We woke up to a bright sunny morning and thought it a good idea to head to the beach first thing. We packed up the car and headed out. This time we were wanting to try an Atlantic beach rather than the usual Nantucket Sound beach we had used before. We arrived and walked down to the beach. There were warning signs along the way, explaining the dangers of swimming in the ocean. But there was one warning I hadn't seen before...
Seems we would be ok if there were no seal in the area. We set our stuff up close to the shoreline and next to the lifeguard area and we went to test the water.
It was rather chilly. Although the sun was really hot, the water was quite cold, so we thought better of going in at that moment and decided that a better idea would be to wait till we were suitably hot and take a quick dip to cool off. However the whole time we were sat there, heating up, we watched seal after seal swim across the beach and wondered why there were no people deeper in the water. Could it be because it was so cold or because of the danger that seals were a warning for? I think maybe a little of both. Sam even asked the life guard if it was ok to swim and they informed her that it was, they have seals there all the time.
After getting suitably hot we decided to take that dip. So I got myself ready and, with Sam's help, hopped down to the water. The draw on the water was quite strong and it took a substantial amount of effort to remain stood up. Boy was that water cold. I managed to hop in deep enough to take a quick dive, submerging myself in the icy waters and coming up about belly deep. This was my downfall. Because I wasn't in deep enough, I was more hopping than floating and didn't rest myself well enough before deciding the water was too cold to continue. So I tried to make it back to shore. I got just to the surf line and my leg collapsed and I was now kneeling in the strong draw of the surf on small shells and stones struggling to get up. Sam was trying to help me but I just couldn't stand. The muscles in my leg were on fire and I seemed to be stuck there. I could see the beach chairs but they may well of been a mile away. Wave after cold wave hit me until I managed to muster enough reserve strength to stand and hop to the chair where I collapsed on the seat, my muscles burning and I was out of breath. It seemed that I had bitten of more than I could chew with that dip. I had been pushing my self too much this holiday and I had just paid the price.
We rested up for some time in the sun and thought we should head back to the cottage for some lunch. So I put myself back together and struggled up the beach to the car.
After a lunch of Turkey burgers we went to go see the aquarium at the oceanographic institute in Woods Hole. It was a fair drive there, but good time to relax myself. The aquarium was small but had some great exhibits of the local sea life.
We even saw a couple of seals they were looking after. Woods Hole was a great little town but as much as I wanted to look around, I was just in too much pain walking, even with a crutch. Sam understood and we went home, taking a more scenic route back.
We sat out on the deck before it was time to go get some food. The first restaurant we went to was far too busy so opted for another, quieter one where we had a nice dinner and some pleasant dinner conversation. We returned to the cottage just in time to watch a great sunset.
It was getting a bit chilly by now so after we watched a few fireflies dancing about near the bushes, we turned in for the night. I hope I will feel better in the morning.
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