NaBloPoMo 6: Baby Beach

My entire life I have loved the ocean. I respect it for its magnitude, strength and power. But, I also fear it. Most of my life I wore either glasses or contacts for severe myopia (nearsightedness - the inability of the eye to focus on distant objects) so swimming was never a strong suit of mine and limited me from learning to surf. When I graduated from college I had lasik surgery. But, even now with 20/25 vision I am still scared to swim in the ocean. I love playing in the surf and I love snorkling, but something holds me back ... maybe the unpredictability of the tides and what lies underneath?

This fear has transfered to Little 'Ny. She is so scared of waves and the sound of them crashing on the sand. The first day in Maui she wouldn't even come down to the "wet" sand in fear that the waves would get to her. So, it was a miracle that she went in the water at Hookipa Beach even though it took her 3 hours to get the courage.

I wanted to make sure she got back in the ocean again before our trip was over. We planned on heading back to Hookipa Beach, but with the trade winds blowing the surf was a bit rough. A sales assocaite at Simmer Surf Boutique suggested we head over to a beach the locals call Baby Beach.



Access to this beach is not right off the main road. You have to drive through residential side streets and down a hidden road. Or else, you have a very long walk from the main beach. The spectacular thing about this beach is the rock wall that is about 20+ feet off the shore. It blocks the waves from crashing on the sand creating almost a lagoon or large, shallow swimming pool. The water is warm and clear. The sand is soft with very little shells, rocks or coral. Small schools of tiny fish swim around, but not many. It is not very crowded since you can't just paddle out to surf. The majority of people there are locals with their kids who are learning how to balance on their surf board or just enjoy a nice swim.



This was the perfect beach. She didn't even have to "warm up" to going in.



At one point we even put her googles on so she could swim under the water. Unfortunately, the taste of the salt water was not very appealing to her.



It was a spectacular day at that beach! Little 'Ny did not want to leave even though we could tell she was exhausted and in need of a nap. Next year we will have to go there at least 3 times! Maybe we will even get her a foam surf board ... maybe one for me too!