The waves pounded on the sand as the tide slowly crept further up the beach. A lone paddle boarder made his way across the horizon, moving slowly from North to South as he fought the current and tried desperately to maintain his balance.
On the shore, a family arrived and began to unpack their belongings. Like many families, they had over-packed and the kids were whining steadily as they struggled to carry their bags while walking across the hot sand.
Charlie, the youngest of the crew at 9, complained bitterly that he was not allowed to bring his iPhone to the beach. He had been progressing nicely through his favorite game, Boom Beach, during the car ride. He begged, threatened and cajoled his parents, but to no avail. Dad had made it clear that he wasn’t going to let sand get into the iPhone and ruin it. They had been through too many devices already.
Mom tried to interject and lighten the mood by suggesting fun games that they could all play in the sand and the water, but the ideas fell on mostly deaf ears.
On the other end of the beach, a small dog could be seen running through the surf. It was hopelessly chasing birds.