I am an exceedingly visual, verbal, and tactile person. Pictures and experiences intrigue me. Words tantalize my thoughts. Touch well…touches me and I will touch anything-including armadillos and tortoises. Which I did (or attempted to do-armadillos are faster than they look!) on a mini-adventure vacation I took with my friend Tyler this past July. We first went to Little Talbot Island State Park, near Jackson, Florida, then up to Savannah, Georgia. We explored everywhere-the beach, plantations, forts, nearby swamps, a wilderness center, and a medley of other fascinating places on our week-long escape.
While there, I read, thought, and prayed more than normal. It was quite enjoyable, sitting on the beach—thinking about life, love, God, philosophy, Steinbeck (I brought “Grapes of Wrath” and Tyler brought “East of Eden”), and where God is calling me in this life. There were many times I wanted to verbalize my thoughts and instead I inhaled them or wrote them down for further processing. With Tyler, I have found a solid friend that I am perfectly fine spending time with, without uttering a single word. Which is rare, to say the least. Most of the time, I have a tendency to talk non-stop and this is not the case when it comes to our friendship. My visual side quadruples whenever I am with this friend, for he is a fantastic photographer and being detail-oriented is but one of his invaluable traits. My tactile side often comes out, as well, because I have been found to chase after small animals and hunt down a crab or two all for sake of a good shot (for him) and experience (for me).
With all that being said, I found myself enjoying life on the beach and not wanting to return to the land-locked state of Tennessee. Being from Illinois, I grew up near the Great Lakes and when I lived in southern California, the ocean was right behind my complex. There is something about living near water that calms my heart and as cheesey as it may sound, restores my soul.
I found this calmness as Tyler took pictures late into the night and I wandered around, playing like a child in the sand and the surf, excited to see countless crabs and feel the simple thrill of chasing after the relentless waves. I found my worries and stress slip away, just as the waves, out into the darkness-where only the waves could be heard and the faraway stars could be seen.
