My oldest is fifteen. He took driver's ed last summer, and he's on a quest to get enough driving experience to be able to get his license this summer. Last night, he asked if he could drive us out to the beach.
It was 30 degrees and windy, but the water is always beautiful so we agreed.
The drive was uneventful (always a good thing with a beginning driver), and we got to the state park about half an hour before sunset. He drove north to the end of the lot and turned west toward the lake around the small sand dune and HOLY COW there were a lot of cars there. Motorcycles with thrumming pipes (I wouldn't want to ride a bike in 30 degree temps with 20 mile per hour windes), huge trucks gunning their engines, small imports with those high-whiney exhaust systems, and tons of family sedans and mini-vans.
There was a small backup of traffic. We leaned forward trying to see what was happening. A VW bug the color of a robin's egg was surrounded by young women. The car was up to its hubcaps in sand that had drifted accross the parking lot. Are they going to try to pick it up? I wondered.
The car rocked forwarded.
And girls behind it pushed.
The car rocked backward.
And girls in front pushed.
The car rocked forwarded.
And girls behind it pushed.
The car rocked backward.
And girls in front pushed.
The car rocked forward.
And girls behind it push it and the times caught and it was free. Girls scattered to their own vehicles and the little bug crawled around the parking lot.
We parked and watched the waves crash against the pier. Small whitecaps pushed by the spring winds.
We also watched several more cars get entrenched in the same sand.
My oldest asked his brother to go play on the beach with him. I smiled. Glad to see their friendship. Happy to see them taking pictures of each other and the setting sun. Relieved that I could stay in the warm van.
Eventually, they got cold, and we headed home. My youngest leaning sideways to take one more picture of the orange and pink horizon.
My wife grew up here on Michigan's West Coast. She said she felt claustrophobic when at our landlocked college. Knowing the big lake is only a few minutes away is a beautiful privelege.
It was 30 degrees and windy, but the water is always beautiful so we agreed.
The drive was uneventful (always a good thing with a beginning driver), and we got to the state park about half an hour before sunset. He drove north to the end of the lot and turned west toward the lake around the small sand dune and HOLY COW there were a lot of cars there. Motorcycles with thrumming pipes (I wouldn't want to ride a bike in 30 degree temps with 20 mile per hour windes), huge trucks gunning their engines, small imports with those high-whiney exhaust systems, and tons of family sedans and mini-vans.
There was a small backup of traffic. We leaned forward trying to see what was happening. A VW bug the color of a robin's egg was surrounded by young women. The car was up to its hubcaps in sand that had drifted accross the parking lot. Are they going to try to pick it up? I wondered.
The car rocked forwarded.
And girls behind it pushed.
The car rocked backward.
And girls in front pushed.
The car rocked forwarded.
And girls behind it pushed.
The car rocked backward.
And girls in front pushed.
The car rocked forward.
And girls behind it push it and the times caught and it was free. Girls scattered to their own vehicles and the little bug crawled around the parking lot.
We parked and watched the waves crash against the pier. Small whitecaps pushed by the spring winds.
We also watched several more cars get entrenched in the same sand.
My oldest asked his brother to go play on the beach with him. I smiled. Glad to see their friendship. Happy to see them taking pictures of each other and the setting sun. Relieved that I could stay in the warm van.
Eventually, they got cold, and we headed home. My youngest leaning sideways to take one more picture of the orange and pink horizon.
My wife grew up here on Michigan's West Coast. She said she felt claustrophobic when at our landlocked college. Knowing the big lake is only a few minutes away is a beautiful privelege.