Horseshoes Aren't Just for Good Luck

Horseshoes Aren't Just for Good Luck

introduction I had my best summer vacation when I was nine. I went to visit Gram, my great-grandmother, and I saw the ocean for the first time.

Life by the Sea I rode on a train from the city, all by myself. Gram and her friend Jim met me at the train station, and we drove to Gram's big gray house. In her small beach town, most people walked or rode bicycles. I even saw horse carriages!

Gram's house had a colorful flower garden and a big front porch. She told me to pick the bedroom I wanted, so I picked the yellow room. It had a window that faced the ocean.

My Summer Home It was very quiet in Gram's house, but I could hear the sound of the waves. I wanted to see them up close! I ran downstairs to go to the beach. Gram stopped me. She said I couldn't go to the beach alone until I had learned the rules of the sea. We took off our shoes and walked to the beach together.

Gram said I could walk along the beach between two rock jetties (JET-ees). The jetties were walls of rocks that helped to keep the beach sand from eroding (ih-RO-ding) away into the sea. Gram said not to go into the water unless she or Jim were with me. She told me about currents (KUR-ents). The currents were strong flows of water that could drag me far out into the ocean. I learned a lot. That night, moonlight streamed into my room. I went to sleep listening to the waves.