saltysummers

[saltysummers]

About Me:

My name is Madison but everyone usually calls me Maddy. I live in Rhode Island. I am a sophomore at the University of Rhode Island studying public relations with a focus in social media. My birthday is in April. I’m an Aries. 

I have an older sister, Jennah, who is 22. She also goes the the University of Rhode Island and is studying nutrition. 

Jennah (left) and I (right) getting buried in the sand when we were kids

I love art, writing, surfing and coffee. I also love TV shows. My favorite show is Glee. I hope to move to the west coast in the future. For now, i’m enjoying my time living in narragansett with my two roommates. 

I have a dog back home named Sammy. He is 12 and he is my best friend. 

Sammy

I love the ocean. I don't know if I could ever live in a place that is far away from the ocean. I grew up on the water and subsequently cannot imagine life without it. 

Me on a boat when I was a little over a year old. 

[saltysummers]

Block Island 2020

This summer my cousin from southern California came to visit for over a week. We did lots of fun stuff, but notably we went to Block Island for my cousin Lexa’s 20th birthday.  We got up at the crack of dawn so we could drive 50 minutes to Point Judith to catch the ferry. 

When we got off the boat, we went right to the place we had rented mopeds from. We got three mopeds. Each driver had a passenger. I went with my dad; my sister with my mom, and lexa drove her and her friend. 

Lexa and her friend on their moped.

It was required that each person who was driving the moped go for test runs. One test run alone, and then one with the passenger. My dad and I finished the test runs first and pulled over to the side of the test run street and waiting for everyone else to do theirs. When it was my mothers turn to do her trial with my sister on the back things did not go so well. I remember turning around to check on them and in an instant I saw my mom slam into the side of a white Honda CRV. My first thought was of course. Of course my mom would do that. 

Jennah, my older sister, was pissed. She was mad that she had to go with my mom after that whole debacle. Somehow the moped rental place did not catch the whole ordeal (or they just pretended they didn’t see it). My mom went so slow on her moped for the rest of our rental period. I felt bad for Jennah. She clearly was not having as good of a time as the rest of us were with the mopeds. 

Along our moped trip, we stopped at a beach that is famous for its bluffs. Another thing that it is famous for is the treacherous staircase that you have to trek to get on and off the beach. Nothing like being in the hot sun, then having to haul up several flights worth of stairs. You can count on being a sweaty mess by the time you get to the top. 

The Staircase to heaven that inevitably results in hell. 

My cousin had a great birthday on Block Island. She told my mom it was the best birthday she has ever had. My mom still hasn't let anyone forget she said that. 

[saltysummers]

The Little Things

I often find myself reflecting on the past. I think alot about how much I did not appreciate things and experiences enough when I had the chance in the moment. 

A list of a few things I did not appreciate enough: Bike rides to pebbles with Zoe, Getting flat waves and dels at Surfers End, the massive long board we tied out on the buoys at 3rd, and boat rides at 3rd.

Bike rides with Zoe are something I did not appreciate enough. Zoe lived a little over a mile from me. Before we had our licenses we would bike around together. We would meet halfway in the middle of a path on the golf course by our houses. One place we enjoyed biking to was this little rocky beach that was a mile or so from my house, and a couple miles from Zoe’s. It was a secluded area, that had a narrow path at the bottom of a neighborhood that lead to the water. I loved my trips to this beach with Zoe. I loved going for swims in the crystal clear, but freezing, cove. Zoe is one of the funniest people I know and I really cherish every minute I get to spend with her. When I reflect on this time of my life, when I relied less on a car to zip me from place to place, and really just enjoyed serene bike rides, I really miss it. I miss the simplicity of it all. 

Photo from pebbles beach.

Another thing I did not appreciate enough was getting Flat Waves and Del's Lemonade at Surfers End. Second beach is a great place but what makes it even greater is the Flat Waves pop up and the Del’s truck in the parking lot at Surfers End. Flat Waves is a local Hawaiian themed restaurant that has the best rice bowls. The rice bowls tasted even better when you could get them at the beach after a long day of being in the sun and playing in the water. Del’s Lemonade is also a staple of Rhode Island. There is never a wrong time for Del’s, but never a better time than enjoying one at the beach. I miss when I would beg my mom for a few dollars so I could enjoy one of these treats. 

