Walking on Goose Rocks Beach
Submitted by Ann Corby
Walking on Goose Rocks Beach is a ritual I’ve enjoyed for twenty-six years. Sometimes I walk the whole beach, end to end, and sometimes I walk half the beach in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. Sometimes my walk is short and choppy, accompanied by family members, large and small. Often these family members are flying kites or carrying buckets they are filling with shells. When I am alone, I walk with purpose, at a rapid clip, occasionally reminding myself to enjoy the views, to stop to look out at the ocean for sailboats, kayaks, or a beautiful sunrise or sunset. I also enjoy walks with neighbors, slow walking neighbors and fast walking neighbors, but neighbors who want to share the enjoyment of a good walk and a good talk on the most beautiful beach in the world.
Over the years, I have enjoyed the exhilaration of Goose Rocks Beach walks, but I have also walked off my concerns. I have been known to drive from my town in Massachusetts to Goose Rocks Beach after a bad day at work, when only a walk on the beach would clear my head enough to solve an impossible issue. I have also made the drive to the beach when the day was simply too beautiful to enjoy anywhere else.
When our house is crowded with Goose Rocks Beach loving family members and I feel a bit crowded, I walk to the east end of the beach at low tide when the waves are washing over one another, crisscrossing and tripping over each other. That walk is a pilgrimage for me, almost like a prayer. At the end of the day, it is the most peaceful place in the world. Sometimes I see surfers in the distance, also enjoying the beauty of the beach in their own way.
I enjoy the playfulness of the beach, my grandchildren squealing, running, chasing each other, burying each other in the sand. I love to sit on the sand with a good book or chat with friends or family in a circle of beach chairs. Walking on Goose Rocks Beach, however, is a cherished ritual. It is good for my body and good for my soul.