enclave
The farther east we walk along the beach, the more Russian we hear. A few young women run up to us at one point and say something in Russian. On seeing our blank expression, they switch to English, and we understand that they'd like their photo taken in front of the ocean.
glossiness
The lawn has a velvet sheen in the sunshine.
mirrors
Facing the ocean are murals depicting its degradation.
plasticky
Along the boardwalk, there's a lot that's cheap and bright: plastic colors, sweet and fried foods, silly sound effects from quick games and rides.
scrawling
The rollercoaster looks like red scribbles on sky blue paper.
shade
It's a pleasant crescent of beach with a patchwork of umbrellas. There are circles of shade from the umbrellas, planks of shade from trees, and shade that shifts like cloth cast by the leaves.
wobbling
He pretends to know it all, but his act is unsteady. His lips turn down at the corners. His eyes widen and look away. To make up for the uncertainties coursing through him, he deepens his voice and tosses an insult.
Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Week in Seven Words #398
breathtaking
There's a beach by a quarry, and it's one of the best places I've been to, beautiful and invigorating. It's made up of slabs of rock strewn along the shore. Just picking one to sit on is a pleasure. I rest for a while with the sun on my shoulders. I could have spent days there.
kayaker
A river wends through red, green, and gold grass. A kayak emerges from under a bridge, and sunlight shimmers in its wake.
seaside
Walking to the farthest reach of the jetty, I have a feeling of being embraced by blue. The sky, with some blue-white smears of cloud, the harbor spreading out on all sides, and the water trickling through the clumsy string of rocks - blue all around.
secretive
It's an old house, with enormous trees fussing around it and petting it with their branches, and shrubs rearing up to screen it protectively. It keeps silent about the people who lived there and what they saw from its windows. What we have are some facts embellished by imagination.
sweeten
It's a town of fudge and ice cream and pastels, flowers in window boxes and clapboard churches overlooking the ocean.
visage
In an art museum, I like the portraits best. They're characters expressing stories.
wondrous
The sound of a blue whale's heartbeat.
There's a beach by a quarry, and it's one of the best places I've been to, beautiful and invigorating. It's made up of slabs of rock strewn along the shore. Just picking one to sit on is a pleasure. I rest for a while with the sun on my shoulders. I could have spent days there.
kayaker
A river wends through red, green, and gold grass. A kayak emerges from under a bridge, and sunlight shimmers in its wake.
seaside
Walking to the farthest reach of the jetty, I have a feeling of being embraced by blue. The sky, with some blue-white smears of cloud, the harbor spreading out on all sides, and the water trickling through the clumsy string of rocks - blue all around.
secretive
It's an old house, with enormous trees fussing around it and petting it with their branches, and shrubs rearing up to screen it protectively. It keeps silent about the people who lived there and what they saw from its windows. What we have are some facts embellished by imagination.
sweeten
It's a town of fudge and ice cream and pastels, flowers in window boxes and clapboard churches overlooking the ocean.
visage
In an art museum, I like the portraits best. They're characters expressing stories.
wondrous
The sound of a blue whale's heartbeat.
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Halibut Point State Park is Amazing
In early September, I went on a vacation for a few days to Boston and to some of the towns within commuting distance, including Rockport on the Cape Ann Peninsula. The highlight in Rockport was walking from the center of town to Halibut Point State Park.
It used to be a granite quarry, and the quarry is full of water now. It's stunning.
Along with walking around the quarry, you can look out over the ocean.
And head down to a beach layered in slabs of rock.
Have a picnic here.
The walk to and from town is also wonderful, with beautiful yards and gardens along the way, and openings to the sea that tease the imagination.
I felt lucky to visit these places.
It used to be a granite quarry, and the quarry is full of water now. It's stunning.
Along with walking around the quarry, you can look out over the ocean.
And head down to a beach layered in slabs of rock.
Have a picnic here.
The walk to and from town is also wonderful, with beautiful yards and gardens along the way, and openings to the sea that tease the imagination.
I felt lucky to visit these places.
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Week in Seven Words #339
cross-cultural
She's an American dating an Israeli, and she doesn't know what to make of his parents. They aren't mean to her, in fact they seem to like her, they're just... I get it. They're thoroughly Israeli. I sit with her for a while and try to help her understand.
distance
Do I miss him? (Not really.) Should I? (Emotions aren't obligatory.)
encroach
By the bay there's a row of abandoned houses. Sand has crept in through the cracks in the boarded up windows. Each door has grown a wild beard of leaves.
facelift
There's a thick smell of paint in the corridor, and the light is cloudy with dust.
gratification
I'm not a beach person; when I take time off, I probably won't be sitting on a beach for hours. But I love the smell of sunscreen. I love the feel of sea water curling around my ankles.
inarguable
They're not looking to learn, just hoping to become more certain of what they think they already know.
rasping
She's hoarse, her throat sanded away by a weeks-long cold.
