Beach, awards, graduation

Yesterday, the elementary students celebrated beach day.  This occasion takes place every year and includes food over the fire, beach combing, various sports, and an occasional swim.  The whole experience was sublime.  We loaded up the bus, were driven to the "trail head" (a sticky four-wheeler/two-track path), and hiked down to the beach.

I always wondered what it would be like to take young kids down that muddy, slippery, long trail.  In the past I have went with a six and 15 year old without incident, but a whole group?  The kids were just fine, in fact, I was the turtle...

Once the kids hit the beach, they tore off into a sprint in many directions.  Some threw their belongings down in the sand and began stripping down into capris and tank tops.  I was wondering how a similar field trip would go down in the lower 48, until my thoughts were interrupted with, "Teacher, will you hold the towel for me so I can put on my swimsuit?"  Let me illustrate the weather here.  We've had a pretty mild winter, most days were in the upper thirties.  Yesterday, it was in the upper forties, possibly 50's.  The NOAA website claimed that the water was 40 degrees.  Yet, these kids did not refrain from kicking off their shoes and walking into straight into the ocean as if we were in Mexico.  Apparently, I have not acclimated to the point to possess this ability here; though I am comfortable without a jacket outdoors now.

Later in the evening we attended an awards banquet with a great potluck.  Anytime there is a potluck here the whole town comes out with marvelous dishes--nobody goes hungry.  The ceremony went well, kids received medals, and everyone seemed to go home proud and happy.  We didn't end up leaving until after 10 p.m. yet the sky was lit as if it was still day time, only the exhaustion from the day reminded my internal clock that bedtime was much needed.

Lastly, there was an eighth grade/senior graduation tonight.  Only five kids graduated so whole the event had a more intimate feel than that of my own graduation.  There was a sideshow of each student, speeches of course, and flowers were handed out to audience members by each of the grads to honor the significance each had played in their lives.

Three school days left and boy is it zipping by.

Walking down the path towards the beach.  At this point we have quite a bit more to go.  The path curves to the right and the trail is adjacent to very tall cliffs.

Sand dollar mound.  Do you see it?  It is the tiny mound in the upper center of the picture below the last of the foot reflection.  Don't feel bad if you can't see it.  I couldn't at first either.  BUT...  In this particular picture, this is my first sand dollar find.

Sand Dollar.  They are found at low tide 3-4" below the sand.  They are brown in color  if they are alive and are white if the living tissue is absent (since its skeleton is the only thing remaining)--I did not know this until yesterday.  I would also like to add, it was terrifying to dig into the sand not knowing what might be under the surface.  It was necessary to dig without tools since the sand dollars are very fragile. 

Puerto Rican beach trip--- just kidding, Sand Dollar beach trip.  These girls walking barefoot in the sand.  The clouds behind them weren't warm Care Bear clouds either, they were spritzing on us every now and then with very cold rain. 

The chocolate orb in the center of the screen is a .Bidarki, pronounced By-dar-key.  It is a crustacean found on rocks by the ocean during low tide.  Not to be confused with Bidarka pronounced By-dar-kuh, which means kayak or canoe around these parts.  The Bidarki may be pried off a rock using a knife and the inner meat may be consumed raw or cooked.  These palm sized guys sometimes contain eggs that are supposed to be even better than the fleshy part.  The lower shell, not pictured, can be taken off  made into jewelry.  Nate ate one while at the high school beach trip today and said the flavor was reminiscent of clam.

Sandals on a beach, located on an island in the Aleutian chain, in Alaska, in May.  They say a picture speaks a thousand words, yet this image is misleading.  A viewer might see it and think, ahh, suntanned toes dancing in warm waters.  From my perspective, though it wasn't consistent with others was quite different.  My thoughts when I took this picture were...  And keep in mind I had tall rubber boots on with tall wool socks, three shirt layers, and a windproof coat.  "Oh, there are their shoes, oh jeez where did that wind come from, why didn't I bring my hat?"