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An Ocean?|pad patter 11/7

I lived next to the Pacific Ocean for the first 29 years of my life; the first 24 in San Diego, the last 5 in Los Angeles. I understand the joy of hanging out by the ocean for hours at a time. I wish I could do it more here, but the ocean is at least 2.5 hours away from me now. The Rappahannock River gives me the joy of huge rushing water sometimes, but it's not the same as the vast expanse of ocean.
 
Yes, I have seen the Atlantic Ocean several times. Vacationed in Virginia Beach a couple of times and Hilton Head SC once. Also spent a day on the Outer Banks although we didn't get to the beach.

As a teenager, I made my first trip to Florida. We drove down from Ohio and spent 2 weeks on the trip. We went to the Tampa/Clearwater area first then drove down the coast and across Alligator Alley to Fort Lauderdale. Then we made our way up to St Augustine and headed home. At least 1 day at the beach in each city! Several years later, my grandfather started spending the winters in Fort Myers FL so we went to visit him a couple times. Always had to go to the beach a couple times while there. Then after my parents retired, they started spending the winters in Fort Myers and I would go down to spend a week with them.... again spending time at the beach.

In 2010, I cruised the western Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. I am more a lover of the warm weather than the beach. As I've grown older, I rather dislike sand!
 
I was born in Northern California (East Bay) and stayed until 4yrs old - where the Pacific is cold cold cold. My parents separated and my mom and I briefly lived in Carmel (which is stunning and quaint) and right by the Pacific in the central coast. After about a year because it's so expensive there, we moved in with her parents for a couple years until my mom got on her feet after their divorce and we lived at the beach on Fleet Street in Marina Del Ray (they have alphabet streets all seaworthy names, so I lived on F essentially). As a teen we went to the beach every single day all day - Santa Monica #9!! For college (UC Irvine) I lived on Balboa Island in Orange County... which was also amazing. I stayed in Southern California - from 4-33yrs and like Jan I never thought we would leave a coast. But alas I'm now in the middle of the USA - haha. I do love it though, so now I only visit the beach on vacations :)
 
Cherylndesigns said:
We live a few miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and my oldest DD lives on the Atlantic Ocean side of Florida, so yes to both of those. I've seen the Pacific Ocean several times, too. Oh, Jan @IntenseMagic just reminded me that I've been to the Caribbean, too.
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Gaah! I forgot about the Caribbean! Thanks for the reminder. I've such a short memory.
 
I love being near the ocean or the sea but have never been lucky enough to live nearby. We're a four hour drive from the Pacific and try to go over to Vancouver Island every couple of years. I love walking on the beach any time we're close to the ocean. We did a road trip down to California a few years back and walked on different beaches every day.
We also have taken a couple of trips to the Maritimes where we loved the beaches in Nova Scotia and PEI.
This past September we spent five days walking the Coastal Path in Cornwall, UK. We were had amazing weather and walked for miles along the most gorgeous beaches there. The scenery along the cliffs was incredible.
 
I certainly have seen the Pacific Ocean.... saw a little bit of it this week on Monday when my husband and I had a picnic lunch at Evans Head where we are involved in a Craft Co-operative store and worked the Monday morning shift in the store. I have sailed on Cruise Ships on the pacific ocean three times in my life so far ( would love to do another cruise one day ) . We do not live by the ocean but it only takes up 25 minutes to drive to see it. Here is a photo from this week:
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I grew up not far from the Pacific (but up here in Washington!) The Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Northwest is MUCH different than down south! ;) IT's gray & cold, but still the ocean! I have many fond memories clam digging with my dad as a kid! My favorite spot most local to where I grew up is Cannon Beach & Seaside, OR! I've vacationed to the 'other' side! ;) Florida & Caribbean (Jamaica & Cozumel- would that be the Gulf or the Caribbean Sea?)
 
michelepixels said:
I lived next to the Pacific Ocean for the first 29 years of my life; the first 24 in San Diego, the last 5 in Los Angeles. I understand the joy of hanging out by the ocean for hours at a time. I wish I could do it more here, but the ocean is at least 2.5 hours away from me now. The Rappahannock River gives me the joy of huge rushing water sometimes, but it's not the same as the vast expanse of ocean.
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Ha! Rappahannock River! So many memories flood my mind! My family is in Tappahannock, right on the river. So many stories about my grandparents, boat rides, fishing moments and just hanging out on the dock! Now that my grandparents have passed, we still have lots of family, but don't visit as often. I made a layout to say goodbye to the house and area, I was so sad. I have fond memories of there! :)
 
