Thursday, May 15, 2008

Winter Respite


Beyond my open door and balcony railing, tall palms rustle softly above manicured golf greens and grass-decorated beach as gulls sail above gentle swells. On my first morning at Amelia Island Plantation, the fireball sun cast a rosy glow across my wall, as purple surrendered to pale blue. The next morning, murky fog hid two-foot swells that crashed against the beach. On this last morning of my vacation pink and orange rays illuminate a pale blue sky and cast golden light across calm, still-dark water.

I snuggle into my robe, sip piping hot coffee and pull out my camera. Half a dozen shots later I turn towards breakfast - a fluffy frittata with perfectly cooked asparagus, baby carrots, and broccoli flowerets, and a generous serving of lightly cooked and seasoned red potatoes. A fruit plate bears eight slices of cantaloupe and honeydew, plus a handful of incredibly plump raspberries, blueberries and strawberries.

After breakfast I begin my final walk beside the ocean, calves straining against packed and shifting sand as my toes squish through liquid beach and dodge shell fragments strewn along the high tide line. By this evening, I'll return to Midwestern ice and snow.