Never mind that the color of the sand looks like the northeastern beaches of the US versus the white sands of southern California and Hawaii. Never mind that we didn't have anything to shade us from the sun as the morning approached 12 noon. The water was almost crystal clear and there were very few people on that particular beach considering today is Saturday.

Yes, we woke at 4 am, and 20+ people piled into a Jeepney by 6 am, en route to the beach. We spent five hours there. I was smart enough to put a t-shirt on after an hour so that I wouldn't burn my shoulders and back. My face started to get red, so I covered my head with another piece of clothing for a while and then sought refuge in the shade of a miniature cliff.

We arrived home at about 11:30 am. I took a shower and inspected the damage in a mirror. Aside from a mild redness on my face, I'm no worse for the wear. It looks like it'll take a few more trips to the beach to even the tan on my upper body. I have what's called a "farmer's tan" right now; dark on the lower arms and neck, but light where clothing covers the skin.

The changes our bodies go through during our lives is amazing. When I was a teenager, and lived in Hawaii, I was very dark-skinned and I really didn't spend a lot of time at the beach. During the 20 years in the military, my skin gradually lightened. I really started becoming a completely white boy during the eight years I worked 12-hours shifts at night for a trucking company. Never mind that I have Native American blood in me. Other than some facial bone structure, you'd never know it — at least until now, now that I'm darkening again.