When I was younger, Emily’s dad would bring his longboard to 3rd beach for us to mess around with. Since there were no waves, we would tie it up on a buoy out in water deep enough that we couldn't see or touch the bottom. We used the board as a personal raft. We would lay on it and sunbathe, or we would get some of the other girls to play a version of king of the hill with us. We would try and push one another off the surfboard until only one person remained. It was totally dangerous. Someone definitely whacked their head on the board at some point. It was one of the numerous little things we would do at 3rd beach to pass the time but it was probably my most favorite. Any day that the board was there I knew we were going to have a blast. 

Emily’s dad would also take on on boat rides in his speedboat around the 3rd beach area. We would go cruise around, go tubing, and go for swims. Tubing was always fun. It was always comical when someone would fly off and skid across the water. We would also anchor and swim around. One of my favorite spots to swim around was this cave area. There was a rocky area covered by some of the cliffs above.The rocks were so smooth from the tide pooling in and out. I have a rock from that cave in my collection. 

It’s little things like this that I miss now that I am older. I am currently writing this in the trunk of my car at Narragansett Beach, watching one of my roommate splash around in the water. I know that one day I will miss this too, but for right now I’ll do everything I can to be present in the moment.

Narragansett Town Beach: October 23, 2020

[saltysummers]

Red Tide

I woke up one morning on Maggie's couch. Her mom shook me awake and told me it was time to get ready to leave. I remember this day all to well for all the wrong reasons.

It was early morning, the day after Maggie and I had gotten home from a trip to Maine. I think we were 11 or 12 at the time. 

On the ride home from Maine the previous day, Maggie got carsick and threw up all over the backseat of my mom's minivan. It was a rough ride home to say the least. Then when we had got back home we were informed that the two of us had been signed up for surf camp the following morning

This probably would have been a great thing if we both had not been so tired from the trip. Being woken up that foggy morning was quite unappealing.

When we arrived at the beach, it was clear that this was not going to be fun at all. One look at the water and I knew we were in for it. 

The water was brown and red from red tide. It smelt awful like rotting fish and seaweed. I sighed and I whispered to Maggie asking if we really had to do this. It seemed that there would be no sympathy from the surf camp instructors and we were in the water in no time. 

The water was so thick with seaweed that one dip of a hand into the water was instantly met with a coating of small red seaweed dots and seaweed bugs crawling up your arms. I was gagging half the time I was out there. 

By the time it was finally time to get out of the water, I was covered head to toe in seaweed. Both Maggie and I felt so gross and itchy. We did our best to wash off at the beach before we got a lift back to my house.

When we got back to my place we instantly made a b-line for my backyard. We opened the gate to the pool area and darted to the outdoor shower. We spent the next thirty or so minutes picking seaweed out of eachothers hair, occasionally screaming when we found a bug, and complaining about how itchy we were. 

I love surfing, but sometimes you have to accept that some days the conditions aren't worth it. That day was one of those days.  

[saltysummers]

Jumping Into the Reservoir

Something I have done in the past that was not necessarily legal per se, but was fun nonetheless, was jump into the reservoir. I was around 12 or 13 years old at the time when my friends and I schemed up our plans for that day. 

There is a reservoir right across the street from second beach. It contains the towns water supply. My friends and I decided to take a trip to this famed rock that is pretty perfect for jumping off of into this artificially made body of water. 

It was risky to be doing this in broad daylight like we were. We could likely get in some serious trouble for messing around in the towns water. 

I was being a punk that day. We were keeping an eye out for cops, glancing quickly at every passing car. I remember standing at the edge of the rock, looking out across the water and seeing geese, seagulls, a little turtle swimming by, and some minnows swimming around in the water. I said, “I am definitely a whole lot more clean than these dirty geese swimming around in here. They definitely poop in this water so what's the big deal if I swim in it for a few minutes.” 