jk703 said:
Ha! Rappahannock River! So many memories flood my mind! My family is in Tappahannock, right on the river. So many stories about my grandparents, boat rides, fishing moments and just hanging out on the dock! Now that my grandparents have passed, we still have lots of family, but don't visit as often. I made a layout to say goodbye to the house and area, I was so sad. I have fond memories of there! :)
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I live about 50 miles upstream from Tappahannock, in Fredericksburg. :) I haven't made it to Tappahannock yet. I am impressed by the Rappahannock River and have enjoyed it in a few places, both in and beside the water. Coming from southern California where the only river is really a concrete canal with water forced there by rerouting the Colorado River, I had almost zero experience with a real river until I was 29!
 
Lived in or near Seattle my whole life except for first 4 years of marriage. So yes! The Pacific has always been in my blood. Seattle is not actually ON the Pacific. Puget Sound is a saltwater extension of the Pacific, but to really get to an ocean beach requires several hours of driving. My stepfather used to go to Westport for fishing, and we got to go a few times, and I went with a girlfriend’s family a few times. We loved climbing on the driftwood.

When we were first married, we lived near Portland, Oregon, and the only entertainment we could afford was a day trip to the beach. We had honeymooned in Seaside, so it was especially fun to return there, and to Canon Beach with its Haystack rocks.

Dave’s Army commitment took us to Ft. Devens (now defunct) near Leominster, Massachusetts, so we got to see the Atlantic for the first time, and enjoyed the whole length of it on many excursions. My favorite was a driving trip around the perimeter of Florida (all the way to Key West), where I enjoyed seafood 3 times a day for a week! (Add Gulf of Mexico.)

We’ve driven the length of the American west coast, enjoying many beaches, well into Mexico, and have taken the train to L.A. and back, spotting the Pacific along the CA coast all the way.

We’ve cruised the Caribbean. Although it was beautiful beyond description, it was just too hot for me. I felt like I was dripping in sweat even in our air-conditioned cabin. We’ve been in Hawaii when it was warm, but not blistering...my favorite place for being IN the ocean (even learned to surf!).

When our kids were young, we took them to Ocean Shores. The best part of that was the joy our dog had herding seagulls on the beach...free to run as long as he wanted.

One of my greatest joys was introducing some of our grandchildren to both the Pacific and Atlantic. We have taken most of our (12) grandkids for a 2 or 3-day stay in Long Beach, WA for some one-on-two time. They loved feeding the seagulls that would flock around anyone who held up a slice of bread, and snatch it right from their hands. We took our oldest granddaughter on a road trip to the east coast to visit her cousins, and a trip to the Atlantic shore was a thrill.

I never thought I could be happy being more than a half-day drive from an ocean, but we have fallen in love the the warm DRY heat of Arizona (not in summer—too hot!), so now my “vacation” destination of choice is near Phoenix, AZ, where I get my water-fix on the beautiful golf courses.

But there is a deep sense of security that the Pacific is still nearby, and every couple of years we head over to the coast for our fix.
 
I've lived in the same county my whole life. As a kid my mom would make the half-hour drive to the beach in Half Moon Bay. Now, all I have to do is cross the freeway overpass & I'm there at the San Francisco Bay. San Francisco's a windy place. I've also been to Kowloon Bay in Hong Kong, that's also the Pacific. So, I guess I've seen different sides of it. I also went to a beach in Boston. I wasn't impressed at all. The beach felt like rocks, here you sink in the warm & soft sand.
 
We live about 2 hours drive from The Pacific Ocean - my MIL used to live in a house overlooking the beach so we went many times every year (too bad I hate swimming in the ocean...)
I remember being very excited to see the Mediterranean when we were in Spain but then we got to Portugal and got to see the Atlantic for the very first time - it was wild! I could have stayed and watched it for days but alas we headed inland again.
Have flown over the Indian ocean and hopefully visiting Western Australia soon to get a closer look (again no swimming - way too many sharks for me!)
 
I loved reading all the stories here! I saw the ocean in FL when I was like, 7 years old maybe? when we went to Disneyworld. Then I travelled to CA for a school trip my senior year (1997). That was my best beach memory - spent a day hanging out at the beach, shopping on the boardwalk, and getting the best tan right before prom!
The last time I saw the ocean was about 2010 when I was in Boston for a work conference but that was a very brief sighting!
Our kids haven’t seen an ocean yet so that is our next family vacation. We’re thinking FL or SC.
 
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