Ike

I don't really know how to describe last night. We went to the beach late. The double red flags were up--no swimming, whatsoever. I saw people walking on the beach and wondered why they weren't walking closer to the ocean. And then I realized that they were walking in the ocean. The ocean was just that much closer, the waves that much higher, the wind that much faster. I decided to walk out to the water's edge, but it was surreal. I walked out to where the water had been and the water wasn't coming to me. I thought about walking out a little further, but something felt a bit dangerous. I think it was because there was no distinction between beach and ocean, no drop off into the ocean, just a flat shore with water. I stood there thinking maybe I needed to walk in a little further. And then, where there had been shore in front of me, there was water all around me, twenty feet behind me. Eric said it was like standing in the middle of the ocean. It was so quick it was scary. There was nothing and then there was water all around. It was amazing, awesome and awful all at the same time. If you went to PCB with West Lonsdale, imagine our canopy on the beach being in the surf. It was amazing, but really made you realize the power of the ocean--and its Creator.
This morning I turned on the weather channel before going to the beach. Looking at the "picture" of Ike, we may be getting his fingernail, that's all. We have a wind advisory and warnings for coastal flooding and surf. When I got to the beach this morning, it was roped off. Now you only had to stand on the bottom step of the bridge to beach to put your feet in the tide. It's amazing. People are just standing on the bridge watching the water. I wondered if the people who are here year-round think we're crazy. . .then we noticed resort employees watching the water with us. It's just amazing. It's like someone told the ocean it no longer needs to stay in it's boundary. I have some great pictures that I'll post when we get home. (I've got to start traveling with my laptop!!) For now, we're going to go drive to other beaches and take more pictures.