Once we decided we were in the clear, I tore off my coverup. I was always a pretty ballsy kid. I did not hesitate as I ran across the rock past my friends, and took a big leap. I smiled as I fell. The water enveloped me quickly once I hit the surface. The cool water contrasted with my sunburnt skin. I sank fast and to my surprise my feet hit the muddy bottom. I hadn’t realized how shallow it was. It felt slimy as I pushed off to the surface. Evidently the water levels were lower than usual due to a lack of rain. 

Jumping off the big rock was so much fun. free falling down towards the water was such a welcomed rush. It’s one of those feelings that you don't ever forget. I could spend every moment looking for ways to recreate it. 

Photo from cliffs at second that show the water across the street.

[saltysummers]

Getting Older, and Getting a Bike.

Before I got my license, I got around on my bike pretty nicely. There was a beach about a mile from my house that was subpar in my opinion to second and third, but it was a fun hangout spot for a lot of kids highschool age. 

It had some cool features. There was a rope swing (that has since been cut down) in the woods behind the beach that crossed over a creek. It was pretty dangerous, but fun nonetheless. If you didn’t have a near death experience on that rope swing, you weren’t doing it right. 

The woods by the beach, leading to the rope swing. 

Another cool feature of this beach is the dock that is in front of this manor house a short walk from the main part of the beach. The attraction of this dock was that it was elevated a good amount and was perfect for jumping off of. 

The conditions at the dock varied. When it was high tide, climbing back up the diagonal plank we used as a ramp was a lot easier. Low Tide was a different story. The lower part of the diagonal plank was covered in barnacles. 

There was a few times when it was low tide that I decided I didn’t care about the sharp barnacles and the inevitability of getting scratched up by them. One day, I cut my knees, elbow and my outer thigh up pretty nicely. After getting out of the water my friend sarah noticed the blood trailing down my arm and knees. 

She said I looked like I was bleeding a lot. Sarah searched her purse for something to clean me up with, only coming up with a tampon, which I guess would do the trick. 

I checked my phone while Sarah was cleaning me up, and realised I had a few missed phone calls and texts from my mom. She had said I needed to get home now because we had company over from out of town. I quickly threw my shorts on, thanked Sarah for her help and said goodbye. I then ran through the woods to my bike. I biked that mile home in record time. 

When I pulled up to my house, I road my bike across the grass up to the front porch. My mom was waiting for me. She threw the front door open. “What did you do? Did you fall off your bike,” she asked, concerned, but condescending at the same time; probably still angry at me for getting home late. I looked down at my legs, which were covered in blood down to the middle of my shins. I shrugged and said, “Barnacles,” and pushed past her to greet our guests. 

I think more often than not, I stressed my mom out. My older sister never came home scraped and bruised head to toe like I sometimes did.

[saltysummers]

Getting Older, and Getting Hurt.

When I started to get older, I started doing some more things independently at the beach. I think that's when I really started to get myself into some ‘trouble’ 

Anyone who knows me, knows I kinda have a habit of getting hurt... and on that note, I have had a few injuries pertaining to something I had done at the beach. 

One day after school at the very beginning of June, my friends and I decided to take a drive to second beach. Once we got to the beach we parked in the tiny lot at the top of the cliffs and walked down towards the rocks. There is a large chasm in the rocks at second and we often hike down the rocks to jump in and swim. 

The water is not particularly warm in June, that is for sure. My friend Sarah and I completely disregarded the undesirable conditions. We slipped into our gym clothes from school and rushed down the rocks. I jumped in first. The water was ice cold. I then had to reason with Sarah to get her to come in too. After we swam around for a minute, we decided it was in our best interest to get out.

When I was scaling back up the rocks, I wasn’t watching my feet but rather looking at my hands for the next divot to grab. After reaching up, I then felt for a foothold to step onto. I then felt a sharp pain in my left foot.

I had sliced my foot on a piece of glass. I felt the glass stuck in the gash when I lifted my foot. I shook it out, and kept climbing, leaving a trail of blood behind me. 

Sarah and I after I cut my foot. 

Once I reached my friends, I told them I had stepped on some glass. My foot was throbbing in pain, and blood was coming out fast. Sarah carried me on her back to the car. When we got to the car, my friends poured water on my foot, and used a sock to stop the bleeding. 

