Bluebirds and Butterflies

Oh, How I Love the Beaches of Florida..... (Part two)

Nothing is better than walking the beach with someone you love.  If you read part one of this blog posting, "Oh, How I Love the Beach," you know that I recently got to accompany my dear husband on a business trip to Florida.  Even though my sweetie was there on business, he did get to sneak in a few walks down Cocoa Beach with me after hours.  

After a hard day at work, there is nothing better than walking the beach.  Here is my husband, Mark, at the beginning of our walk.  Look how bright and blue that Florida sky was....

Cocoa Beach, FL

 

After a day at work, it is nice to walk down the beach with someone you love...

It is so relaxing to feel the warmth of the sun on your skin and the cool water on your feet as you walk down the beach along the shore.   Walking the beach, one of my favorite pasttimes...  Wish I could do it every single day!

Growing up in a small beachtown in Florida, my husband and I spent many hours at the shore when we were in high school.  My husband, Mark, like many guys raised on a beach, was a surfer.   We were not too far from a spot on Cocoa Beach that many surfers congregate to.....the Cocoa Beach Pier.....so we decided to walk that way.

The Cocoa Beach Pier is a popular place for surfers.   It is home to the annual surfing and bikini contest each year.   People come from all over to compete in the surfing contest.  The popular event always draws a crowd.  

In the next photo, you can see the Disney cruise ship between the support posts under the pier...

The necklace you see my husband wearing in this next photo is a spanish coin that was found under the ocean.  The coin was given to my husband's father by famed sunken treasure hunter, Mel Fisher, many years ago.

I love these photos of the seagulls sailing through the breeze with the Cocoa Beach Pier in the background and Disney cruise ship passing by...

These cute guys were sunning themselves by the shoreline...

As I mentioned, my husband was a surfer when he was young.  As we were approaching the Cocoa Beach Pier, I was thinking about all the times that I went to the beach with him.  My girlfriends and I would sit on a blanket on the beach, chatting and listening to music on our radio, while watching my husband and others surf.  Even though my husband does not surf much anymore, he can still hold his own out in the ocean on a board.   Many great surfers have been born on these Brevard County beaches.....including this one....

Famed surfer, Kelly Slater...

Of course, of all the great surfers out there in the world, our favorite surfer is this one....

Our heart belongs to this little surfer girl....

That is our grand-daughter, Brenna, with her surf instructor. Looking good there, "Gidget"......great form!  xoxo

Brenna's dream is to be a pilot one day.  I think she will be a surfer and a pilot :)    Who knows?  The beach is great place to walk, meditate and dream....   What is your dream?  

My son, Elliott, taught me this when he was in elementary school.  It has stuck with me through the years....  "Hold fast to DREAMS for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly."  So true!
Thank you for visiting my blog today...

xoxo Kim

Oh, how I LOVE the beaches of Florida.... (Part one)

I hope you all have been doing great while I have been on vacation in Florida.   Thank you to everyone who visited my blog in my absence.  As most of you know, my husband, son and I relocated from Central Florida to Washington State seven years ago.  Still having family in Florida,  it is very nice that my husband occasionally has the opportunity to head back to Florida on a business trip with the company he works for.   This allows us to mix business with pleasure and spend a little time with our family and friends who still live in the area we moved from.   A couple of weeks ago, I accompanied my hubby on a business trip to the Cocoa Beach area.  Late April/May is the perfect time to visit the beaches of Florida.   The weather is beautiful there and not too hot yet.  

For the first part of our trip, while my husband was working, we stayed in a hotel in Cocoa Beach which was great for me because it was walking distance to the beach.   All I had to do was to follow this little path behind the hotel which leads right to the beach....

This was great for me because, while my husband was working, I had an opportunity to do something I really love to do.....walk down the beach and look for shells...

I love to walk down the beach.   It is such great exercise and so relaxing!  I enjoy watching and listening to the seagulls as I walk and hearing the waves splash along the shore....

Sometimes, you meet some interesting people along your walk...

These four ladies were practicing their poses and moves by the seashore.   What a great spot to practice!  They were very nice and even posed for me so that I could photograph them for my blog.  Hmmm......I should have brought my yoga mat!  What a great spot for morning yoga this would have been.

The waves crashing upon the shore and the ocean breeze certainly is conducive to a peaceful soul and always transports me to a zen place.   It is soooooo peaceful!  Along the way, I photographed some of the sandcastles that the children visiting the beach had built.   This sandcastle village was named "Wonderland" so I think the builders were sharing my zen feeling...

This cute little guy I passed along the way was hoping to catch a big fish...

Seeing someone fishing always makes me think of my Dad.  Oh, how he loved to fish! 

These kids were making freeform sandcastles by dripping wet sand on top of itself to make high points....like ice castles.   My sister and I used to love to make these when we were young and would go to the beach with our parents.  Seeing these children playing made me think of being a child myself and making sandcastles with my sister and brother...

 

My sister, Jeri, and I still love to walk the beaches together today....

I think my sister and I get our love of the beach from our dear mother...

(our Mother in Daytona Beach, Florida, when she was young)

My sister, husband and I spent a lot of time on the beach together when we were young.   We still like to clown around on the beach when we get together...

(sand flea on the beach....)

(seaweed along the beach shore)

(Seaweed mustache for me and Mark imitating Z Z Top....)
Life is too short to take yourselves too seriously....  You gotta have fun!

Life is what you make it!

And life is meant to be enjoyed...

with those you love...

Thank you for visiting my blog today.  I have so many photos I would like to share with you from my trip to Florida......too many for one posting...... so I'll be breaking them up into three different postings this week.   Please come back to walk the beaches of Florida with me again this week.   Until then, give someone you love a hug and enjoy your day.   xoxo Kim