beach thoughts

i

so here i sit attempting to write from my phone. i can't use capitals. hmm. anyway, it is a hot morning already on lake huron. no one else wanted to come down here yet, so i am alone in the only place i ever just allow myself to chill - the beach. i've never had a reason to come to the great lakes before. always have been an ocean girl. i am very pleasantly surprised to find it so expansive, hot, lush, beautiful, and uncrowded. always thought i had to go tropical to get this, but here it is: sand, tides, water that looks like it goes on forever, and sun. i am amazed that we are so fortunate as canadians to be able to go on vacation within our country and feel like it is a foreign experience. completely different food, shops, accents, and ways of doing things. my sister has been trying to tell me how great it is and how i would love it as much as the carribbean. i didn't believe her, but once again, i should've trusted that she knows me well. she was right. i love the cute little towns, the huge, swimmable water and unoccupied stretches of sand, the local produce, the adorable but enormous brick victorian estate homes that are everywhere, the fact that i can speak the language, the bakeries and chocolate shops and tiny (no doubt magical) book stores, the enormous trees, the lack of mosquitos, the balmy nights, the cat that seems to be the guardian of our rental home at night, the fact that my rental car does not terrify me, the fact that everything is so different from home, the high school band that played in the park concert shell across the street last night, the lilies that grow wild everywhere and perfume the air, the humidity, the pub across the street that is situated in a flower garden and serves delicious pan seered freshly caught lake fish, how much cheaper everything is from real estate to crackers, the giant coconut macaroons from the german bakery, the lack of condo developments, the man next door that sells bikes, the boardwalk that goes on forever, the soy, wheat, and corn fields, and the cute city workers on the beach. mind you, i have only been here 36 hours, so will have to write updates as they occur.