One thing I have neglected to mention in all my recent posts about the beach on St. Simons Island.  Whenever I think of going someplace with a beach, I always imagine myself sitting on the sand reading a book, watching the waves, wading into the water from time to time.  My reality is usually quite different from my fantasies.  I love sand and ocean and watching the waves.  I also like to sit in the shade.  And Tom Hartley allows very little time for sitting.

But Tom and I visited the beach on St. Simons Island frequently.  It is a beautiful, wide beach.  The ocean is very shallow here and the beach stretches on and on, especially at low tide.  There are runnels and tide pools to explore.  Several large creeks and one river enter the ocean along the beach which makes for interesting sand formations.  There are lots of sand bars.  Usually the waves break far away on the horizon, so the beach is ideal for small children just getting used to the water.

Tom and I love walking on the beach here.  There are several entrances with nice sized parking lots.  But the beach on St. Simons Island is not the mass of tourists that you see on other beaches.  There is only one beachfront hotel.  Homes are set on the other side of the protective dunes.  No matter what time we went to the beach, we passed more shorebirds than people, and there was plenty of elbow room.

You can rent a kayak but not a SeaDoo, so it is lovely and quiet on the beach.  The sand bars cause power boats to keep their distance from the shore.  No one sells anything or rents chairs or umbrellas.  You have to go inland to buy something to eat but plenty of people bring picnics.

Tom and I will certainly spend more time at the beach on St. Simons Island next year.  I may be able to talk Tom into letting me sit and read a book for a while.  He has been itching to build something in all that sand.