I'll Never Forget the Beach

It's blog carnival time again for the etsy bloggers, and the topic I'm choosing this month is "something I did as a child that I will always remember." Well, you could interpret that as one specific moment in time, but the event that was a constant in my life was going to the beach in Galveston, Texas.

When I was just a toddler, my maternal grandparents moved from Dallas to Seabrook, Texas. We went to visit them at least once or twice a year, maybe even more. And Seabrook was not really that far a drive to Galveston. Of course, you passed through the scenic Texas City with all its refineries, but that's a topic for another day.

Me, with my mom and dad

Those were the days... you could drive on the beach! I don't think we missed a summer between 1962 and 1975. Maybe even later. Of course I got older, and didn't go as often. Then I was off to college. Sometime in the early '80s, my grandparents moved north to Plano, tired of hurricane evacuations, and wanting to be closer to my mother and my uncle.

But, how could I ever forget the endless hours of sandcastle building,

dripping the wet sand, ever so carefully, from fingertips, to make the turrets of the castle.

And anyone who ever visited Galveston in the 60s and the early 70s will never forget the trips to the gas station to get gasoline to remove the tar from your feet. Or what about rinsing off the sand in the car wash that was on the beach. Put in the quarter and run through, squealing with delight as the cold, fresh water rinsed off the sand and salt.

My weren't we skinny back then?! So, thank you, etsy Bloggers, for this trip down memory lane, remembering an important family time in my life. My grandparents have long since passed away, but the memories I have from my childhood are with me still.