Heide-A-Way Beach

I haven’t always found it easy to be spontaneous but I’m beginning to think that a bit of spontaneity in one’s life is highly gratifying. This summer has been full of on a whim type decisions and trips to good end. We’d been planning some island camping on the weekend but last minute changed our location to a beach with no name. We didn’t even know where it was exactly but decided with the amazing weather (no wind) to head out and see if we could find it.

Friends of mine were already out there for the week and a vague facebook status update became our lead for finding them. Find them we did, on a huge sandy beach soaking up the sun. It was a huge happy surprise.

Lily was SO excited to play with fellow home learners Maya and Lily. This salvaged float turned boat by their dad, Ben got a lot of use. Don’t be fooled. Even though it was hot hot hot with all the sun, the ocean water was freezing cold!

The tides were really huge during our stay on the beach. After moving some of the piled driftwood, we set up our tents as far back as possible but the water still came almost up to our camp. It rose and fell about 6 metres giving us an extra 200 metres of beach when it was low.

There was never a dull moment. (you can click on any of the pictures to see them bigger)

Even if it just meant standing in deep sand watching the waves wash over our ankles, cooling us down.

This beach was so big, I didn’t even explore the bigger half of it. We found some incredible and curious things. Shannon found her second Japanese glass fishing float! We explored an eighty year old shipwreck right there on the beach when the tide was low. Flattened into the rocks but still mostly intact.

Ben and Shannon camp in luxury and decide to bring an old bathtub in their skiff. It’s now stream fed and heated with a fire underneath. What better way to wash off the salt from the ocean water and relax in the evening?

Running after supper and a dessert of baked banana smothered in chocolate cashew butter. The beach running got even better at dark when you could then see the phosphorescence under foot.

It was so hot that we had to get in the shade at times throughout the day. The adults mostly read or slept and the kids painted wood or their faces, made necklaces and bracelets with beads or read funny poetry.

Accenting whatever we did, day or night, was the sounds of Grey Whales blowing and feeding. What an incredible sight. They feed by scooping up the sandy sea floor capturing little sea creatures in their baleen. It was wonderful that they were so close but it also meant they weren’t in deep water and we didn’t see much tail out of the water.

Nothing better than spending time at an amazing place with good friends.