Localizing 1.0 - Beach Bums

Thursday, May 31st, 2012  |   Posted by :  marybeth

When I was around ten years old my family lived in Brussels, in the Southern Door area, and my grandparents had a summer cabin in Jacksonport. On sweltering summer days my mom would suggest we head north for a swim. So my brothers and I would suit up, get our sunblock smeared on, and pack anything and everything that we thought would be fun on the beach, which often took upwards of an hour or more. Finally mom would load us into the station wagon and off we'd go.

After what seemed like two more hours (I'd wager it was probably about 25 minutes), we'd arrive in Jacksonport. Inevitably, we'd find that the weather on the lake side up north was a bit less sweltering than it had been farther south and inland. In fact, it would often be a good 15 or 20 degrees cooler... but that didn't stop us. Inner tubes and sand-castle equipment lay ignored on the sand as we, three skinny transplant kids, rushed the shoreline and flung ourselves into the waves with abandon.

Fifteen years later I finished college and returned to Door County with the intention of calling it home. Now I appreciate getting to the beach before the heat of the day recedes; I don't bother with the inner tube, but I still build the occasional sand-castle; and I still rush the water and try to body-surf the waves – though I was much more successful at the age of ten. As the off-season in Door County brings an end to beach days, I can't help but feel lucky that I get to stay on the peninsula when the snow birds fly south and the visitors find their way back to less magical places; I get to call Door County home.

~Marybeth Mattson