h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So, on the 13th, we packed lunch and loaded the trunk with chairs, sunshade, and boogie boards, and everyone wore swimsuits under their clothes. Since I had completely forgotten to grab sunscreen, we stopped and bought some on the way to the beach, as well as a container to collect shells in.

It was absolutely perfect. It was sunny, but that's what the sunscreen and the sunshade were for. It was warm, but not hot. It was breezy enough to make us wish we'd brought a kite, but not so windy that sand was flying (I still remember the time in Crescent City when my mom, brother and I had been dropped off at the beach by my stepdad, because it was lovely and warm with just a light breeze, and then the weather changed after my brother and I had been playing in the water for long enough to get really cold, and we got sandblasted while we were waiting for my stepdad (this was a summer somewhen between 1988 and 1992, so we just had to wait)). And, wonder of wonders, the water was not cold. I have never been in natural water that you could stay in for hours on end and not worry about hypothermia. The beach wasn't too crowded, either--there were certainly people there, but groups were spread out about 75-100 feet apart (I'm assuming it's just a *bit* more crowded when it's not the off season, and things cost 2-4 times more...) The sand was beigeish, which I also found different, as I'm used to varying shades of gray. And so many different varieties of shells! It makes sense that there'd be different ones than I'm used to, being a different ocean and much warmer water, but I hadn't really thought about it.

When we'd carried all our stuff to the beach and staked out our spot, the girls headed to the water with the boogie boards. I'd read a few tutorials about how to use them, but PaperKid basically just adapted what she'd learned last summer when our friend taught her to surf with her longboard to the boogie board, which is not designed to stand upon. The techniques used were probably all wrong, but there was fun had, and no one got hurt, so does technique really matter During one of their breaks, we had lunch, and Notepad got buried in the sand. Or, rather, she asked to get buried, but didn't hold still long enough.

After a while, the girls and I started rotating the 2 boogie boards between the 3 of us--Notepad would go look for more shells, or just run around in the waves, and I'd use the shorter board, that she was using. Notepad would come back, and PaperKid would decide to try bodysurfing for a bit, and I'd use the longer board (I think the difference between the boards was less than a foot). Then it'd be PaperKid and I on boards, then the girls, then Notepad and I, and so forth. Neither Tom nor T used the boards, though they did get in the water. The hardest part of boogieboarding was keeping my lateral balance--you lay on the board, so that helps, but it's easy to roll to one side or the other. Once I got that figured out, I relaxed and things were much easier. My core was quite sore the next couple of days, though!

We stayed until the light was starting to dim, then we packed everything back into the car. We'd seen a large souvenir shop advertising 50% off everything, so we decided to check it out before we had dinner. Everyone got something (though I don't remember what the men got)--PaperKid got a hoodie, and Notepad and I both got t-shirts. We went back to our home-away-from-home, everyone showered, and then we went out and had a lovely dinner. After that, we watched TV for a bit, then went to bed.

Sounds lovely indeed

I know that sandblasting sensation from days on the beach in my youth, too - ‘character building’ but not pleasant The sand there was beige on top but grey underneath, which was probably a bit dirty but made for attractive sandcastles.

Glad there were a few people around but not too many. That was great that you all got to enjoy the water and the shells