My Escape Place

Jenna G.

do you have a place?

Well, mine is the ocean. The ocean has always had a special spot in my heart. It’s somewhere where I’m comfortable and a place where I can have fun without worrying. I can remember the first time I went to the ocean. It was so huge, like an ant looking at a huge lake and this was kinda scary for my little 7 year old self. I remember carrying around my iPod doing vlogs of the ocean and showing around the place. Two years ago I found out my grandpa and dad had bought a condo in Oceanside, California.  The condo is very clean and has so many different decorations of the beach and ocean. There are two bedrooms 3 bathrooms and a huge kitchen, but the best part is the view of the ocean. The condo also has such a homey welcoming feeling to it. This is truly what helped me find that the ocean is my escape place, safe spot, and my home.

“Come on let’s go!” My mom says waiting for an answer on why my sister and I aren’t coming.

“One second”  I say quickly grabbing  my boogie board and grabbing a few snacks and water for everyone. “I’m coming!”

The walk from the condo isn’t long. We walk down the strand looking for an open spot on the beach to set up camp.
“There lets setup here!” I say with excitement

“Alright let's go there then.” my mom says

When we arrive at the beach I grab my boogie board and head for the water. The water is a deep blue color and the sand sparkles across for miles. When I first touch the water, I usually freeze because it’s so cold but as I move I get used to the water. I will boogie board for hours and hours. I never get bored. I never want to come in.   When I’m out there I sit on my boogie board daydreaming about anything. The breeze from the wind runs through my hair the air chilling my exposed skin. When I’m out there occasionally I will see fish jump out of the water and watch the surfs surf on waves taller than me. Sometimes my mom or friend will come out with me and we will go where our feet don’t touch and the waves are just so gentle, and talk for hours and hours until the sun begins to set. The more and more I go to the ocean the more comfortable I become with this place and the more I realize this place is my escape place.

If I’m not in the water I’m usually on the beach doing gymnastics or building sandcastles. We build all sorts of cool sand castles anywhere from big castles to a whole kingdom, and do all sorts of gymnastics. It’s always such a blast if I’m building sandcastles with my friends or if I doing gymnastics with someone.This isn't really what I prefer to do at the beach, but sometimes I have to take a break from being in the ocean because all the salt in the water irritates my eyes. Sometimes I will just lay on the beach and watch the waves crash, and slowly creep up to me.

When the waves start getting strong it’s time to head in. When we get back to the condo I take my wetsuit off, it takes forever. The wetsuit sticks to your skin. Taking off the wetsuit usually includes my mom struggling to pull as hard as she can at the suit and me yelling because I want it off. After I get my suit off I feel a relief and notice all the cuts where sand got into the swimsuit. After the intense struggle of getting my wetsuit off I sit out on the porch and watch the waves and the people walking by. Occasionally we might see a few dolphins swim by the condo jumping out of the water and riding the waves. It’s one of the most beautiful things you’ll ever see.

Eventually we will find out what we want for dinner. The best dinner is when my dad goes deep sea fishing and catches a fish. After we have our dinner sometimes we go to the harbor to get ice cream. The harbor sits right by the water and is the highlight of Oceanside. The harbor has been here forever and it’s always a tradition to go there every year. It is the best ice cream. We get our ice cream, I get caramel and coconut, my mom gets mint chocolate chip, my sister cotton candy, and my dad gets whatever he is feeling that day. Then we walk down to were all the boats are parked and find a bench to sit and eat our ice cream. We sit there and watch the sea lions swimming around and the sun sitting behind the ocean. We watch all the paddle boarders paddle into the sunset and the boats coming back into the harbor after there fishing trip. When we sit on the bench it's so peacefully the only sounds you can hear are the boats coming in, and the sea lions talking to one another. After we finish our ice cream we stay a little longer and talk about what the plan is for tomorrow and other random talk. Eventually we walk back to the car and drive to the condo.

Then it's time for bed I will take a shower and after you would think I was trying to make a sandcastle in the shower. All the sand that comes out of your hair shocks me. After I take a shower I get ready for bed. If we have company with us my sister and I sleep on the pull out bed. It’s so peaceful at night all you can hear is the ocean waves crashing.

The next day the same routine takes place. It’s always so sad when it time to leave. Leaving is hard it usually contributes looking around the condo 5 different times making sure we have grabbed everything. Leaving is hard it’s like leaving my home, my safe spot. As we leave I make sure to say goodbye to the ocean, and I think about what next time will bring.