Do you "Beach" ?

[imoldernu]

Water... has been a very big part of our lives...Living on the East Coast from Maine to Florida... Inland and 0cean and on an Island (Martha's Vineyard), for the better part of 70 years, DW and I have been to and swam at hundreds of beaches, both fresh and salt water.
Swimming paid my way through college, and helped DW's acceptance at Sargent...Boston College. Our four kids learned to swim before they could walk, and we always had boats... canoes, rowboats, speedboats, sailboats, pontoon boats and paddle boats. Even in the Chicago area... Lake Michigan, rivers, and our camp on a small lake, today.
Whatever and wherever travel took us, the main destination was "the beach"... Swimming in 31 states, Canada, Mexico and Japan. Dad and mom lived on the Ocean in Barrington and best friend on the tip of Mere Point in Maine. DW summered for 18 years at her family's beach house on the water on Buzzard's Bay Massachusetts. In RI, Newport and Narragansett Bay was our back yard. From Key West to Padre Island to the Big Sur, the American River, Hawaii, Bremerton, the boundary waters of Minnesota, up and down the Mississippi and Kentucky Lake... with many dozens more in between.

This website (below) has an interactive map that covers most US beaches... inland and oceanside. Even Lincoln Woods State Park beach in Rhode Island where I spent 6 summers as a lifeguard during high school and college years. Also the summer after marriage where we spent the summer (and our honeymoon) at the YMCA Camp on Lake Cobbeseconte in Maine, where I was Waterfront Director... before assignment to OCS at (dry) Camp Benning in the fall.

The purpose of the site, is to assess water quality, but the real joy comes from zooming in on the beaches and remembering our halcyon days.

Testing The Waters, Prevent Beach Pollution | NRDC

My fondest memory is driving her dad's brand new Plymouth convertible on to the front row beachside, of the parking lot at Hyannis Beach... She, absolutely beautiful, in a fantastic white bathing suit that framed a summer tan that turned heads wherever we went. Brings a big smile to my face whenever the memory pops up.

So, yeah... about beaches... Big part of our life.
Do you Beach?

 

[brett]

We currently live beside the mountains. At one point we lived in Vancouver for twenty years-beautiful.

We are retired and have been thinking of a vacation home. People in our area seem to flock to Arizona. But then we reflected on our past vacations. Just about every one was either beside the water, on the water either in part or in whole. Many vacations to Florida, Hilton Head, Oregon Coast, California, Washington State. So yes, we like the beach.

Going to the beaches in Thailand, Malaysia, and Australia from Dec 30 to sometime in late March...that's how much we like the beach and the ocean.

 

[heeyy_joe]

yes, with the grandboys. unrestrained joy.

 

[grasshopper]

Only when I go to the shore.

 

[Ronstar]

We don't beach unless I run the boat aground.

 

[Marita40]

Growing up in the Chicago area we "beached" at Lake Geneva WI. We rented a moldy old cottage on one of the bays; I still vividly recall the smell of that place. A lot of my memories seem to be about the bully kids on the beach. I remember the Lady of the Lake and the mansions that line the lake.
I really need to take a nostalgic tour back to Lake Geneva some day.

 

[braumeister]

I grew up a ten minute walk from the beach in Brooklyn, and spent my summers there. Beach time was typically at least four to six hours, often much longer. When not busy with a summer job, typically at least five days a week. Many fond memories!

 

[foxfirev5]

Yes, our beach is a sand bar on a lake in Michigan and when the weather turns cold we head south.

 

[Meadbh]

I grew up in the south of Ireland and going to the beach was a big part of my childhood summers. Living in Cork meant we were less than an hour away from at least 10 great beaches. We went every Saturday and Sunday. My favourite local beach was Garretstown. We would swim, play, walk and paddle all day and then go for a picnic and another walk on the Old Head of Kinsale. On vacation, we went further afield; a favourite was Ballyheigue in County Kerry. Going to the beach without going swimming was unthinkable. We never owned a boat or went sailing. That was something that rich people did. It would have been unthinkable for my LBYM parents.

As an adult I have moved a lot but have not lived close to the ocean. There are some good lake beaches close to my current and former homes, but I still prefer the ocean.

 

[LOL!]

Definitely yes. We lived on an island directly on the shore for 8 years. Sometimes the back porch would be underwater, but never any water in the house.

Every year we have to make at least one sand castle that is taller than the kids. Still do, but they have to help now that they in their twenties.

 

[BTravlin]

We live on iron shore but if we want actual beach it is just a short ride over to the undeveloped side of the island that has miles of open beach. Just so happens DW and I are going over there today. A stocked cooler, books and towels and we're set.

 

[aja8888]

South Texas beaches are not very good. Galveston currently has a big issue with seaweed growth and huge masses of it accumulating on the shores (it's in the news). Plus, the Gulf beaches here report a high percentage of BAV.

So we don't "beach"!

 

[pb4uski]

When I was growing up our family had a "camp" on a large pond and we spent summers living there and weekends in the fall and spring. I waterskied at least once almost everyday when I was a kid and sailed regularly. My Mom still lives there summers now and we live year round 5 doors south of her.

We also periodically go to the shore in either Maine, Cape Cod or Florida and spent two weeks in Hawaii last winter and a short trip to Port Aransas, TX.

In short, yes, we beach but more freshwater than saltwater.

P.S. DW went to Sargent as well, for graduate school. But BU, not BC, right? You're slipping there my friend.

 

[Midpack]

We rarely went to beaches when younger (laying out, swimming) and never do anymore. But I am on the water (sailing) as often as possible, and we've been to/go to many of the same on the water locations the OP mentions - right and left coast & Great Lakes.

