Beach memories

I came across this picture of my father and grandmother at Crescent Beach when I would have been about six years old. My father is putting the pole for beach umbrella into the sand while my grandmother observes. I swear, as I looked at that picture I could smell the slightly powdery scent of the my grandmother and then the seaweed and the saltwater.

I still kinda wish I’d taken the beach umbrella when we emptied my grandparents’ house but my mother convinced me I was insane. I did take the picnic basket we always used. I still have it somewhere but it’s rather fragile these days. The other day I was trying to remember the different kinds of half sandwiches wrapped in wax paper that we’d have for lunch at the beach. There was egg salad and tuna salad. What else, Debbie? I know sometimes we’d have classic Maine Italian sandwiches. My grandmother was too frugal to buy them so she would make them herself. They were too fancy for me with things like black olives so I got a simple one just for me. Then plums or peaches, a thermos of lemonade and cookies…either Lorna Doone’s or those ridged coconut cookies. All of that came flying back to me when I saw this picture.

Here’s a picture of my grandfather at the beach. There’s the picnic basket! This is before Crescent Beach, well, before me as well.