It was too hot on the beach - even in the shade, so I waded out into the clear shallow water. Our campsite was right on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean at Long Key State Park, in the Florida Keys. The ocean is shallow here so that, even during high tide, you can walk out a quarter mile and not get wet above the waist. During low tide, you won’t get wet above the ankles. Because it is shallow there are no large ocean waves or breakers. Here the sea is an amazing blend of colors: from browns and yellows in the grassy and sandy parts near shore intensifying to light green and blue farther off shore in deeper water. Even the deep water is streaked with shallow sand bars, mixing yellow with the green and topped with a light frosting of white foam as the low waves ripple in.
I sat down in a sandy spot about a foot deep and watched the glimmer of sunlight refracting through the waves make an ever-changing pattern of lines on the bottom. I leaned back and rested on my arms so that the water was able to cool off my overheated shoulders. I was facing straight into the gentle breeze and I noticed a beautiful cloud some distance off shore. It was a tall cumulous white shape, billowing and changing ever so slowly as I watched it. It seemed to be increasing gradually in size. I realized that it was getting closer to me. As it approached I noticed dark gray lines but no lightning underneath it. The rain – out over the ocean - was now coming my way. I watched it approach and grow in size. It was hard to resist the instinct to return to shore.
Eventually I decided to head back up to the beach to put away the loose things, like towels, chairs, and a beach umbrella that I didn’t want to get wet. Several campers on the beach were doing the same thing. At this point the cloud was just about to cover the sun. When I looked straight up I saw golden lines as the sun’s rays made their last attempted to escape before being swallowed by the cloud. Even though the cloud was now overhead, and it was dark it wasn’t raining. Then, slowly, it started to rain. The sky was dark overhead, but I could see blue sky off in the distance.
As other campers ran for cover, I looked back out to sea. Perhaps against my better judgment, I headed back out to the shallow sand bar. By now it was pouring and the wind had picked up. I sat down as before and looked up into the sky. It was raining in torrents, each drop stung as it hit my skin. Compared to the cold raindrops, the seawater was warm, so I leaned back and dipped under the surface, with only my head above water. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I shielded by brow and looked into the wind. I could hardly see through the rain.
The rain splashed as it fell into the sea. Each large drop splashed back up and was suspended for an instant a few inches above the water, like in one of those high-speed photographs. But there were millions of drops, and I could see them all. I could feel them all. Every part of me was in this squall; every sense was experiencing it. The rain kept coming. I was beginning to doubt the wisdom of coming out into the sea during such a storm. But I was so enraptured by it all, I was ecstatic.
I looked up and saw blue sky. The cloud had already passed, but it was still raining – heavily. Out to sea, the sky had returned to a gentle blue color, with small white puffy clouds passing by. Then slowly the raindrops got smaller and fell with less intensity. Instead of splashing violently they simply fell into the water, which was becoming calmer by the moment. Then it was over. The rain stopped. The large cloud had passed by and was now glowing bright white over the Bay of Florida, north of Long Key. The whole event from when I first spotted the rain cloud took less than an hour.
I kneeled in the sand in the shallow water and looked out again over the calm sea and at the ripples of sunlight as they danced across the sandy bottom. I realized that I had experienced a significant event. Perhaps I was changed by staying in the sea through a squall. It was a spectacularly beautiful and powerful experience. I was left in awe.