Why do they put the chairs so high up on the beach?

We're in Tamarindo doing some surfing and enjoying the sun. It's 90 degrees every day, the water is warm, and the food is cheap. Today's little adventure had to do with the tide...Joe and I were remarking that the beach chairs were WAY up on the beach and I thought maybe it was due to the gradual slope of the beach - when the tide comes in, we figured it came in FAST.

Well, we ended up renting a couple surf boards and forgot about our little epiphany. We all took off our sandals and sunglasses and Joe and I went out to surf. Will and Martie were close behind and we caught some fantastic waves. Well, Joe and I were absolutely worn out, so we swam back in and realized there was far less beach than when we had started. We found the approximate area where our stuff would have been...it was under about six inches of water. No sandals. No sunglasses. No shirts.

Two valuable lessons from today:
1. Don't be stupid. This doesn't come naturally for me most of the time.
2. If you are stupid. Be sure to take friends along like Martie and Will. Before coming out to join Joe and I, they moved all our stuff up to the top of the beach so it wouldn't wash away. Whew...


As a sidenote...I ask that you keep some friends of the Mathern family in your thoughts. One of my parents' friends is having serious health challenges and was life-flighted to Harborview in Seattle (from Great Falls). They have been running diagnostic tests since this weekend to find the source of a lesion in her brain. We all experienced that torture when Jamie was being diagnosed...send some positive vibes towards Seattle for both Jan and the rest of the family.