City in the Sand, Duck, North Carolina

Here we are on the Outer Banks, the beach at Duck, North Carolina, two ten year old boys (twins) and Marash Girl, enjoying the 85 degree weather, clear blue skies, bright sun, cool breeze.   Walking along the shore at low tide, we came upon a city of sand, built by unknown architects at the high tide mark; the boys and I loved it; it was if we had discovered a Mayan city in the midst of the jungle, except that we were in the midst of the sands, open ocean to our left, and on our right sand castles, soccer fields, a Mayan Temple, a prison and a mine next to the prison where, I suppose,  the prisoners worked, and all of it made of sand.  It was beautiful, but the boys made it more beautiful.  They  surrounded the temple with a moat which was connected to a big hole that Marash Girl fell into. [I think the hole was supposed to be an animal trap.]

They added stairs to each corner of the temple, a bridge connecting the world outside the city to the island on which the temple was built. They decorated the walls with seashells and dried reeds, made a gate on the bridge, and dug out holes in the mine.  They worked for hours, adding elaborate detail to the city of sand. All this because they thought that the ocean would not come up that high at high tide . . . But the highest tide mark was, in reality, far beyond the city of sand.  The question is, will the city of sand be there tomorrow?  And if not, is creating beauty, ephemeral as it may be, worth the time and effort?

Port Trinitie on Dwellable