Crashing Waves at Cocoa Beach
Waves crash upon the shore at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach, Florida. And yes, that is Laura out in the waves.
During our October 2023 Florida trip, Laura and I spent a day at Cocoa Beach, one of our favorite places to spend a day. For most of the day it was cloudy and slightly cool, but that did not keep us from getting in the water, and it did not keep us from enjoying our day.
Despite the clouds, we made a whole day out of it, enjoying a picnic lunch, spending time in the water, spending some time on the shore, and then even having a nice seafood meal after we finished our beach time.
Under the Beach Umbrella
For our beach day, we set up our umbrella as we typically do. On this day, we almost could have done without it, because for much of the day the sun was behind clouds. But one of us can get a little bit of sunburn even on a cloudy day, so we had the umbrella just to be safe. It was windy enough that we usually folded down the umbrella when we were out in the water, too. I saw more than one umbrella get uprooted by the wind that day.
And as you can see, there were not that many people at the beach that day. There were several people, even though you can’t see them here, but not nearly as many as we are used to. It was interesting to compare a Tuesday in October to a typical summer day in June or July when we are usually there. This day was much more relaxed and laid back due to fewer people being there. No complaints about either a summer day or an October day, however. We are happy for any day at the beach.
Togetherness
Despite the clouds, the water really was not all that cold once you got used to it. And it would be difficult to keep Laura out of the water anyway. I believe she is part mermaid. She is always looking for an opportunity to get in the water. Of course, I don’t mind it either, which is why so many of our trips end up being somewhat water-based.
One ingredient to having a lasting marriage is to have things in common. Laura and I do not like exactly the same things, but we do have lots of shared interests. So we enjoy taking time to do things that appeal to our shared interests.
Sometimes we even have differences in our shared interests. For example, we both love the beach, but we love the beach in different ways. As I mentioned, Laura will stay in the water as long as she can. I enjoy getting in the water, but I also enjoy other things. Like taking photos, for example, which is why I have several photos of Laura in the water. I also don’t mind just sitting under the umbrella enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of being at the beach. So when we are at the beach, we do all of those things. We do lots of things together, and we do a few things separately, but it all still appeals to both of us.
That is true of so much that we do. I hear about people who spend much of their married life apart from each other, doing separate things, going on separate trips. I guess that works out okay for them, but I don’t think that is a good way to make a marriage grow.
My marriage advice, for which you did not ask: Spend lots of time together, doing things that you both enjoy doing. You will make great memories and strengthen your marriage at the same time.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. - Ephesians 4:32
About the Photos
As I often do, I wanted to give these photos bold, distinctive looks. I wanted them to stand out without looking too out of place. Lots of contrast and color saturation, with just a bit of dreamy haze for good measure.
I often like cloudy-day photos better than sunny-day photos because they can look just a bit more dramatic. There is not too much drama in these, but hopefully just enough to make them interesting.
Photo: Each photo is a single Raw exposure, processed in Raw Therapee and GIMP.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Rokinon 35mm f/1.8
Date: October 10, 2023
Location: Cocoa Beach, Florida
