Day at the Beach

I spent this last weekend at Sylvan Lake--pretty much Alberta's only beach town in this land-locked province. It's quite a popular spot year-round, but especially in the summer, and especially on a weekend like this last one where it was 30C (85F) the whole time!

Two friends and I enjoyed spending a chunk of Saturday and a chunk of Sunday on the beach and in the water. You will be pleased (intrigued? surprised?) to know that each of the four times we ventured into the water, I submerged myself of my own volition (the water was slightly colder than a cool swimming pool). And two of the four times, I actually swam. As in, propelled myself several metres at a time (mostly back stroke and flutter kick), occasionally in areas where my feet were not able to touch the ground. That's not to say it's going to be my newest hobby, but suffice it to say I was actually productive in the water.

I think the most interesting part of the weekend was people-watching while we were soaking up sun on the beach itself. I feel there's more diversity among people at a beach than in general public areas, and it's neat to see. Bodies are more exposed in bathing suits, so everyone's uniqueness is on display (whether it should be or not). Wow, that guy's hairy; oh, she has a cool tattoo; so that's 'pear-shaped'; she must tan at a spa somewhere, she has no tan lines; wish I could put my hair up like that; ooh, that looks red... And at the same time as I'm marveling at the diversity of people, I'm in materialistic awe at the diversity of bathing suits! Plain, checked, jewelled, striped. One-piece, two-piece, one-and-a-half-piece... Two girls had similar bathing suits (one a bikini, one a tankini)--they were black with little gold 'G's all over them. That would definitely work for me, I thought. Too bad the only thing I really liked about it was the 'G's.

Sunglasses are pretty wide and varied, too. A lot of people had what I call the "bug" sunglasses--those big huge-lensed ones. Very Hollywood-celebrity, but slightly on the insect side of things. One girl had glasses with lenses shaped slightly like guitar picks (pointy side down); those were awful.

I wish I had been more able to take in the conversational culture (that's a polite way of saying I wish I'd eavesdropped more). Most of the audible conversations around us were punctuated with profanity, and I quickly tuned out. I do have to admit, though, it was hard to hide a smile as I overheard (and discreetly observed) the guy next to us receive a ticket from the RCMP for alcohol possession. She found it in the guy's cooler. "But it's sealed!" the guy declared. Um, doesn't matter. I think watching this little scene was just as funny as when his friends returned and tried to make him feel better. "You can't get busted for public drinking if it's sealed." "No, she ticketed me for 'transporting liquor'." (...inaudible conversation...) "Well, I didn't know this was a Provincial area... I thought this was just a town..." Yeah, cuz THAT makes a difference when it's prohibited nation-wide... It was actually very tempting not to get involved.

...Anyway, it was a highly enjoyable weekend--warm beach-weather, fun water activity, gorgeous evening sunsets, and a great time away with good friends!