Though I have no idea exactly why, there is no place more peaceful and yet engaging than on the water for me, I must have been a fish in another life...

 

[Accidental Retiree]

South Texas beaches are not very good. Galveston currently has a big issue with seaweed growth and huge masses of it accumulating on the shores (it's in the news). Plus, the Gulf beaches here report a high percentage of BAV.

So we don't "beach"!

What's BAV?


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[Sea Kayaker]

I cannot be away from the ocean for long. Spent some time on the Canadian prairies recently and felt uncomfortable. Was born and raised with the smells and sounds of the Salish Sea on my doorstep - it is a part of my life in a way I cannot fully describe.

This affinity for the ocean is why Arizona would never work for me as a snowbird destination - it is why we have a vacation place in the Baja instead.

 

[W2R]

So, yeah... about beaches... Big part of our life.
Do you Beach?

My family's home was located on the beachfront on this beach (in other words, our front yard was the sand:

This was not due to any grand wealth - - my father had the foresight to buy that land back in the 1950's when it was available at a bargain price and not in demand because it was hard to get to.

When I was growing up, every day I spent hours on that beach, walking or swimming for exercise, surfing, spending time with my friends or family, and/or getting away from teenage "issues". As an adult I chose a career in oceanography and learned about the physical forces behind the waves and currents that were so much a part of my life growing up.

We live in the city and don't go to the beach much right now, but I do enjoy it when we go there.

 

[MRG]

What's BAV?


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Think it's a new EPA standard for measuring 'beach action value'. I took it to be more related to water quality. Sad when so much has been done for decades to reduce pollution, yet we're finding issues with water quality. Maybe we're measuring better.

http://www.nrdc.org/media/2014/140625.asp

 

[rodi]

Yes, we beach.
My husband grew up in Philly - and went "down the shore" to a shared family bungalow in the Wildwoods. I grew up in San Diego and have considered La Jolla Shores to be my home beach for my whole life.

My kids are learning to surf and are avid boogie boarders. We go to the beach several times a week during the summer.

And - my first week of retirement (last week) I took my dog to walk on the beach 4 mornings. (Have to have dogs off the beach by 9am, though.) I plan to continue this - as both the dog and I enjoy these walks immensely.

We live about a 10 minute drive from the beach - although that can get longer if you try to get to the beach on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Which is why we tend to go in the morning.

 

[aja8888]

Think it's a new EPA standard for measuring 'beach action value'. I took it to be more related to water quality. Sad when so much has been done for decades to reduce pollution, yet we're finding issues with water quality. Maybe we're measuring better.

NRDC: Press Release - Beach Report: 10 Percent of America?s Beach Water Samples Fail Safety Test

Thanks for posting this. I should have referenced it in my post.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

As kids we had a summer home near Lake Erie, and I enjoyed going to the Presque Isle beaches. Our parents also took us to one of the NJ/DE/MD beaches for a week every year for the ocean experience. I lived on Buckroe Beach VA (Chesapeake Bay) for 3 years in the late 70's-early 80's and enjoyed walking there in the early morning and evening hours but did my swimming in the condo pool. My husband and I usually took a bottle of champagne out to the seawall on New Year's Day and watched the water lap up against the snow. He had a small catamaran that he took out onto the Bay but I never joined him in that pursuit (too risky; not a strong swimmer). I lived in Monterey CA for a number of years late 80's-early 90's but water was too cold unless you wore a wet or dry suit (husband SCUBA dived though while son and I went to a pool and tennis club or the Naval Post-Grad pool). We owned a second home on Ft. Myers Beach for a number of years that I sold 2 years ago when I determined that I could never move to FL due to being a guardian for a cousin here in PA. I have a cousin on Cape Cod and visit her once a year during the summer so I do have a little of the beach experience now that I am getting to be an old lady.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I have never lived in any place that didn't end in "island". Though I don't really spend much time at the actual beach itself, I love seeing the rivers and marshes every day and have owned boats on and off over the years.
It's our version of the wide open spaces that folks that live out west must really enjoy.

 

[imoldernu]

P.S. DW went to Sargent as well, for graduate school. But BU, not BC, right? You're slipping there my friend.

OMG... very embarrassing... Our secret...yes! was '54 thru '58... fond memories... Dorms were run like prisons... with the house mother as gatekeeper. Never got past the front parlor... Was Dean Makechnie still there when your DW attended?
I used to hitchhike down from Brunswick to Boston on Friday night and back, on Sunday. Slept in South Station until cops would kick me out, the walk to North Station and sleep on the hard benches there. In warmer weather, slept on the bank of Charles River. Harvard Square and Cronin's bar, where we carved our names in the table and watched Tom Lehrer on the tiny stage.

Oh yeah... Beaches... hmmm.. sailed and sculled on the Charles, but never swam there. Gotta stay on topic...

 

[imoldernu]

One more... BIL and SIL own this Prince Edward Island property. They are landed immigrants in Canada. We lived on Cape Cod with them nearby, til he left his job in Boston and bought this property for a song back in 1972 and built the cottages himself. Beautiful beach.
Wood Island Waterfront Vacation Rentals, Prince Edward Island Accommodations
Though the site is still live, not sure if they are still actively working the business (health issues).... Recent years, mostly just friends and longtime summer getaway folk.

Moderator, ok to remove link if necessary... anyway, the name of the beach is "Homeport by the Sea".

 

[Revlefty]

My parents owned a cottage at a Wisconsin lake for 50 years. we spent our summers on the beach, in the water, on the water, and in the sun. They retired in Florida so we continue to be beach lovers. Hopefully, when they no longer can use their Florida house, it will become mine. Love just sitting on the sand listening to the sound of the waves ... And waiting for the sun to set.