I once camped on the beach in Florida at a beautiful nature reserve.  It was totally free.  The reserve closed at dusk, so we were locked inside for the evening.  We set up a tent and built a fire in the sand.  It seemed cozy and warm, and the shorline looked a safe distance away from the little mound our tent stood on. 

The stars twinkled brightly above our heads, but the full moon faded in and out among the clouds.  By 9 o'clock, our smoldering fire, the brilliant stars and occasional moon were our only  source of light. 

I was pregnant with my son and sort of feeling queasy from our travels, so I crawled into my sleeping bag early.  My daughter joined me in the tent, after listening to Glenn play his drum for a while. 

Deeper into the night, our fire went complety out.  I could no longer see it's red glow through the tent walls.  I listened to the waves crashing.  They were so loud, they bellowed, roared and slammed.

I tossed and turned like the rolling waves.  I wondered what my daughter and Glenn were dreaming about, they slept so soundly. 

Eventually, my nerves 'perked' and I sat up.  Leaning forward, I peeked out the front screen.  A swirling dark mass seemed to lick the sandy shore like a giant mouth.  I felt like a crumb on a plate.

The creeping tide had not been anticipated, and I convinced myself that we were much too close to the shoreline. 

I felt sort of afraid to venture out, but I needed to see how close the water was.  I unzipped the tent door and crawled outside.  My senses felt consumed by the roaring water. It was so dark. I coulldn't accurately see the waves, but they seemed to be rushing directly up to my feet. 

I woke Glenn up. Katie heard us talking and she awoke and looked ouside at the rolling waves, too.  The three of us examined the shoreline.  Sand became damp under our feet, about seven steps from out tent. 

Being on a hill, Glenn decided that we were a safe enough distance away from the water and went back to sleep.  Katie and I strained our eyes to watch the waves in the dark- as they rushed toward our tent, and then receded. 

Our eyes played tricks on us; the water appeared closer than it really was.  We lay awake, worrying about this for a while, and then fell asleep. 

The warm sun, a gentle breeze and the sound of a peaceful surf welcomed our morning.

Water stained patterns, like finger marks left on a cookie jar, were evidence on our beach of the night before.  Scattered along the edges of the darkened sand were hundereds of beautiful shells.  Sand dollars, starfish and polished stones!

The ocean had unclenched it's many treasure filled fingers, releasing much beauty for us to discover and explore.  All morning we collected gifts from the sea, "noted' sea turtle nests, and watched the pelicans eat fish.

I feel hungry for another treat by the ocean.  But this time I'll park our tent a little farther back from the shore.