On the ride back to my house I received a call from my mom telling me to get home because I was going to be late for the dentist appointment I had completely forgotten about. I remember thinking ‘Oh my god, my mom is going to be so pissed!’

A day later was my sisters high school graduation. I had to wear heels. The pain was evident on my face in every picture. 

[saltysummers]

Seagulls

If you’ve ever been to a beach, especially on the east coast, then you probably have had a run in with some seagulls. 

There’s nothing quite like chasing a seagull down the beach after it has taken a family sized bag of chips from your hands. No food is safe with seagulls in the mix. I’ve had food taken out of my hands and food swiped from my beach bags. It’s always sad, but pretty comical, especially when you watch it happen to other people. 

I was a pro at chasing the seagulls away from the arrangement of chairs and towels. 

Me scaring away some seagulls

One day, a group of friends and I decided we were going to catch a seagull. We buried our friend Michael in the sand from his legs up to his torso. We then covered his arms and face with a towel, and placed a small pile of Doritos on his chest. Then all we had do was wait. Surely enough a seagull landed, snatched up the food, and quickly flew away before Michael had the chance to react. 

After making some adjustments, we settled in again and waiting for some inevitable action. It was then that a small seagull landed. Michael was ready this time. He quickly sat up, folding the towel around the bird. 

We watched as he wrestled with it for a second, but then all was still. He turned to us and smiled triumphantly at his accomplishment. We were all astounded and excited that our plan had actually succeeded.

The seagull was released unharmed, after Michael had held it gently in the towel for a few minutes to show the parents and other kids.

 After this we could officially brag to all the other kids that we had caught a seagull. 

[saltysummers]

Free Ride With The Harbor Master

One day at 3rd, Emily and I decided to take the kayaks out for a spin. We took a trip around the little harbor, and saw some really cool boats. One in particular stood out to us and we were all excited about it. I can’t remember what about it exactly had peaked our interest. I feel like it may have had a slide off the side or something. 

Once we got back to shore, we told everyone about the cool boat we had seen. Then we spent the next couple hours doing whatever. 

We decided we wanted to take the kayaks back out later that day. My mom and sister decided that they wanted to come with us, but they took a paddle board. We told them we would take them to see the cool boat. 

We were pretty far out from shore, and the wind was quite a bit stronger offshore than it was earlier. We were going against the wind at this point, hardly gaining any stride. Emily and I were doing significantly better than my mother and sister. The two of them were at a standstill. They couldn't seem to move at all. They were definitely not in the right conditions for paddle boarding with two people, especially with the lack of experience between the both of them. 

Emily and I sat in our kayaks, did little circles around them, while they struggled. We tried to help by pulling them, but nothing was helping. 

After who knows how long, the Harbor Master pulls up in his speed boat. He immediately takes notice of the situation and asks if my mom and sister needed a ride into shore. My mom of course said yes. He then turned to emily and I, and asked if we wanted to be towed behind the boat. 

That is how Emily and I scored a ride into shore with the harbormaster. We sat leisurely in our kayaks, enjoying the ride. My mom scorned us hard for having made them go out that far to see a boat that we ended up never even finding. The fact that they got stuck didn’t help either.

After that, I don’t think we ever went on a trip out in the harbor with my mom ever again. 

[saltysummers]

Sunfish

One day in the summer, Emily's dad brought their tiny sailboat out on the water at 3rd beach and was using it as transportation to their friends very much larger sailboat that was on a buoy offshore. When it was Emily and I’s turn to go on the sailboat, I was so excited. The wind was pretty strong that day so I knew we wouldn't be stuck or going too slow. 

The sailboat was a tiny sunfish with a blue and white striped sail. Three people on the boat was seemingly pushing it, as it was so small. Luckily at the time Emily and I were pretty small. 

When we were about 30 or so yards from the boat, Emily’s dad made the move to go diagonally besides the boat so we didn't go into it straight on. As we were turning I noticed that things were going sour. Next I knew I was under water, in fact, we all were underwater. 

The boat had tipped. I quickly maneuvered myself out from under the boat, really exasperated from the tumble I had just experienced. I looked at the little boat, that was now overturned, with the sail half under the water. 

