Paula's Paradise

You only get a handful of occasions to really justify wearing winter boots on Grand Bahama Island.

Yesterday was one of those days.

Unseasonably low temps in the upper 30s kicked off the day. Clear and a couple degrees warmer than our U.S. neighbor, Florida, (just 68 miles to the west), but still nippy for those of us more accustomed to the kind of warmth and humidity that keeps air conditioners running all through the summer and early fall.

But by mid-afternoon, the thermostat had buoyed up to what I like to call “Goldilocks” weather … not too hot, not too cold …. it’s juuuust right.

I picked up my daughter and her friends from school and decided we would savor this sumptuous high-blue sky, silky-sunshine, and flat-calm, low tide afternoon at a casual beachfront restaurant called Banana Bay. It’s a laidback, delightful place where boots are seldom seen, and shoes in general are quite optional …

We claimed a spot overlooking the wide beach, put in an order for some burgers and salads that the attentive staff cooked while the kiddos explored the eddies and sandbars that emerge at low tide …

… all sorts of shells and sea patterns, sea weed and driftwood glisten …

… a sturdy hammock slung between two palms becomes an imaginary high-seas swaying ship with some help from youthful imaginations …

and then the magic of the low-slanting rays of late afternoon sun start to glow …

bathing everything in a golden winter warmth …

glowing everywhere …

with a dazzling finale!

If you’re reading this from somewhere that’s seen more than your fair share of snow already … I do heartily apologize.

But I just had to capture the soft enchantment of this best-of-both-worlds kind of day. Boots and Beach. A taste of two winter paradises in one.

And if you are in the midst of a snowy winter wonderland type of paradise, please make a snow angel for me. I love snow angels. They’re best friends with the sand angels and mermaid angels that live here by the sea.

Enjoy the wonders of wherever you are. Tra-la.