Ah, the beach. You know what I love about the beach? It’s so easy. You just go out there, plant yourself in the sand and enjoy the day. You don’t need a thing.
Except sunscreen. And a hat, because you don’t want the sun pounding your face all day while you’re trying to count kids. Better make that three or four hats, because once the kids stop swimming and start building castles and digging motes they’ll want one too.
Swim shirts are always a plus – keeps them from burning their backs and you save a fortune in sunscreen. Not to mention aggravation, when you’re trying to smear all that lotion on their stomachs and they’re whining about how cold it is. Oh, and grab a pair of sunglasses, but really, that’s all you need.
Maybe an umbrella. Or two. Heck, just take a tent down there, so everybody can get some shade. You’ll probably have three or four towels, but I wouldn’t sit on those. Just a few lightweight sand chairs should cover it.
And a cooler, just for some cold drinks. I’d do water and juice. Sparkling water is nice – with limes, everybody likes limes. But keep it simple. Plenty of ice. The kids like to put it in their bathing suits. I wouldn’t over complicate it. Unless you want to mix a summer cocktail, in which case white sangrias are nice – white wine, brandy and orange liqueur, slices of fresh citrus. Maybe a funny cocktail napkin like the lady sitting on the beach with the caption, “My liquid diet is going well. So far I’ve lost 2 days.” I love that one.
A snack wouldn’t hurt, some crackers or fruit. Fig Newtons get everybody excited for some reason, but whatever. You know, sometimes it’s just easier to pack a lunch and then you don’t have to leave the beach. Some sandwiches and chips, real easy. Oh, and baby wipes for their hands – it’s the only way to make sure that the salt on the chips isn’t really sand.
And then it’s simple. Just bring one of those pop-up camping tents and have all the kids sit in there and eat lunch. Easy peasy. It’s also a great place to stash the buckets, shovels, sand toys, rafts, noodles and boogie boards all together.
Crabbing nets are fun. And if you’ve got fishing poles, bait and a tackle box, might as well grab ’em.
And then just enjoy the sand, sun and water. And your book or your Kindle and your magazines and any emails or phone calls that might come in. And don’t forget the portable speakers for the iPod, it’s so annoying not to be able to hear the music over the wind and waves.
A wagon comes in handy. We just throw everything in the wagon and roll it all to the beach. Although nobody wants to pull it. Or drag or lift it over the dunes.
In which case … we just go to the pool.
