One day I arrived at the beach 
to find conditions not even sea gulls were interested in braving. Though the sky was bright, wind and sand were whipping down the beach, scouring it of anything lightweight that might have been laying around.  Still, I decided to hike down to the cove, intrigued by the waves which had been whipped into a froth by the persistent wind.

Foam flies when a gust of wind pushes an incoming
wave from behind.

The only gull braving the fierce 
winds was forced to brace itself
in this position, legs apart, to keep 
from being blown down the beach.

An apparent wave of whipped cream pushes its way into the deep recesses of the cove.  Note the cove's pocked volcanic rocks in the background.  People who have seen this picture without knowing what it is think they're looking at snow.

A seal pup, oblivious of the wind, plays in the currents swirling around the cove.  In actuality, he had to fight to make his way into open water, but after a determined struggle, he succeeded.