Going to school in Vermont leaves you with no choice but to learn to love the winter and the below freezing temperatures that accompany it. At first, in November, December, and hey even most of January, it’s bearable because it’s exciting. First ski days! First snow! But now that it’s almost February, I think everyone can agree that the novelty is wearing off a bit. Of course there’s always something magical about looking outside and seeing a fresh coat of snow, but lately it has me looking back on my summers at home in Connecticut.
I live in a town along the Connecticut shoreline that’s pretty much an ideal place to make the most of a summer. It’s not far from Rhode Island beaches, Mystic (which is definitely a tourist destination in the summer), and only a ferry ride from Block Island, so there’s never a shortage of things to do. I’ve always been grateful to live in such a beautiful place, but now that I’ve been exposed to a couple Vermont winters, I’m feeling even more grateful than usual for the wonderful New England summers. While I love doing everything I can while it’s warm out, my favorite and most frequent summer destination is only a short walk away. Down the street from my house is a quaint little beach that my family has gone to almost every day of the summer for my entire life. I think that everyone has a place that’s special to them in some way, whether they realize it or not, and for me this is it.
Honestly when I think back on my childhood, a lot of my best memories take place there. There are pictures of me as a kid with a shovel in one hand and an ice cream in the other, building sandcastles with friends, and making voyages out to the raft in a tube. That beach was (and still is) a place where you could come at any time of day and be surrounded by familiar faces. Parents would sit, talk, and read while groups of kids would play popsicle stick, go crabbing, and spend hours just playing in the waves (while keeping lookout for the ice cream truck). I can’t picture a more perfect way to spend summer.
Now that I’m older, I experience the beach a little differently, working summers with my friend who also grew up with me there. There’s truly nothing like getting to the beach in the morning and and not leaving until it’s starting to get dark, covered in sweat and sand, and tired from being out in the sun. Even though the place where I once played is now where I work, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t still feel like fun. Looking back on it now, I realize how lucky I was to have a place that’s been such a constant in my life, and a place that reminds me so much of home.
Source 1: https://www.theday.com/article/20180625/NWS01/180629586
Source 2: https://www.theday.com/article/20170904/NWS01/170909791