The ocean waves are calm on the beach as the sun rises in the morning from behind the eastern mountain range. The sun rises above the ocean and I can hear the sound of the waves. As the seagulls casually float on the water, a cool breeze is in the air. All is calm, quiet and peaceful. The serene quiet is only enhanced by the sound of the ocean waves and the chirp or tweet of birds.
It’s mid-morning and families are out with their children building sand castles on the beach: using plastic buckets to scoop up sand for castle turrets and gathering water to make the sand more compact. The dry, warm sand sifts through their hands and falls onto their legs. The delicate touch of shaping the castle to perfection takes time. When the sand castle is complete, the children build a barrier around it to block it from being washed away by the ocean waves.

Saturday afternoon the beautiful ocean waters are coming farther onto the sand. The waves are bigger and are moving violently. People are on the beach, some walking their dog and some flying kites in the air. The kites blow wildly up in the air and their colors of blues, pinks, greens and purples are dazzling. The designs on the kites create a beautiful masterpiece. As they blow in the wind, the person on the ground is struggling to hang on to the reel that is casting it up in the air. As the kites fly with their beautiful designs of stripes, circles and birds, other people on the beach stop and gaze up at them. The people on the beach look like they are having fun.

I can hear the seagulls calling to each other and the waves crashing. The ocean smells salty and fishy. Seagulls walk on the sand and fly over the ocean. The beautiful ocean waters can be seen for miles.

The sun shines brightly on the ocean waters creating a beautiful picture of blue and yellow hues. As I walk the beach with sand between my toes, I notice starfish are clung to rocks in the tide pool. Some people are taking pictures of the starfish in the tide pools. The ocean waters feel cold and smooth over my feet. The sand feels soft under my feet and they sink into the sand.

Eventually, evening approaches and people gather on the beach to build a fire. As I admire the purple and orange brilliant sunset, I notice friends huddled around burning firewood with marshmallows ready to roast. The hot fire warms the people surrounding it and with coals glowing, the marshmallows are extended by stick over the fire. Golden brown marshmallows, Hershey chocolate and a graham cracker make a perfect smore. The most enjoyable part about a roasted marshmallow is the gooey inside and the crunch outside. I can smell the fire and delicious marshmallow and chocolate and see the blaze of the fire. My senses are consumed and I find myself partaking in their delight.

The sun is setting gradually and in a few minutes will be below the horizon. The brilliant colors I witnessed just above the horizon minutes earlier are now growing dim, like a bright rainbow fading away. Everyone on the beach watches and some pull out their cameras to capture the experience on film. As the sun sinks below the horizon the waves continue to crash and seagulls begin to slowly disappear. Fires slowly stop burning and the beach is gradually cleared of all people.
One thing remains, the beautiful ocean waters and the sand of the beach. The moon shines brightly in the nighttime sky and stars twinkle. The powerful white waves reveal their unique character: always changing, always the same. This force of nature continues to gracefully move under the nighttime sky. Peaceful sounds of the ocean are heard from miles away. Everyone can enjoy the remarkable sight of the ocean and its peaceful waves whooshing and sloshing as they fall asleep.
The night is silent and peaceful, and the only sound that remains is the sound of the ocean. Starfish in tide pools rest in the water. One final sound is heard and that is the sound of a bird chirping and waves accompanying it in the distance.