“In still moments by the sea life seems large-drawn and simple. It is there we can see into ourselves.”
-Rolf Edberg
Wonder-full really has a hold on me this year…
…and all that talk about Port Isaac stirred up a mad craving for the coast.
So we went.
We caravanned to our favorite island with our neighbors, the Popes.
There’s something extra special about the company of close friends at the beach, don’t you think?
For the most part, the sun stayed hidden above the clouds while we were there, but I have a feeling the colors will be one of our fondest memories.
All of my favorites were there: soft grays, whites, blues, browns, greens. Like all the gulls wings were dipped in watercolor.
The wind was especially strong the first couple of days. Kite surfers flew around for hours, jumping off the dark surf curling and creaming beneath them.
When the tide was out, loose sand whipped fast across the hard, swervy surface left behind by the waves. It looked other-worldly!
On the calmest morning (the day before we left to come home), we met Captain Rene and her boat over at our friend Diane’s dock.
She took us for a ride out through the misty marsh. I had forgotten how pin drop peaceful it was out there.
And the old osprey nest we first saw from her boat five years ago?
It’s home to a family of eagles now:
Those photos. [sigh] Billy snapped them. I get a lump in my throat every time I see that second one. What a powerful reminder that faith is our wings, not something we carry. [Isaiah 40:31]
The fog was thick and full of light around Sliver Island. (I nicknamed it “Sliver” because of how tiny it is- it’s actually a part of Little Tybee.) One minute we couldn’t see anything at all, and then POOF! There were pelicans!
They took to the air when they realized we were coming ashore.
For one whole hour, it was just us and the tiny island.
The foggy marsh on one side, the cold silver sea on the other. We walked, and talked, and stuffed our pockets full of as many scallops, whelks and lettered olives as we could fit.
We found iridescent pen shells, horseshoe crab shells, and beautiful oyster shells that were longer than our hands. The driftwood “sculptures” were my favorite. So big and breathtaking I *almost* had to ask Captain Rene if there was any way we could bring one of them home. [grin] Oh, and the sand dollars! Good gracious! They were everywhere!
It was thrilling, all that discovering!
(Captain Rene’s sea dog, Fiddler. She loves to go out on the boat, too!)
It can be a little scary for me to venture out to that kind of place, (uninhabited, surrounded by water, etc) but I’m telling you, something special happens when you go somewhere like that.
You are lifted into a state a grace…and it is Wonder-full.
PS- Billy: thank you for taking so many beautiful photos, and Mermaid Cottages & Sundial Charters: y’all rock, too! 🙂
What beautiful photographs! Looks idyllic!
Layla, you should make a little coffee table book of these images for yourself and name it Wonder-Full! Beautiful pictures that would look good on canvas too!! ~Kim
I just want to go to the beach now. It just shows that you don’t need sun to have a beautiful beach day.
Wow, wow, WOW!!! Love those shots of the eagles’ nest! And those pelicans – how cool!! Just stunning! Glad you had such a great time!
I think it is great you were able to experience your trip in this light. What beauty the “grey” days brought. What a still, calming, and eye opening experience this would have been. I love to be reminded of the unimaginable beauty God created. Growing up on a lake (MI) I am not familiar with sand dollars. (However, very familiar with “Petoskey Stones”!) I knew what they were but rarely see them. What beauties! Thank you for sharing!
I’m from Michigan, too, near Lake Michigan–I want to go there for a hike this week, but I won’t be wearing shorts and I won’t see sand dollars … but I will experience a similar sense of peace. Thanks for the virtual trip to the ocean, Layla.
What a beautiful post of AMAZING photos and inspirational words! I, too, grew up along the shore of Lake Michigan. There is nothing better than being surrounded by nature’s perfect color palette-the water, the sand & the sky. Thank you for sharing what is “Wonder-Full” to you.
Loved the pictures….so peaceful.
oh layla, these photos are spectacular. simply stunning!
people think i am crazy, but i prefer a grey day to a sunny day. perhaps it is because i am too pale and burn easily, perhaps it is because sweating doesn’t make me happy, but i just adore the muted tones that grey days bring. way to capture the beauty! #welldone
You guys are wearing shorts it looks like! Is it shorts weather?
Everything is still very frozen up here…
Maryjane
Layla,
The picture of your sand dollars reminded me of a family trip to the coast. The grandchildren searched and searched for sand dollars to no avail. My daughter and her husband went to town, bought sand dollars and buried them on the beach for the grandsons to find. They were so excited to at last have some.We never told the secret and we couldn’t wipe the smiles from our faces. One day soon you will have a little hand in yours walking with you on the beach searching for those sand dollars. Sigh..I cannot wait to see those pictures.
What a soul inspiring place…. so happy to tag along…
Sweet times, friend.
So serene. Beautiful. Love it.
Tybee – my very special happy place. This week I see a lot of my FB friends have gone to Tybee and I am aching to get there… A piece of heaven on earth.
