almondbutterandjelly Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 Okay, I admit it. I live in a beach town. People literally drive here for vacation. Problem is we are more of a forest family. But... I need to embrace the beach. Help me. I think if I buy enough beach stuff, it will make me enjoy and overlook the sand getting everywhere and the wind making it hard to read my book. Ocean water makes me itch and I hate having seaweed or whatever brush my legs in the water anyway, so no water toys for me. What do I need? I am looking at a beach tent of some sort. Some cute beach towels. I own camping type chairs, but maybe something that sits lower would be more fun? Should I get D batteries for a boom box? Should I buy cool sand play equipment? I saw a neat dragon mold. I don't know. Is there a small beach grill that's easy to use and works in tremendous wind? What about getting my feet and shoes all clean before getting in the car so we don't have to vacuum out the darn car after every trip? I do enjoy staring at the water and people watching. But for hours? What am I supposed to do at the beach for hours? It's hot. I live ten minutes away. The lure of my house and the a/c is so strong. Help me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Library Momma Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 I hate the beach too, always have. The best part about living near the beach is that you can go for short periods of time. Only an hour or two maybe. It's not a vacation destination where you feel you have to make the most of it and sit there for hours. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 We drive to Santa Cruz Beach Broadwalk. I sit in the sheltered area （area between Neptune‘s Stage and Neptune’s Kingdom https://beachboardwalk.com/Portals/0/downloads/map/2020-Visitor-Map-Web.pdf) and watch over our packed lunch and drinks. I love watching ocean waves and people making sand castles but I would rather not get sand in my shoes. For me having food and drinks, comfy picnic tables to sit around, and a camera to take lots of photos help. My husband and kids wash their sandals before we walk back to our car. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 (edited) No boardwalk. Paved parking lot touching sandy beach. They merge together a little. No roller coasters (that Santa Cruz Boardwalk looked neat!). Also no ice cream or food trucks. Just sand, ocean, some picnic tables, and sand dunes. Edited June 4, 2020 by perkybunch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 For you: beach umbrella and low beach chair. Provides much needed shade as well as the low chair being more comfortable than sitting on a beach towel. Get a kindle. Seriously. It’s too windy on the beach to mess with a real book. Get a kindle and that problem is solved. baby powder. After you’ve walked to the car and before getting in, douse everyone’s legs and feet with baby powder to make the sand come off easier. i definitely wouldn’t mess with a grill, but a small ice chest is nice if you’re going to be there for several hours. Cold drinks, sandwiches, and fruit is as complicated as that should get imo. I think the molds and shovels and buckets are fun. Even as an adult I find playing and drawing in the sand relaxing, so I’d take stuff like that too. good luck! I’d love to live minutes from the beach. I love mountains more, but I’d definitely take the beach. 😊 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 Sympathy. IMO beaches are nice for early morning and early evening walks--sunrises and sunsets--and absolutely nothing else. If I were for some horrendous reason forced to stay on a beach for long during the day I'd need a very good source of shade and a very comfy chair. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 Well, sure, we do short trips. But I was trying to "vacation." What do people on vacation at the beach do? We aren't going out of town too much this summer, so I was thinking maybe we should vacation at the beach. How to do this? Am I mistaken about vacationers spending all day at the beach? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 We keep a minibrush and dustpan in our vehicle to brush off with before we get in. I agree with either umbrellas or a tent for shade, a kindle, and a cooler. Fighting the wind is real. Kites? Bikes? Frisbees? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 I love swimming in the ocean. LOVE it. I grew up going to the beach in the summers. I was so excited to share that with my kids. Took them for like six years. Big extended family trips. They hate the beach. I thought they were just being grumps the last couple times we went, when they just wanted to stay in and watch tv with cable (which we don't have). But they were able to articulate surprisingly strong feelings about the beach, which explained a lot. They don't like not being able to see their feet in the water. They worry about critters and jellyfish. Sand and salt gets in their eyes and bottoms and irritates their skin. The sound of the wind makes my sound sensitive kid panicky. Some people just aren't beach people. I'm not sure buying stuff will turn you into one. Just because you live in a beach town doesn't mean you have to go to the beach. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrips Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 We live a few miles from a great beach but rarely go. We used to. An umbrella or some sort of shade is a must for me at the beach. And a beach chair (the low canvas kind by Rio or such). We have a bag of buckets/shovels for the kids/teens, sunscreen, hats, water. I don’t bother with food. I have a book or crossword for me, along with my phone and charger. A mister/spray is nice to cool down. Baby powder/corn starch for feet and legs before getting into the car- sprinkle it on and the sand rubs off easily. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 Just now, WendyAndMilo said: Plant small trees in containers. Get a large, dark shade umbrella that you can either stick in the sand or set-up somehow. And a battery-powered fan. Then sit underneath, surround yourself with your potted trees. Use a fitted sheet around the trees to keep every single speck of sand off your paradise; everyone else can get their own umbrella/blanket. Then listen to the sounds of the waves because that's really the only good part about the beach. Do....do you seriously take TREES to the beach? I mean, that is a lot of lugging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 When we go to the beach, we go for maybe 2 hours in the morning, then again late afternoon or for a long walk after dinner. We do other things in the afternoon, like shopping in the souvenir shops or some other tourist activity. The beach in the afternoon is just too hot. