Near where I live there’s a strip of beach a mile and a half long located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay and sandwiched between two of the most expensive residential beachfront property areas in Dade county, (I still say Dade, refuse to say Miami-Dade silly name and think it should really officially be named WADE ha!), to the north and south of this beach making the “barrier” part of the island a little bare in the shadows of the multi-million dollar skyhouses.
The sensation of awe and instant calm I feel each time I look to the horizon on a beach is difficult to describe enough but when you look past the sea grape trees and catch your first glimpse at the vast open, usually empty beach at Haulover Beach, there’s always a sigh of gratitude for Earth’s beauty and to live so close by. The deep impacting color contrast between the bland beige sand, a baby-boy blue celestial sky and the different hues of blues and greens of the ocean from deep (sapphire) to (mint) green...all reminders of our place in the universe. If you ever have the chance to examine the Atlantic Ocean around Miami Beach, Florida you can easily make a connection and most likely the inspirations for the color schemes used in the Art Deco Buildings of South Beach.
The Beach theme is often used in guided imagery to relax. And here it is, living and breathing at my foot step (I AM blessed) to not walk along this piece of land would be wasteful. Mediation and yoga sessions done on the beach take on a different level, can it be the effect of the salt sea air, the sound of the surf, all of the above? Why do people say “like a day at the beach”? Can we really be that affected by the beach?
um, YES!
I’ve decided to walk this beach several times a week for exercise and pleasure. So far I've found 3 pennies one on the shore, the other in the sand so I must be on the right path.
This 1.5 long beach has seventeen lifeguard stands all officially posted, numbered and colored from the south to north end of the beach and nearly 100 trash cans. The stands are all identical in structure, some have more notices, fly more flags and in more use than others but generally all the lifeguard stands look the same except they are painted different colors. No.1-6 are light blue, stands 7, 8, 9 are light green, stands 10, 11, 12 are light yellow and stands 13-17 are pink. If you go, make it a weekday and practically every part of the beach south of the pink stands is open and empty and waiting to be enjoyed. Pack a picnic, book, shade and sunscreen and be in the moment it will be a mini-vacation.
Between pink stands 13-16 is a clothing optional area and is always crowded. There are signs marking the area warning of possible encounter with “nude bathers”. Special beach people bathing in "nude"…ooooooo, it's true you lose your clothes when you bathe with "nude".
This special section of the beach is easy to spot by the sea of colorful umbrellas, shelters (you can get too much sun) and of course the nude bodies. Not everyone is completely naked there are various degrees of bare and ALL body types. A great place for people watching is available here- tattoos, piercings, and seriously WTF-was-that?!
The ocean is de-lish! Water is clear and with a soft sandy bottom and then there's the sagging bottoms...butt (lol) also there's are lots of friendly, or not, kinds of people -a lot with zero tans lines…And now I know which beach the French tourists are hanging out on.
And what about the last pink lifeguard stand # 17? Bathing suits on and maybe 2 other people enjoying the beach…ah, I love Mia-mi!
Quick facts about walking on the beach:
-Use 20-50% more of your muscles
-Burns more calories than on hard surface
-Allows for “Earthing” or grounding
-Aids in neutralizing EMF ions