She's an American dating an Israeli, and she doesn't know what to make of his parents. They aren't mean to her, in fact they seem to like her, they're just... I get it. They're thoroughly Israeli. I sit with her for a while and try to help her understand.
distance
Do I miss him? (Not really.) Should I? (Emotions aren't obligatory.)
encroach
By the bay there's a row of abandoned houses. Sand has crept in through the cracks in the boarded up windows. Each door has grown a wild beard of leaves.
facelift
There's a thick smell of paint in the corridor, and the light is cloudy with dust.
gratification
I'm not a beach person; when I take time off, I probably won't be sitting on a beach for hours. But I love the smell of sunscreen. I love the feel of sea water curling around my ankles.
inarguable
They're not looking to learn, just hoping to become more certain of what they think they already know.
rasping
She's hoarse, her throat sanded away by a weeks-long cold.
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Week in Seven Words #338
ballerina
All of the dancers are talented, but one in particular has presence. She creates a mesmerizing character, and even when she isn't moving, she commands attention.
carrying
When possible, I don't use a purse. I like a small colorful backpack, secured on both shoulders and well-stocked.
distracted
The theater is dark, and she's bored. Her phone casts a square of white light that irritates other people, but gives her a pleasant scroll through all the headlines and texts that have cropped up in the last hour.
feat
With some of the dancers, the effort is obvious. They can't hide a straining muscle or how a limb struggles to extend. Beside them dance the ones who seem to need no effort.
jester
I want to make her laugh, so I do a chicken dance and jazz hands.
menace
They reach over the railing to pet the horse in the enclosure. A park ranger warns them off. "It bites," he says. They immediately back off. The horse remains still, revealing nothing.
skimming
Insects glide over the sand like silvery sci-fi drones.
All of the dancers are talented, but one in particular has presence. She creates a mesmerizing character, and even when she isn't moving, she commands attention.
carrying
When possible, I don't use a purse. I like a small colorful backpack, secured on both shoulders and well-stocked.
distracted
The theater is dark, and she's bored. Her phone casts a square of white light that irritates other people, but gives her a pleasant scroll through all the headlines and texts that have cropped up in the last hour.
feat
With some of the dancers, the effort is obvious. They can't hide a straining muscle or how a limb struggles to extend. Beside them dance the ones who seem to need no effort.
jester
I want to make her laugh, so I do a chicken dance and jazz hands.
menace
They reach over the railing to pet the horse in the enclosure. A park ranger warns them off. "It bites," he says. They immediately back off. The horse remains still, revealing nothing.
skimming
Insects glide over the sand like silvery sci-fi drones.
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Week in Seven Words #337
admiring
"Look at this beautiful sand castle!" the boy's mother says, moments before he kicks it apart.
desquamated
The professor's voice is undercut by a steady 'scrape scrape scrape' like wood getting planed by hand. It comes from three seats in front of me. A woman is scratching her arm, showering large flakes of skin.
firewater
Alcohol isn't allowed on the beach, but who would look twice at their coffee thermos, even if they pour its contents into plastic shot glasses.
fluctuate
The skin cooks, and the wind cools it.
intertidal
A dog on the beach frisking away from the incoming water, then leaping after it as it retreats.
pinwheel
The girl takes off her flip-flops, holds one in each hand, and twirls on the sand.
unsurprised
I ask her why she rarely says anything kind to me. I don't get the answer I want to hear, though I do get the one I expect.
"Look at this beautiful sand castle!" the boy's mother says, moments before he kicks it apart.
desquamated
The professor's voice is undercut by a steady 'scrape scrape scrape' like wood getting planed by hand. It comes from three seats in front of me. A woman is scratching her arm, showering large flakes of skin.
firewater
Alcohol isn't allowed on the beach, but who would look twice at their coffee thermos, even if they pour its contents into plastic shot glasses.
fluctuate
The skin cooks, and the wind cools it.
intertidal
A dog on the beach frisking away from the incoming water, then leaping after it as it retreats.
pinwheel
The girl takes off her flip-flops, holds one in each hand, and twirls on the sand.
unsurprised
I ask her why she rarely says anything kind to me. I don't get the answer I want to hear, though I do get the one I expect.
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Week in Seven Words #271
cultivated
Three ladies leafing through books in a room hung with tapestries.
delivery
A rattling cart, laden with aluminum trays of warm fragrant meat.
getaway
The only splash of color in the office comes from a banner with a beach scene: sunset, gold sand, palms imprinted on curling waves.
muted
Without the usual roar from the TV, there's a startling quiet in the house.
overcompensating
His know-it-all attitude masks a fear of the world and an uncertainty about his place in it.
treacherous
Dinner isn't so much a minefield as a sea dotted with icebergs. What's above the surface is dangerous enough; below, there are contours and formations we can't bear to think about.
upgrade
"Our online system works well. People can find things easily and save their search results reliably. Clearly we're doing something wrong."
Three ladies leafing through books in a room hung with tapestries.
delivery
A rattling cart, laden with aluminum trays of warm fragrant meat.
getaway
The only splash of color in the office comes from a banner with a beach scene: sunset, gold sand, palms imprinted on curling waves.
muted
Without the usual roar from the TV, there's a startling quiet in the house.
overcompensating
His know-it-all attitude masks a fear of the world and an uncertainty about his place in it.
treacherous
Dinner isn't so much a minefield as a sea dotted with icebergs. What's above the surface is dangerous enough; below, there are contours and formations we can't bear to think about.
upgrade
"Our online system works well. People can find things easily and save their search results reliably. Clearly we're doing something wrong."
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