645 Meters from the Pacific Ocean

Rai, it's easy to forget that we live so close to the Pacific Ocean. In our apartment, enjoying the comforts of home, the world outside our walls is forgotten. This could be a sofa in any living room, anywhere in the world. Then, we look out the dining room or kitchen window.
Outside those windows, our exact location on our blue planet is revealed. Just 645 meters away is the Pacific Ocean. From our windows, we can see Ocean Beach stretching for miles and miles, ocean waves crashing into its sandy shores. It's said that 1/3 of the world's population lives within 50 miles of an ocean. We are in that 30%, but, what percent of the world's citizens live just 1/2 a mile from an ocean? We're not sure, but we know that we are extremely lucky to be in that elite group.
Living just a few blocks from the Ocean has many benefits: the ocean breeze, the cool fog on a hot summer day, the smell of salt water, and the feeling of freedom that comes with knowing that we have reached the physical finale of the western frontier. The benefit we enjoy most, however, is that when the mood strikes or on a beautiful sunny day as we had last Sunday, we can step out our front door and only have to walk 4 minutes before stepping onto beach sand and hearing the waves crashing just up ahead.
On Sunday, the sun shone brightly, the sky was blue, the breeze was warm. We headed for the beach. Once at the Ocean, we turned south and started walking. We walked and walked until we grew tired from the weight of you and your supply bag. We sat down, looked out at the Ocean, ate our picnic lunch, and looked forward to the 3 mile return trip north up the beach. A perfect day? Yes. Are we grateful to be within 645 meters of the great Pacific Ocean? Doubtless.