joyful2beeblogs

With spring now moving along many of us are going to the beach. I always loved the beach. This morning I woke up with an ear-worm. And with it came a flood of memories from a delightful beach trip I took when I was a teenager.

When I was almost 16 years old I traveled with my family to Daytona Beach, Florida. Since our lodging was a travel trailer we settled our trailer in for a few nights at a campground close to the beach. My sister and I somehow met two teenage boys. We were all awkward teenagers who just wanted to try surfing like we saw on TV.

Our parents gave my sister and I some money to pay our share of half the rental of a surf board with the two guys. Neither my sister nor I ever quite got the hang of surfing but we had fun trying. My sister and I were quite naive’ and trusting but these two guys were always polite. [I guess they knew our parents were watching over us from the trailer window (?) or outside near the trailer]

That evening, near our parents’ trailer the guys made a campfire. Phil, the one I had the crush on was 17. He brought his guitar out and we sang around the campfire. Since our family loved to sing I think our parents and siblings also joined us. Regardless of their presence I clearly remember being so “in love” that night and probably for a month later at least.

Funny thing is we never even touched each other, kissed or anything. But he had strawberry blond/red hair, could surf some, sing, and play the guitar. What more could a teen-aged, hormonal girl possibly want in a guy?? The link below is to the song he played and we all sang: “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udvUM7iQz-g

This song made me even more “in love” with him. Even though I had the biggest hormonal crush on him, I never saw him again. For some reason we never exchanged phone numbers or addresses. I think his parents pulled out of the campground early the next morning. Probably better though.

On the way home the next day I worried when I remembered that he was turning 18 soon and would be eligible for the draft and could get drafted and might have to fight in the Vietnam war! I cried just thinking about it.

It was all so sweetly, goofily, romantic and so like Gidget!

So I had to share this song for all of you who had beach romances. Share your stories if you want to. They are what partly made us who we are and sometimes led us to whom we married later. The fall after this trip I met my future husband: a tall, red haired guy who was my first date.

He played the drums and played the guitar some too. Seven years later he became my husband. We were married for 36 years until he died young at 58. We had many good and bad times. In spite of the hard times because of him I have one biological son. Because of this son I later adopted his friend. Because of my sons, I have two wonderful daughters. Because of one of these daughters, I have three adorable grandsons and a golden retreiver.

“All’s well that ends well.”  -William Shakespeare