Deanna Hoak

We spent the afternoon at the beach today, and it was lovely for the first time since the beaches here were “restored” following the 2004 hurricane season. (That one was rough on us–we had to evacuate three times.)

I haven’t had the joy of living near a beach before, so I’m not sure how much the restoration was necessary. Up until this year, though, the sand they’d dredged to replenish the beach was terribly coarse, and it stuck to you with such viciousness that you had to scrub your skin raw to get it off.

Many of the beaches here also have shelves of coquina lining the shallows. The hurricanes (or the “renourishment,” I suppose) had scoured the rock clean, and walking barefoot across it was almost unbearable. The shelves are now lined with soft green growth that gives like carpet beneath your feet.

The beaches are enjoyable again. I hope they stay that way.