As I drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge my excitement builds. Instantly any troubles disappear just by knowing that I’m on the right side of the bay headed towards my sanctuary where everything is different from my normal day’s routine. Crossing that bridge is like a gateway leading me to a tranquil land of perpetual Joy. The choppy bay waters bob up and down as if they’re the welcoming party waving hello. Marshy vegetation occupies the bay waters on both sides of the single road that leads into this paradise. Cresting the hill rewards you with an amazing view like no other. From this height you can glimpse the dunes which protect the island from the occasional staggering winds. Assateague is a barrier island and a true sanctuary, set aside …show more content…
I instantly feel more relaxed and at ease here. There are no hotels or resorts of any kind on this island, merely a primitive campground laid out in several loops with each loop surrounding a bathhouse. The barrier separating the campground from the ocean is the massive dunes towering over the campsites. The entire campground is like a miniature oceanside community where neighbors are bound together by similar passions. Each site has its own fire ring and picnic table allowing for dinner under the tranquil sky. Everything is slower here where families can come to simply spend time together playing games, trail hiking and group biking are all activities that everyone here participates in. It is here, in this place, with these other people that I am effortlessly able to simply be me. There are several trails on the island that wind through the forest containing observation platforms on which to view the abundant wildlife offering limitless opportunities to take amazing photographs. The waters as well as the land are teaming with life. Crabs and crayfish scuttle in the shallows while turtles bask atop each other in the grass. There are even frogs the color of the sand that leap up if you surprise them. I can easily spend hours just strolling around and enjoying the moments surrounded by like-minded people. All worries seem to vanish here, and I’m left with only a calm feeling of being connected and
The whole island is in the shape of a giant square with white sandy beaches full of people sunbathing, swimming and fishing right on the shoreline. From the end of the hot pavement parking lot to shore of the beach is an ocean of soft white sand. The pearlescent white sand seems to know how to invade every nook and cranny almost as if it enjoys it. Walking around the beach on the fluffy whiteness surrounding the parking lot, the seagulls are fighting over scraps of food on the ground. “Sandy beach ecosystems provide invaluable services to humankind. Their functions have been exploited through history, with significant anthropogenic effects (Lucrezi, 2015)”. This white sandy beach is a beautiful refuge from the mundane grind of everyday life. The smell of the misty ocean air mixed with the sound of seagulls hovering above and kids playing is a tonic for the mind. The feel of the sand between their toes and the waves crashing over them as people swim in the water, or the jerk of a fishing pole when someone is catching a fish makes Fred Howard Park one of the best places to relax. Standing on the beach looking out on the water, people are kayaking and windsurfing. The lifeguards watching vigilantly in their bright red shirt and shorts, blowing their whistles when they see someone being unsafe. After a long day of swimming and laying around visitors head back over the soft white sand to the showers, in order to rinse off the menacing sand that clings to everything like a bad habit. Everyone rushes over the hot pavement burning their feet to reach their cars so they can put away their beach paraphernalia which is still covered in the white sand, nearly impossible to completely leave behind, so when they get home it serves as a reminder of where they were that
Located in the popular Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in California. Every year, mother nature’s breathtaking beauty attracts millions of people from around the world. People hike for three long and fatiguing hours in anticipation of witnessing forceful water rushing down the steep mountain from 2,425 feet above. Last summer, my family and I backpacked through the Yosemite Falls Trail and I came to learn what a truly exhausting experience it is.
On my way out to the beach I still had no idea what I was going to do for my fifth essay. As my surfing buddy and I exited the freeway and entered the town of Morro Bay I saw three giant gleaming smoke stacks surfacing over the top of the hill. As we got closer to the beach the three smoke stacks gave way to a massive power plant that was a mere fifty feet from the water’s edge. It was surrounded by a fifteen foot cement wall and cameras everywhere. I thought what a perfect topic for my paper. As we parked and started to suit up I noticed there was an abundance of strange looking birds all around us. My friend explained to me that the whole area is an estuary preserve that protects endangered bird species.
“ Ya I guess you are right”. Jack said. He sadly wrapped himself in a bear hug with his grandpa .
They acted like lazy soldiers who followed their leader into battle against a beer on the beach or a nap on the couch. I knew this lazy look at life could not be a constant repetition day after I day. I was right. Life was being lived to the fullest all around me. People were biking and surfing and running and dancing and being active. The same cousins who were taking naps on the beach were riding horses and playing basketball and driving ATV’s and jumping off waterfalls. They did not back down from anything. They had no fear. When I was around them I felt the same way. When I was back home, the rules my parents place were cemented in my mind but when I was in my island mode, those rules quickly faded into the sky like thin dainty cirrus clouds. I felt free. The aura of the land hypnotized me and changed my
I can hear the hum of taxi cabs whizzing past me as I stand on the corner of the busy downtown street. New York City! I still can't believe that I'm here or that I'm staying here. Aunt Allison was so sweet to let me live in her place whilst she travels around south America. I step out onto the road when the traffic light changed from green to red.
