Stuart Beach Brings Out The Little One In You
After the wondrous beauty of Point Reyes and especially the isolated splendour of Limantour Beach, landing up on Stuart Beach in Galveston, Texas, was a bit of a letdown. I don't know what I was expecting - Probably something more in terms of facilities to make up for the beauty factor, but it was a letdown in terms of amenities too.
But its not all bad - I succumbed to the one thing I've been fighting against, from Seattle to San Francisco. Building sandcastles on the beaches I visit, because I just didn't have the time for it. And it brought back fond memories from when I was a little toddler with a runny nose. Stuart Beach, other than the usual sun worshippers, had more than its fair share of families with little ones scampering about fooling around on the water's edge. Its pretty peaceful, and just laying back observing a family close by hard at work building a sandcastle took me back in time - To an age of innocence when the summer holidays stretched out infinitely and it was all about today - there were no worries about tomorrow. Every day was a joy and a vehicle for further discovery. All I seem to do now is worry about the future - career, life, mortgage payments, sex, the economy, global warming, elections and God knows what else.
Anyway, before this gets out of hand, the point is that for some reason, Stuart Beach induced me to join in on the fun, and I have to admit that I haven't felt so good, or care free, in a long time. Those few hours spent on the beach - sandcastling, relaxing and just plain introspection - made a big difference. You know, even if you are able to forget all your problems for a short time, you end up feeling much better. And for that, Stuart Beach gets a lot of points. Maybe it was just me, or maybe the beach has that effect on others too.
Point is, I'm supposed to rate the beaches, and it may not have the family-friendly facilities and cheap hotels offered by other places like Myrtle Beach. However, by accident or design, Stuart Beach was a great beach experience. The kind of relaxing day out you aim for, but very seldom achieve. Who cares about the lack of washrooms or the fact that parking is $8 or that renting a beach umbrella and chairs costs you $25. I'd happily pay twice these amounts if I was offered the kind of day I actually ended up having.