Today..your blog..delighted me and brought tears to my eyes..
Do you realize Layla, ever since you told us first about Tybee Island, I have been longing for this place..perhaps one day the Lord will make the way.
In the mean time you have brought it to us..so thank you…and for sharing the photos your friend took, for quotes which spoke of rest and grace to my weary soul this morning, in” still covered in snow Canada”.
I am dreaming that one day, we can turn our unfinished basement in a cottage style, and somewhere on a map, I will frame the Tybee Island you have shared.
God bless..
Hi Layla!
I have to tell you…my husband and I vacationed on Tybee (based on your blog posts about it) about a month ago for the first time and fell in love! We stayed in one of the Mermaid’s cottages (Nora’s) and did the exact charter with Dave (Rene’s husband) out to “Sliver Island”! I must’ve found 30+ sand dollars that day! I wished I could’ve stayed on that little island all day! Dave was wonderful, giving us a full tour through the marsh, showing us the eagle’s nest (amazing, huh?) and taking us over to the driftwood graveyard! All the while, dolphins following alongside the boat! Coming from snowy Massachusetts, it was a real reprieve to visit Tybee and enjoy all that it has to offer! I cried when it was time for us to leave. I didn’t want to go and I’m a total homebody, so that tells you something! My husband says I haven’t left Tybee since we got back (in my mind). I have dreams about all the cottages pretty regularly and about going to Sundae Café! Gosh, we had such a blast! My mom and I are going back for four days in October and it seems like a lifetime away!
Thank you for “bringing us Tybee”, I would’ve never known about it if I had not read your words about this magical place!
Tybee Island and the surrounding area is one of my peaceful serene happy places! Thank you for sharing this beautiful post, images and quotes. it tranorts me to the most beautiful place.
Thank you, Sandy. I am so glad you enjoyed the e-trip to Tybee! 🙂
I adore these photos … mostly because they make me slow down and enjoy as I’m sure you have been. Simple beauty. Love!
Thank you, Jennifer! XO
Now I have a mad craving for the coast! Thanks for taking me there through the photos. Beautiful.
Thank for the sweet e-getaway. It is just what my soul needed today. Layla I love how you share your sweetness, love of things and issues with us. You are the type of e-friend that equals friend therapy for me. Thanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness! “Faith is our wings, not something we carry”!!!!!! That is such amazing insight into Isaiah 40:31! And that photo of the eagle mounting up is fabulous. Can we purchase copies of it? Thank you so much for another beautiful post. 🙂
What a special spot and absolutely stunning photos! The eagles are amazing!
Gorgeous shots! I especially am smitten with the one of the foggy tree/nest!!!!
Lovely place, so relaxing. That boat made from junk is so cute!!!
I got home late tonight, mentally drained, after a 16 hour long day. Although I had a few hours of work I still needed to do, I decided to just give myself a little break first and check out my favorite blog, YOURS. 🙂 Wow…this beautiful, relaxing post was just what I needed! I gazed at every picture for a long time, imagining myself there and thinking about some beach memories of my own. Thanks for the little virtual vacation! Gorgeous photos and gentle descriptions that helped me meander through them. 🙂
Thank you for sharing tybee island
I am so ready to go there and now that you have shared all the sand dollars and things to find I am ready ! I love the old cottages but would need to stay somewhere less expensive any ideas ! I know your not a travel agent but it seems yall are pretty thrifty!
Love the photos too !
Mindy
I have an uphostery junk shop in Cecil right down the road from yall on Vaughn rd and it needs a face lift how do you charge to do it on the presto ? If you need some uphoster cushions etc maybe we can barter!
I cried….beautifully touching piece! Thank You.
Such gorgeous pictures. I need to get to the beach!
I so love Tybee Island! And, I just booked our family vacation there! I can’t wait! Thanks for sharing your photos. I know now I made the right decision to book there instead of some place else.
Oh my goodness, what beautiful photographs! That one of the sand and sky – where does the water end and the sky begin?! And the pelican – is that a photo or a painting?
Beautiful post!!!
You really outdid yourself on this one! 🙂
I love the photos, especially the birds. I live by the beach in SoCal, but there’s something about the rugged, colder places.
Those bald eagle photos are stunning. We saw one in flight on our kids’ spring break vacation in eastern Oregon and they never cease to amaze me.
Your photos are beautiful! And, goodness, so many sand dollars! I find myself in the mountains now, but I have a soft spot for the beach. This makes me want to go back… like now. 🙂
Beautiful photographs! What a wonderful place to visit. Are those sand dollars live? Are they white when you find them or do they have to be bleached?
There is something about the beach, the solitude even when there are people around, the crashing of the waves, the mighty expanse of the ocean, all the beauty of God’s creation, that just draws me in a bit closer to Him. Your pictures took me there today – thanks friend…
I would love to order a print of that shot of the Pelicans first one). Is the photographer offering them for sale?