In accordance with tradition, one should not spend Christmas on a southern beach. There should be snow, fragrant pines and horse-drawn sleighs. There should be a real fireplace and wood smoke in the air. But this year, there were winter-like conditions on the beach and the feel of Christmas was alive and well.
Were it not for the palm trees and the pelicans, we might have thought we were on the Great Lakes. An air temperature of 41 degrees F and a strong northeast wind produced a wind-chill near 30 and forced us to don our sock hats and winter coats. Beach towels and umbrellas were left in the condo.
On the positive side, the beach was nearly devoid of humans; no loud radios, no wayward volley balls and no picnic debris blowing across the sand. Just the rumble of waves, the cries of gulls and the squeak of sand beneath our walking shoes. Not a bad place to spend the holiday. Merry Christmas to all!
