Horseshoes Aren't Just for Good Luck

Horseshoes Aren't Just for Good Luck

Introduction I had the best summer ever when I was nine years old. That was the summer I went to visit Gram, my great-grandmother, who lived at the seashore. I had never seen the ocean before. Dad hoped I would love visiting there as much as he had when he was a kid.

Life by the Sea I did so many new things! Dad took me to the train station for my first train ride, and I took the train by myself from the city. Towns and countryside went by outside the window. Gram and her friend Jim met my train at the station. We drove out to her large old home in the little beach town where she lived. Her town was very different from the city. Most people walked or rode bicycles instead of driving cars. I even saw horse-drawn carriages!

While Gram was making dinner, I climbed the creaky wooden stairway up to the second floor to pick which bedroom I wanted. Each bedroom had different-colored wallpaper. As soon as I looked out the window in the yellow room, I knew it was the room I wanted. I could see sand, birds, blue sky, and ocean waves!

My Summer Home It was much quieter here than in the city- there were no horns and no sirens--but I could hear the sound of the waves. I had to go see the ocean up close! I ran downstairs and said, “ I'm going out to the beach. " Gram stopped me and said I needed to learn the rules of the sea before I could go to the beach alone. We left our shoes on the porch and walked down to the beach together. The rough sand tickled under my toes.

Gram showed me the long shoreline between two rock jetties (JET-ees). The jetties were long walls of rocks that stretched out into the ocean. Gram said the town had built them years ago to prevent the beach sand from eroding (ih-RO-ding) away with the tides. Gram told me to remember the rules in order to be safe. She said not to go into the water unless she or Jim were with me. She told me about currents(KUR-ents) and the undertow. They were strong flows of water that could drag me far out into the ocean. She said if I respected and followed the rules of the sea, I would learn to love the ocean. I already loved the crisp, salty smell in the air. The waves rolling, rolling, rolling onto the shore lulled me to sleep that night.