I was sitting with my friend, Pistol on one of the bucking shoots watching the barrel race.
Jim is an innocent young man, living on the coast of Queensland. In this peaceful town, everybody is happy and at peace with themselves and with nature. The people enjoy the simple pleasures of life - nature, birds, and friendly neighbourly conversations. Their days are filled with peaceful walks in the bush, bird watching and fishing. Jim and his friends especially enjoy the serenity of the sanctuary and the wonders of nature that it holds.
The Battle of Hastings saw the clash of two military systems. The Saxon army, centred on the King’s personal bodyguard of “housecarles", comprised the universal levy, the “Fyrd", led by the local leaders of each shire with their households. The Third stood behind and were paid during the way when other housecarls were slained.
Just a night. An ordinary night, around fifteen to eleven o’clock. I lay there playing with my xacto knife kit. It belonged to my Grandfather’s aunt. So I guess that’s my great great aunt. Well anyways I finally set aside my kit and started to try and sleep. I’m at my grandparents house in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. The house? Why it’s a classic Spanish themed home built precisely in 1929. At the end of a Golden Era: The Roaring Twenties. So as I turn to closed eyes I see a boy. A young Hasidic Jewish boy. He looks around the age of eight or nine and asks me in a seemingly cute creepily voice Have you seen my family? I asked what family. The family that seems to be missing. I asked are you from around here? He says, yes I grew up here in the brown roofed house.
It has been a long day of researching and I believe I deserve a break. Tiredly, I manage to make it to the couch where I just let my body sink and fall. I begin to doze off. Just as my muscles begin to relax and my vision starts to blur, I begin to hear my son, George, yell “Hey Dad! Dad!
The Swamp As I hopped out of the car to grab my supplies, my shirt was immediately drenched in sweat and humidity. I had arrived at boot camp in Merritt Island, Florida which was to help me prepare for the missions work in the field. While at Boot Camp I learned the value of hard work, how to work better in a team, and how to get along with people that rub me the wrong way. Even though Boot Camp was miserable I still learned a lot I was able to learn the value of hard work at Boot Camp.
The Creature That Opened My Eyes Sympathy, anger, hate, and empathy, these are just a few of the emotions that came over me while getting to know and trying to understand the creature created by victor frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. For the first time I became completely enthralled in a novel and learned to appreciate literature not only for the great stories they tell but also for the affect it could have on someones life as cliché as that might sound, if that weren’t enough it also gave me a greater appreciation and understanding of the idiom “never judge a book by its cover.” As a pimply faced, insecure, loner, and at most times self absorbed sophomore in high school I was never one to put anytime or focus when it came time
Despite my negative thoughts, I force myself to focus on the hike. Birds soar through the crisp air, singing their morning melodies and landing on trees and telephone wires. I hear cows in the pasture and feel nice, cool breezes. The road curves, and the hilly scenery suddenly appears more beautiful as we walk through the quarry. The fresh scent of a group of eucalyptus trees overwhelms me and brings back memories of the several times I have enjoyed Catalina Island. As I exhale, fond childhood memories make me increasingly excited about my journey, and I envision climbing a large live oak tree nearby. A small white butterfly flutters by me and a group of well-camouflaged deer...
I flew there alone and ran into my grandparents arms as they waited for me at the Savannah Airport. I will never forget how genuinely happy they were to see me and have me visit. I spent my days as an only child with an entire island to explore. I would run around in awe of the southern setting and numerous willow and palm trees that grew in the sand. Although the scenery is incredible, my grandparents’ house is their pride. Located right on the water, the back porch overlooks the ocean’s horizon, making even the house have a calm character. The entrance consists of an elegant chandelier and handmade blue tiles; however, step into the next room and there is a sudden twist of a beach culture. It is a room with a safari theme, complete with pretend toucans and a life-sized stuffed gorilla named Bo-Bo. When I was young I would venture into my grandfather’s office, which has a workshop attached to it, this became the art studio where I would create amateur works of art for my grandmother. During the day I would read to my grandparents and meet their friends. With my grandfather I made doll houses, played golf, and even went fishing for sharks. One of my strongest memories is of my grandfather and me going fishing. We took our poles out to the ocean where Grandpa caught a baby shark and shortly thereafter a mother shark bit onto my line. As a little kid, it was surreal. At the end of