Description

Earlier this summer, my family and I explored the grounds of Yorktown, taking in the trees that must be hundreds of years old, the empty fields and the shady woods that held important historical figures and tragic, but world-changing wars. Yorktown is a beautiful place, haunting, but beautiful. After exploring the battlefields, we ventured into the historic town of Yorktown, with its brick streets and clean beaches, and most importantly: ice cream shops.

After enjoying some ice cream, we walked along the beaches where there were jellyfish bobbing peacefully as far as we could see. (And there were crazy people swimming and SUP’ing right along with them).

They were called “sea nettles,” and they were adorably ghostly. And the explorers in us wanted a closer encounter. So we ventured down to the water’s edge and took them in. Eventually we were even brave enough to touch their domes (safely: their tentacles are what contain the stinging agents). They were super squishy, but they were not fans of being touched and bobbed away.

Afterwards, my youngest daughter suggested I paint jellyfish. And so I did, trying to capture the magical moment my family and I had on the beach that day.