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 I grew up 15 minutes from the ocean and always hated the beach except for early morning or evening. Moved to Ohio for college and stayed here and we ended up vacationing at a NC beach every year because my kids loved it. We'd go out in the morning for them to play in the sand, come in for the afternoon when it was too hot and sunny and play board games and shower, eat, etc., and then go out in the evening for long walks on the beach. I hated the mornings because I hate the feeling of sand, don't want to be in the ocean, and it would take forever for us all to get sunscreen on. The rest of the day was good, though! I loved our evening walks and hanging out in the afternoons together. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WendyLady Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 We do not live near a beach, but I love love love the beach. As adults, we have lived nearish the beach in Hawaii and Florida, plus I grew up going to Santa Cruz beach occasionally as a child. My dh is not a huge beach fan. We went to a southern CA beach last fall for a long weekend. We brought a cooler of sandwich things and snacks. We brought a half tent kind of shade thing and low beach chairs. We brought boogie boards and a shovel and spike ball. Others in our group brought wake boards and volleyball. I brought a paperback book. I have only had the cheap kindle and I can't read it in the bright sun - there must be a different version that works at the beach? Dh brought his ukulele. I like a sheet at the beach and large but thin beach towels. Big cozy beach towels seem to hold too much sand and take too long to dry off. We stayed on the beach from just after breakfast until nearly dinner each day. We waded, swam, boogie boarded, body surfed, floated and learned how to wake board. We looked for seashells and sea glass. We walked a long way along the edge of the water. The teens dug a huge hole in the sand. We played spike ball, volleyball and something like bowling with wooden blocks. We chatted. Sunblock and sun shirts and hats are a must. I like to try to catch a sunset or sunrise depending on the ocean. At night, we had a shrimp boil or bbq. We found amazing donuts and ice cream nearby to buy. We bought t-shirts. I lost my sunglasses and bought new ones. We camped and it wasn't ideal, but it was fun. If I lived nearby and could go to the beach every day for about 2-3 hours that would be perfect to me. When we lived about 20 minutes from the north shore in Hawaii we went 3-4 times a week during the summer to different beaches for just a few hours each time, we rarely stayed all day. Sometimes for a sunset, sometimes to try surfing, sometimes for watching waves, sometimes for snorkeling. Shave ice at every opportunity! My favorite is floating on my back when the waves are mild, or body surfing if the waves are just right. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 I live 10 minutes from Lake Michigan at a huge tourist destination beach. I love the beach....in the early mornings or evenings, NEVER (ok, almost never) in the middle of the day heat and crowds. A Kindle is great for reading at the beach. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 When I was a kid, a neighbor who is a close family friend of my aunt would rent a chalet annually by the beach that is large enough for four families to sleep over. We would take turns to go boating on our inflatable 3 men dinghy, then come back to the chalet to bbq or play tag or just laze around. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 3 hours ago, WendyLady said: . I have only had the cheap kindle and I can't read it in the bright sun - there must be a different version that works at the beach? The Oasis ereader works. I think the paperwhite does too but I don’t have that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 I live very close to the beach as well. I do not like sand. AT ALL. I am happy just hearing the roar of the ocean in the background all the time. Dh takes the kids to the beach. I stay home and do gardening. did I mention that I hate sand 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 10 hours ago, Pawz4me said: Sympathy. IMO beaches are nice for early morning and early evening walks--sunrises and sunsets--and absolutely nothing else. If I were for some horrendous reason forced to stay on a beach for long during the day I'd need a very good source of shade and a very comfy chair. Yes. I walk on beaches. I swim in the sea. I see no reason to sit on beaches. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 14 hours ago, perkybunch said: We aren't going out of town too much this summer, The state parks, etc. are open if you wanted to get in your forest craving. I'm not sure how more time on the beach at the hottest time of the year will help you like it more. Do you like shelling? Is there enough wind to fly kites? Maybe you could take up snorkeling or bird watching? Maybe your area has trails and places where people bird watch? There's probably something else to do in your area besides the beach. People sit there for hours to rest, because it's novel. I imagine many people who live near beaches don't go there often or only at their favorite times of year, just like people live near the Grand Canyon and never go, lol. If it's going to be your family's vacation, you should probably just find other things to do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 I’ve always been a minimalist at the beach. But with kids, there are more things - sand toys, wave toys, more sunscreen, more hats, more towels. The must—have umbrella. Cold drinks in a chest. And snacks. I discovered I like a chair under the umbrella. I hate lugging it all. Solution: get a sand cart. I always thought they were ridiculous. Still do. But if we are going to a place and bringing all the stuff, no rentals, nothing cushy, and planning to stay long enough to use the stuff ... a cart. Big wheels for sand. Tommy Bahama made a decent one - they had a pack at Costco with cart, umbrella, 2 chairs last year. Win! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 Thanks, everyone! Some good thoughts here! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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