By the Sea

I love to be beside your side, beside the sea,
Beside the seaside, by the beautiful sea! 

From the song By the Beautiful Sea, from the musical "For Me and My Gal"

(Harold Atteridge / Harry Carroll) (1914)

Oh, what a beautiful vacation this has been! I did almost no sightseeing, but enjoyed myself nevertheless being a homebody and simply enjoying the views.

After Ottawa's long, grey winter and wet spring, I really enjoyed the gardens around our resort.
Does anyone know what these purple flowers are called? Coneflowers?

Steve went to the beach every day; Brian went most days (where he dug a trench with Steve). I went only twice, but enjoyed it when I did go.

Crystal Cove has a small historic neighbourhood of cottages that are quaint and tidy. (This was not where we were staying, but it was so pretty. I'm sure they cost a tidy sum as they are right on the ocean bluffs.)

Curiously, there was another row of cottages right down on the shore that were falling down from disrepair. I'm guessing that the State was eventually going to demolish them.

This place looks like it gained an addition every time a storm rolled in.

The following may be my favourite photo of the entire trip. At the time I took it, I wasn't sure how it would turn out. The camera's autofocus had a hard time finding anything to focus on, and the colours were all so washed out...

This absolutely captures the peacefulness we feel here.

And tonight, our last night here, Steve and I went down to the Cove for a date. While he parked the car, I snapped some more sunset pictures because, kitschy as they are, I just can't get over sunsets. They always grab me.

The colours never got very strong, because of the clouds, but I watched them fade to grey as they played taps, and I took those moments to remember our fallen.

Finally, we went in for dinner - and a wonderful meal it was!

Not surprisingly, I found myself thinking, "Wouldn't it be wonderful to look at the ocean or a big lake every morning? Maybe we should retire to a house on the water." It's something we've talked about. But, in the end, I think part of what makes this so magical for us is that it is the exception.

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The following clip is the version of "By the Beautiful Sea" with which I am familiar. It was on one of the kids' favourite videos when they were young. This song runs through my head whenever I go to the ocean.