Beware of Loose Sand

Yesterday was Beach Day. The Lone Star Baby was super-excited. We got a pretty late start and then, when we got to the beach, our car got stuck in the sand - really, super, very stuck. Sand all the way up to undercarriage stuck. Various combinations of Lone Star Pa, the Lone Star Girl and I pushing while one of us (not the LSG) accelerated did not help. Several people gathered to assist. Two men in particular spent a long time and a lot of muscle helping. I was already calling AAA to come rescue us when, between the two men and the LSG and LSP, the car was finally freed! We could have never done it without the help of those men. It is so nice to meet nice, helpful people like that - sort of renews your faith in humanity. My faith in humanity has been at sort of a low ebb the last couple of years, so I need experiences like this.

Lone Star Pa actually feels a strong calling to help stranded motorists himself, something I have not ever fully understood, since he is not like that in all situations. When the next-door neighbors' house alarm goes off, I generally go investigate and call their cell myself, and when an elderly neighbor heard a noise that scared her the other day, I went and poked around her house to make sure no one was there alone. I take meals to people in need, etc. - he never really participates in these neighborly duties. If someone has car trouble, however, he is there. And it's not that he's into cars - neither of us know anything much about cars. He just really feels led to help motorists in trouble. We all have our missions in life.

As soon as we got unstuck and turned onto the beach access road, another car got stuck. Lone Star Pa went to help them. This is the first year we've ever really had these problems. Usually, there are a few areas where you obviously shouldn't go if you don't have the cars with major traction, but this year it is like the whole island is like that. I don't know what happened - it's like someone dumped a bunch of loose sand all over it. The Lone Star Baby, not a generally laid back sort of person, was so extremely good throughout our little crisis and then started melting down when it was over from too long in the hot car and fear that we now wouldn't get to go to the beach. We assured her that we were going and found a place where we could park on the side of a beach access road and haul our gear the short trek through loose sand to the waterside. More people were getting stuck all day.