Life's a Beach at Pensacola Beach

Today at Pensacola Beach

My husband and I went to the beach today to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We fell in love all those years ago on Pensacola Beach, so it seemed like a fitting place to go. (Well, we fell further in love in New Orleans at Mardi Gras, but that's a different story.)

Anyway, it was a beautiful day at the beach, but windy as all get out. The beach umbrella lasted just a short while before it started to crumple and had to be packed up.

Behind us, to the NW, the sky was getting darker by the minute and we could hear the rumble of thunder. The skies over the water were a bright cerulean blue with some scattered puffy white clouds. 

The surf was rougher than I like. My husband swam, but I just waded knee deep. I'm not as strong a swimmer as I used to be, so I don't swim on days like this.

The beach wasn't too crowded when we first got there. So it was nice to just sit and watch the waves and the sea birds. In short order busloads of teens arrived and they swarmed over the beach. It was like a giant tide of teens heading in our direction. The tranquility broken, it was time to head home.

I had taken my Kindle with me to the beach, but didn't end up reading. All I wanted to do was sit and look at the water, the clouds, the birds and the few people who wandered into view.

There was one tall, lean, broad-shouldered hunk with a tattoo on one bicep and a sexy six-pack. There was a also a hunky surfer dude with a tattoo around one bicep, long blond hair and a six pack too. Hmm! My husband said, "Check out the blond." He meant the cute blond chic in the black bikini. Hey, it was a good day to people watch. What can I say?

Normally I would spend some time at the beach reading. I almost always have a paperback with me. This time I brought my Kindle. I have to say it's great to bring to the beach. Mine is packed with every kind of book imaginable, including some great beach reads. Well, this brings me to the beach books part of this post. Below are some beach books that I hope you'll find interesting. (Please note that the books listed are in no particular order and all are available as eBooks.)

Beach Books I've Read:

Bluewater Killer by C.L.R. Dougherty
Widow's Tale by Maureen A. Miller
Mai Tai One On by Jill Marie Landis
SEAL of My Dreams by Stephanie Bond, et.al.
Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
Key West by Stella Cameron
The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe
Swimming Lessons by Mary Alice Monroe
Firefly Beach by Luanne Rice
Beach Girls by Luanne Rice
Beachcomber by Karen Robards
A Shore Thing (Otter Bay) by Julie Carobini
Murder on the Rocks (Gray Whale Inn) by Karen McInerney
A Dangerous Harbor by R.P. Dahlke

Beach Books TBR in my Kindle:

Endless Summer by Christopher David Petersen
Stay Close, Novac! by Jan Romes
Summer with Fidel by R.G. Lawrence
Deception in Savannah by C.L.R. Dougherty
Memories by Deanna Lynn Sletten
South Beach Cinderella Sharon Potts
All Keyed Up by Mary Stella
Across a Moonlit Sea by Marsha Canham
Summer Secrets by Barbara Freethy
Iguana Bay by Theresa Weir
Bulls Island Dorothea Benton 
Trouble in Paradise by Lynn Byer
Haole Wood by Dee DeTarsio
Chasing Sunsets (Cedar Key) by Eva Marie Everson 
Florida Heatwave by Michael Lister
Letters on Balboa Island by Kathy Holmes
Safe Harbor Judith Arnold
Confessions of a Beachcomber by E.J. Banfield
Mai Tai Butterfly by JoAnn Bassett
Key Lime Blues (A Wes Darling Mystery) by Mike Jastrzebski
Beyond the Misty Shore by Vicki Hinze
The Fisherman's Daughter Sydell Voeller
Tsunami Blue by Gayle Ann Williams

Beach Books on my Wish List:

Bluewater Vengeance by C.L.R. Dougherty
Chocolate Beach by Julie Carobini
Truffles by the Sea by Julie Carobini
Beach Roses by Jean Stone
Barefoot in the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire
Barefoot Season by Susan Mallory
On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves
Moonshell Beach by JoAnn Ross
Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax
The Beach Club by Elin Hilderband
Beach House Memories by Mary Alice Monroe
Suddenly One Summer by Barbara Freethy
On Shadow Beach by Barbara Freethy

More Beach Books:

On the Beach by Nevil Shute
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
I Have a Secret by Cheryl Bradshaw
Wild Point Island by Kate Lutter
Life's a Beach by Malena Lott
The Honeymoon Cottage by Barbara Cool Lee
Beach Flirts by Lisa Scott
A Week at the Beach by Virginia Jewel
Beach Rental by Grace Greene
Hot Fun in the Summertime by Chicki Brown

YA Beach Books:

On the Line by Jackie Nastri Bardenwerper
Before You Go by Ella James

I'm sure I've missed a bunch of great beach books. So please feel free to mention them in the comments below and I'll add them to my list.