I spent last week at the beach, as is traditional for my family for the 4th of July. The water was probably the best I’ve ever seen there, warm and calm and clear, no jellyfish or seaweed or anything. At one point, I actually looked down and saw a skate just hanging out on the ocean floor. (And then I got out, because I didn’t want to step on it or any other sea creatures. I figured that wouldn’t be a pleasant experience for either of us.)
For the actual 4th, the Town of Nags Head did a fireworks display from the pier, so we were able to just walk over to the beach and watch from there. As much as I liked the fireworks display in Manteo as a kid, I have to admit that this arrangement is much preferable to having to deal with the headache of leaving the parking area afterward over there.
We didn’t go climb Jockey’s Ridge this year, because it was very hot during the day, and if the activity didn’t involve either water or air conditioning, it generally got vetoed. We did go down to the Seaside Art Gallery, though, which I appreciate a lot more as an adult than I did as a kid. It’s been a long time since I went there, so this time I was a lot more aware of what they had. I spotted two Miros and a Picasso, as well as some of Calder’s 2D art. (The Picasso was not for sale.) The thing that really caught my eye, though, was the table full of etchings. I particularly liked the landscapes by David Hunter and the botanicals by Carolyn Cohen. I eventually had to narrow it down to just one thing that I would be the most sad to leave without, though, so I settled on David Hunter’s “Full Moon Rising.”
“Full Moon Rising” by David Hunter
Maybe some of my exceedingly subtle hints about how much I liked the Cohen etchings too will get me something for Christmas. If not, I can always go back next year and start making art acquisition a new beach tradition.
