending over an hour searching the waves and beaches. I meet up with my brother near the sea-wall and he shows me a 6 foot tall private beach sign that is buried to the tippy top with crushed shell sand!

As I walk I listen to the ocean talking, it murmurs of secrets hidden in it’s depths and teases me with the far out sight of calmer waters past the huge waves. I stop as I reach a smooth part of the beach, in the sand I quickly scrape the words, "I want to see the dolphins". After I etch these words I meander farther my heads in the clouds as fantasies of running out and diving down to the depths of the water fill my romantic head.

The beach almost shows me signs of where to find pretty shells. A sandy ripple points to an ordinary shell, but when I dig deeper I find a lacy white shell dappled with purple. I follow a trail of shells into the lapping water and trip over a whole perfect /huge/ shell without a dent on it. As I realize how far I have gone from my family I turn back. The water sweeps away from my and I see a shell that calls to me far ahead, dashing madly I drop to my knee’s and grab for it as the water comes over the beach again. With a curse at sharp shells in my legs I grab the pearly white perfectly shaped shell. Finally as I almost reach my family I have the sudden urge to walk deeper, as soon as I get going in the thigh high water I trip over something, reaching down to see what it is I pull out another perfectly huge shell! My heart fully sated with the magical wonders of the sea I am almost ready to say I am done here.

I want one more swim though, my shells set down by my shorts, I ask everyone to come with me, no one wants to so with a huff I march my little self back into the waters. Going out as deep as I can stand I spend 20 minutes reveling in the waters that touch and tease across my skin. Not feeling quiet one with the water I call back to the beach, "Can I skinny-dip?" my mother echo’s me. "Skinny-dip?" I yell yes and after pondering she yells that I can. Without a blush nor care that what I want to do is not allowed I strip off my suit and wrap in around one thick wrist and hold it tight in a wide palmed hand. Brushing a strand of bleach blond hair out of my eyes I dunk myself coming up just as a wave bears down on me, frightened but exhilarated I ride my biggest wave yet. Then as I live through it I yearn for more big waves, farther out I go! I go far enough to watch the huge waves tower over me before dribbling down to a decent surfing size. A few times though the waves are big enough that I run from them, after feeling like a wimp these few times I stop and dare the ocean to give me it’s best! And it does! The under-tow grows stronger and the waves bigger. I ride everyone for almost an hour! Till finally the water around me grows calmer and I realize how tired I am.

Getting my suit on again was not easy, I hunkered down and waded towards shallow waters seeking to get the suit over my legs, as I turn my big white tailed butt towards the beach every drop of water washes away from me leaving me bare-ass up! I struggle to get my suit on, ride one more wave then go in. As I sit and pant I am informed that both my mother and grandmother had their camera’s! *groan*

The day almost over and all of us hungry we pack quickly and go up to the RV as we ready to leave and my hope of seeing the lithe beautiful dolphins fade my Grandpa yells out, "Look over there, in those waves!" I thought he was joking as no one else saw, till Dad peered closely and said, "4 of them!" I peered and peered but to no avail till my Grandpa pushes my head over and I saw! Tails and fins, heads and torso’s! All belonging to the creatures I so sought! I wrote it in the waves that I wanted to see them and I did! For minutes we watched them dive and shoot up...then suddenly I had the thought to run out there! I whipped out the door and stood by the rail, and as I did they disappeared. I looked very hard and a sigh escaped me, but as I went back to the RV an old woman passing by cheered me up, "It is very rare to see dolphins around here" she told me and I was happy again!

So off we went....out to dinner then the next day home again to cold wintry Michigan. My vacation to Florida etched in my mind, but not as deeply as that day when I saw dolphins!