White Sand, Green Flash, and Being a Kid Again

Originally written on May 5, 2024

I spent a few days on the west coast of Florida when I went for a Women’s Retreat. I flew down a few days before the retreat, and spent some time at Clearwater Beach. It was absolutely gorgeous! 

I got myself a nice hotel room overlooking the beach. When I arrived, I laid down for a few minutes and woke up a couple of hours later. Apparently, I was more tired than I realized! I didn’t even leave the hotel that night, just went upstairs for a solo dinner on the balcony after the sun set.

Brian drove down for a visit the next day, and we spent the day walking along the boardwalk and the pier, before returning to the hotel to hang out near the pool! I know, I know, I was at the beach so what on Earth was I doing at a pool? It was afternoon, and the beach was crowded, so the pool on the hotel rooftop was the place to be.

The sunsets were awe-inspiring! I don’t even have the words to describe how beautiful they were, and it was great just watching them. I looked for the green flash just as the Sun went under the horizon(IYKYK), which is something I’d never seen before, despite watching countless sunsets in Southern California when I was younger. I honestly thought everyone had made it up – this elusive flash of green across the ocean when the Sun finished setting for us – like some sort of inside joke that I wasn’t privy to. FINALLY, though, I got to see it! 

The next day, we got a little earlier start and went across the street to the beach. The sand was the whitest sand I’ve ever seen, and it was soft on my feet. It was hot, but nothing that a dip in the Gulf wouldn’t cure. We got a beach bed with a tent that you could switch from one direction to another – perfect for shading any area that had been exposed to the hot, Florida sun for a little too long. I have now decided that I need a beach bed for our pool at home!

When it was time for me to go to the retreat, Brian stayed with me and kept me occupied until it was time to meet up with Mary and check in for the weekend. He even let me get a hole in one at one of the local miniature golf courses! Okay, okay, maybe he didn’t let me… but I did, and ended up beating him!!! Neither one of us even came close to making par, but I came one point closer to par than he did! I’m sure there was a name for whatever the dance I did on the ace, but I have no idea what it is.

I think it was a nice, quick break for both of us, even though we’d just seen each other six weeks before. Any chance I get to play like a kid again, I take it, and Brian is like having a big kid around. He likes to play and goof off too, so it’s always fun when we get together.

I asked Brian if he was cool with me naming him in this post before I posted, and his response was, “I’m ok with it… I want to be famous… 😂

Or infamous, whichever comes first”

I assured him that he would be one or the other… immortalized forever in a cyberspace called “Did She Have Passion”!