Beach in November

Fenwick Island, DE

The beach in the off-season is so wonderful.  I love its vast expanses - ocean, sky, sand in the clear, crisp air - that are not nearly as noticeable among the summer throngs/thongs.  I like its different rhythms - games inside, not outside; and warm foods, instead of iced ones.  I like how the glow of the house lights beckon you in the 5 o'clock darkening evening.  And that the broad winter-night starry sky meets the horizon, a scene not seen from the city or the even the wooded camping trip.  I like the empty streets, the closed seasonal shops, and even the boarded-up houses that suggest you have it all to yourself.  I love how the ocean - as it always does - draws you to its edge, but, this time, not in.