Backward Glance

A couple days ago on a walk around the block, I came across the end of a beach volleyball game in Crystal City. Couldn't resist snapping a photo of the sand. To heck with the game, it's the sand I love, the sand I crave. So, on this last day of summer ... a backward glance at this summer's beaches.

I had my Florida beach fix in August, days of sun and surf with tropical breezes and breathtaking sunsets.

And then, I took in a bonus beach in Bangladesh. Cox's Bazar is the longest natural beach in the world., and we managed to find a spare hour to visit it despite our crammed-full schedule.

I'm thinking of it now, the width and the breadth of it, the people and animals we met: a young girl selling shells, a labor trafficking victim who'd gotten a new start in life as a photographer, a merchant hawking pearls, a yellow dog.

It was a different kind of beach experience, no towels or chairs, no umbrellas, no skimpy suits. It was a rock-strewn beach with dark, hard-packed sand. But it was glorious just the same.