June at Experienced Goods
By Jennie Reichman ~ As temperatures climb and summer becomes a real possibility, I perform the annual ritual of trying on last year’s shorts and bathing suits to see if they still fit. It's never a pleasant task (too many Christmas cookies! Too much cheese!), but it turns my thoughts to beaches, their differences and similarities, and how almost anywhere in the world and across cultures, a beach is a place to throw off responsibilities, relax, play, let the warm sand and gentle murmur of moving water dissipate stress and worry.
The ocean beaches of my childhood in Oregon were wide and long, littered with driftwood, shells and sea-polished stones that I would spend hours collecting and sorting, gem-like when wet, duller when dry, but treasure for the taking. Occasionally if I was lucky I would come across a glass ball, snarled in a nest of seaweed or wedged under a sun-bleached log, sometimes with a piece of fishing net still attached. These were hollow floats that Japanese fishermen tied to their nets and that had come loose, rolled and bobbed through thousands of miles of frigid Pacific ocean waters and miraculously washed up unbroken on our western shores. They came in various sizes, from small as a tangerine to big as a beach ball, like the one my mom found and that I still have displayed in my front hall. Oregon beaches were uncrowded and perfect for walking for miles; windy, salty ribbons of sand with rugged dunes on one side dotted by a few houses, some of which would lose their front porches to winter storms, the price of building too close to the water. Our vacation trailer was positioned several hundred feet back from the dunes, tucked among scrubby pines and huckleberry bushes, a respectful distance from the ocean’s winter fury.
East Coast beaches, however, have a completely different aesthetic. The summer crowds on Cape Cod notwithstanding, I’ve fallen in love with the rocky, jagged coastline of northern New England, especially along the coast of Maine: Its tiny scoops of beach between towering cliffs, volcanic floes turned to basalt fingers frozen across the sand, makes me think of dragons sleeping, each inhalation and exhalation of stony breath a century in the passing. Maine does not have the open, expansive beaches of Oregon, but it thrills me with its rugged beauty, rich with history and tradition. I can almost hear sea shanties and the creak of schooners’ rigging wafting on the wind.
“Beach” can mean different things to different people, but say the words “Beach Party” and I bet you think of umbrellas, cold drinks, lively music on a tinny radio, bathing suits, sunburns, children laughing and shrieking as they run in and out of the water. Maybe Elvis Presley and Annette Funicello dancing in the sand. That scenario will be coming to deeply inland Brattleboro on June 11 as Center for Solace hosts a beach-themed dance party to raise funds for the organization. Remember the disco inferno a couple of months ago? Same idea, but put away the sequins and polyester and pull out those Hawaiian shirts and boldly printed dresses and prepare to limbo. Well maybe not limbo, but bring your beachy moves and nautical grooves to the Saxtons River Distillery, Thursday, June 11, from 6-8 pm. No tropical clothes in your closet? Experienced Goods has you covered! As I open summer boxes of clothing from storage, I am finding so many fun, brightly colored shirts, dresses, skirts, pants and shorts that will make your winter-weary eyes very happy. We’ve put together a rack of beach-themed clothes to make your party shopping easier, and we are adding to it every day.
Traveling this summer? We have a wide variety of luggage and gear for the journey, as well as so many good summer reads in our book room. I am taking a trip to visit a friend in Nebraska in July, and I am already planning what book I am going to take along for all those hours sitting in airports. Even if your summer plans only take you as far as the hammock in your backyard, good books are essential for summer relaxation.
We are lucky to be experiencing early summer temperatures as May slips into June, and so much beautiful Vermont greenery. Get outside and enjoy this glorious season, travel safely, play full-heartedly, slow down, relax and if you can, get to the beach!