Boiled Peanuts, and Ewwww! Jelly Fish ...

Every summer my Mother, Daddy, big sister, and I would pack into the car and head south for our summer vacation.  First to Savannah, Georgia to visit my Grandparents, and then on to Ormond Beach, Florida for beach time!

This, of course, was before there was air conditioning in cars.  So down the road we would go with all the windows down, no seat belts, and a few snacks packed in the car with us.  The interstate wasn't complete at that time either, so most of the driving was on a two-lane, sometime four-lane highway.  The first hurdle for us was the trip across Monteagle in Tennessee.  Since my sister and I both got car sick going around a lot of curves, all four of us would be crammed in the front seat together for at least the 30 to 45 minutes it took us to cross Monteagle.  At the top of Monteagle was a gas station that we always stopped at to re-fuel and take a potty break.  I remember buying a tomahawk once in the attached gift shop, and when showing it to my sister I said, "Look!  A real Indian made it."  Her reply was, "Oh sure, I bet he's sitting right out back of the gas station making those up right now."  Daddy's reply, "It was, too, made by a real Indian."  I still have that tomahawk hanging on a hook in my computer room.  And, you know, I believe Daddy was right. I do think it was made by a real Indian.

Once we arrived at my Grandparents home, it was time for some real "spoiling" time.  Our favorite part of this portion of the trip was going to Tybee Beach.  Daddy would always buy us a bag of boiled peanuts, we would rent an "ocean" canvas float, and we would ride the waves all afternoon.  On one occasion, Daddy had just gone up on the beach when he heard me screaming bloody murder. The look on his face I will never forget.  He charged back into the ocean, scooped me up, and carried me to shore.  I had had the unfortunate happening of swimming through a school of jelly fish.  Up to the lifeguard stand I was taken, and my legs and arms were washed down with an antiseptic soap and water combination.  I don't think I have been more than knee deep in the ocean since that time. 

My Grandmother was a true southern belle.  I can remember to this day, her sitting on the beach, in her dress, pearls, and high heel shoes holding per parasol.   That is a vision that I am sure would not happen today.  Grandpa would be sitting right next to her in his tan slacks, plaid shirt, hair blowing in the wind, with a smile on his face as we all played in the sand and surf. 

We usually set up our beach digs just down from the pier.  Oh, how we wanted to walk out on that pier, and Mother would never let us.  She was so afraid that the pier would fall, for some unknown reason, and we would fall into the ocean. She was so deathly afraid of water.  That old pier actually did fall one season after we had left.  A hurricane hit that area and the pier was washed out.   There is a new pier in its place now, and just this past December I visited Tybee Beach for the first time since I was a teenager.  I walked out on that new pier, thought of my Mother's fears, and when I looked down the beach where we all used to sit, I could almost see my Grandmother sitting there with her parasol.  My sister was home in Indiana, and my parents and Grandparents are all gone now.  I had an intense sense of loneliness, as I realized I was the only one there out of our group.  But, then I also had a sense of such warmth and connection, when I realized I could visualize and feel it all.

After leaving Savannah on these trips, we would head further south to Ormond Beach, Florida.  This was time devoted to just my Mother, Daddy, sister, and me.  The little cottages where we stayed, Coral Sands, are still standing today.  They are nestled a few steps from the beach, with a gorgeous view down the beach and the incoming waves of the ocean.  There was also a swimming pool where we could swim and play when we grew tired of the salt and sand. 

The one constant to these wonderful beach trips was the Coppertone Suntan Lotion.  Mother would slather us two red-headed girls from head to toe in Coppertone.  Our fair skin burnt so easily.  To this day I still use Coppertone sun products.  Over the years I have used the oil, the 4 sunscreen lotion, the 15 sunscreen lotion, the 30 sunscreen lotion, and now in this time of my life the 45 sunscreen lotion. I think I have finally realized that I will NEVER have a tan.  I love the product and that is one of the reasons I use it, but I think the true reason I use it, to this day, is the memory that the scent of Coppertone washes over me.  I smell that wonderful smell, and I am transported to my youth, my family vacations, and the loving arms of my Grandmother and Grandpa.   I'm hungry for some boiled peanuts just thinking about it ... but let's leave the jelly fish behind!!

This is written in answer to the  challenge from The Red Dress writing club.  We were to write about a memory associated with a smell.