Emily’s dad was not to happy about the capsize, but luckily we were all okay. He instructed us to just swim the rest of the way to the large sailboat while he recovered the smaller sailboat. 

That was one of the first experiences that I can remember with sailboat. And it was definitely not one I will soon forget. 

[saltysummers]

3rd Beach

There were three beaches we frequented in my adolescence. 2nd was the beach I surfed at. Sandy Point was the beach a mile from my house that I would bike to and hang out with friends when I was older. And lastly, there was 3rd beach. 

My cousin Lexa at 3rd: early 2000′s 

3rd was where we would make sandcastles, walk to ‘crab town’, and do fun stuff in the water like kayaking, paddle boarding and sailing. 

‘Crab town’ was the name we gave the two rocky points at each end of the beach. If you are facing the ocean, the one to the left is a watery area with cliffs and a few large rocks that emerged out of the water, making a nice cove area and tide pool that is full of life. I’ve found starfish, periwinkles, hermit crabs, and so much more. 

The rocky area to the right is a culmination of smaller rocks. Under each rock you are likely to find crabs like the one my sister is holding below. We would spend half the day flipping over these rocks, trying to see how many we could spot under a single rock. Finding the most crabs was always a bragging right. 

My older sister, Jennah at ‘crab town’: Early 2000′s

Though 3rd beach lacks the waves 2nd has, I have seemingly the most stories from this beach. There was hardly ever a dull moment. 

[saltysummers]

~Surfing~

Like most kids, I enjoyed boogie boarding. But as previously said, I went to the beach nearly everyday. Boogie boarding was becoming a mundane activity by the time I was around eight, and I wanted to spice it up. I started perfecting the art of standing up on the two foot piece of foam. Once I nailed that I started to get bored again.

The photo above is of my sister and I. She was nine and I was seven. 

It would be a couple years later that I would watch “Soul Surfer” for the first time. I was instantly obsessed. I knew I had to surf. A few months later I ponied up all of my Christmas money and bought my surfboard when I was 10 years old. I still use that board to this day at 19 years old. It’s a tiny NSP, probably about five foot four inches, with orange swirls spiraling up from the tail. 

Surfing has become one of my favorite things to do. I’m not a professional by any means but I love it nonetheless. The feeling of being out on the water, waiting for the next perfect wave is indescribable. It’s so peaceful, yet so fun. 

Photo from the beach last summer. 

[saltysummers]

The Summers

Growing up, I spent almost every day of the summer at the beach. I lived on an island, just a few minutes from numerous beaches.

My mom, being a school teacher, always had her summers off. She would haul me to the beach with her everyday that I wasn’t in summer camp. I guess I didn’t care as much when I was really young but when I got to be a bit older I would put up a fuss. I would pout the whole way to the beach, but the second we got there I would sprint to the water and all ill feelings were forgotten.

I loved being in the water. So much. I would stay in all day, only coming out to eat, or when my mom dragged me out to reapply sunscreen. I would go home more like a prune than a little kid. 

Lucky for me, I always had friends with me at the beach. My mom has another school teacher friend who has three girls. One is close to my age, her name is Emily. Emily and I spent the most time together. Our moms both had the same M.O. When my mom threw me in a suit and cover up, I knew what came next. I never really had to ask if Emily would be there, I knew she would be, but I still would run down the list of people to make sure I had someone to play with. Besides Emily, a person who was always on my list was my moms best friend who also has a daughter only 6 weeks older than me. Her name is Maggie.

Maggie and I were inseparable. We had our first ‘play date’ when I was just weeks old. We got along really well growing up, which was good because we spent a lot of time together because of our moms. I always tell her how lucky we are that we don’t hate each other. Maggie was such a huge part of my childhood. I never had much family around. Maggie, her mom, her younger sister, and her dad became people who I consider to be family. Any day Maggie would be at the beach with us was the best. We all had such a great time. Definitely got ourselves into some trouble.

From growing up on an Island, I’ve accumulated some stories. A lot of my stories seem to have a common denominator; which is the ocean. 

My cousin (left) and I (right) at my house on the island.