Kim in Baltimore enjoying the summer weather.
Summer is my favorite season. That’s right, I enjoy the heat, the smell of fresh-cut grass, the sunny mornings spent strolling through the farmer’s market choosing the freshest vegetables, and lazily reading in my yard in a lawn chair listening as the ice-cream truck drives by with its music and bells chiming. But most of all I love the beach. 
From the first summer of my life until I was twelve years old, my family spent our summers on the shores of New Jersey in Atlantic City. My mom would take us out onto the beach in the morning and our afternoons were spent visiting the shops along the boardwalk. Pop-Pop was never far behind, trailing after us to be sure we were safe. We had our own security detail!
Once, Pop-Pop spent an entire morning searching the beach for a tooth my sister lost. He was more upset than she was when he came back empty-handed. In the evening we went to the Steel Pier to see the diving horses and listen to music.
Family vacations have always been important to me. I have carried on the tradition of going to the beach. Each year since my children have been born we have traveled, even if only for the weekend, to the beach. Living in Baltimore, we are fortunate to be within a three hour drive to beaches in Delaware and New Jersey as well as Maryland. I was not able to contain myself to the east coast, though, and have taken my family – by train – to beaches in Chicago and San Francisco as well. We have visited as far south as Cocoa Beach and Miami Beach and went up north to Old Orchard Beach in Maine.
However many beaches I’ve visited, Rehoboth Beach has become my favorite place to relax. I love the bookstore and the coffee shops and the easy living of the place. You’ll find me there at least one weekend a month during summer. I think I may need to go there now!
Dear Reader,
Do you enjoy the beach? What is your favorite thing to do during the summer months?
I love the beach! Unfortunately, there aren’t any where I live now. Please take me with you next time you go to Rehoboth Beach!
You are always welcome!
I love the beach, too – and I’m as little as twenty minutes away from one. My current favorite is Jeness Beach in Rye, NH and that’s only a thirty-minute drive. It’s flat so the water is much safer for swimming, you can walk a long way in either direction, and most important – no green head flies in July! And Crane Beach a half hour south is also lovely, but quite expensive to park.
I would love to live that close to a beach!
My fair Irish complexion didn’t mix well with days at the beach, and I have the pictures to prove it. (We used to spend time at Bay Head on the Jersey Shore.) But I did love to swim in the ocean–my father taught me how to body-surf. I was a bit horrified when my daughter was frightened of all that moving water when she first saw it, and she still doesn’t like it much. I guess ocean swimming is not hereditary. (My favorite thing? I’d be in Ireland, where, yes, there is a beach I go and pick up shells and bits of broken china, which is said to be the remnants of the china pieces departing emigrants couldn’t take with them so they pitched them overboard.)
I would love to visit a beach in Ireland. It’s on my bucket list!
Can’t-do sun (medication), but I enjoy the beach off-season when it is just sand and waves.
Any season is a good season at the beach!
I love the concept of the beach – unfortunately I can’t sit in the sun for very long these days, so a trip would involve lugging along bulky umbrellas or a tent. But I have fond memories of the town beach along Lake Erie when I was growing up. My girl has made two trips up to Presque Isle in Erie, PA this summer with friends and had a blast.
I am not a fan of lugging things to the beach. Last year I bought a beach chair with and awning attached to it. It’s great. When my husband comes, he still sets up the umbrella, but the chair is easy for me to set up on my own.
Beaches and mountains both call to me, but growing up – beaches definitely – I can still hear the WABC disc jockeys chanting, “it’s time to turn so you don’t burn.” We spent time at Seaside Heights, Lavalette, and Wildwood Crest every year growing up. As a young adult, I moved to Miami and for the first few years spent time on the beaches year round, then I took up scuba diving again and spent my time swimming with the fishes instead of jumping the waves.
Who else remembers the unique smell of Coppertone deep tanning oil?
My mom used Coppertone oil. She was more careful with our skin, but, as a child, I don’t recall using sunscreen at all. I love the smell of suntan lotion!
I love the beach and the sun, but I was a strawberry blonde before I was white and we just don’t get along…when I was young we had a few lakes and ponds to go to.
Lakes, streams, rivers, I love them all. When I haven’t time for a trek to the beach I head down to the reservoir. They have a small sandy beach that sees me through until I can make it to the ocean.
I love the beach in cool weather — you can have the crowds, the hot sand, and the traffic. I’ll go when it’s quiet. My favorite summer activity is finding a cool place to read a good book.
That’s my favorite summer activity, too!
I live on the beautiful Gulf Coast of Florida within minutes of sixteen gorgeous miles of silky soft sandy barrier island beaches. NUff said.
You are extremely lucky!
I have fair skin so the beach in summer is not for me. We lived in Guam for 2 years where the sun is really intense and I got really good at finding all the shady places to be! I love the beach in cooler weather.
I love the beach year round. For me, nothing is as wonderful as the sound of the waves on the sand.
You know how I love the beach, Kim! Now I want to visit Rehoboth!
I just walked in the door from NYC thirty minutes ago, but give me eight hours to sleep and I’ll be ready for a trip to the beach!
I LOVE the beach! All my life I’ve lived in a town on Long Island Sound, either in Fairfield County CT or in New Haven County. Whenever I leave the house, I try to find time to drive along the beach to wherever I’m going. Every beach is different; and each beach changes every day over the course of the day with each new tide. And where do I go when I’m on vacation? To another beach, of course! Our vacation destination has been Chincoteague VA for over 25 years. I’m not a sun-worshipper, as I have fair skin and can burn easily. However, I use sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, and limit my time in the sun. I like the beaches for birdwatching and shell collecting, and for the calming sounds of the water.
The beach makes everything wonderful! I would love to drive by the beach everyday. I’ve told my husband I am not moving unless we can live within walking distance to the beach. Any beach.
I love your family stories. The lost tooth must be a family favorite. Lots of love in that one.
My Pop-Pop was quite a character and took his job as grandfather extremely seriously. Thanks for reading!
I love the beach as well, but I don’t seem to make it there very often. I live close enough to go. Of course, I’ve been driving all over CA every weekend since the beginning of June so maybe that’s part of it. But I need to go again soon.
Mark, walk away from the computer and run to the closest beach. Go. Now!
I’m not a beach person, never have been. First of all, I really don’t like water and secondly, I have never found the appeal of having sand up my butt. Give me the mountains anytime! Now, somehow, my daughter can’t get enough of the water and beach. And she lives in AZ! Sure isn’t hereditary.
I do enjoy a trip to the mountains, especially mountain streams. The sand does not bother me. I come from a very neat family, so we are always equipped with water bottles and wet towels to remove any pesky sand.
I love the beach, but Oregon’s beaches aren’t very…well, beachy. Most of the time, the weather is cold and wet, and the beachfront is crowded with logs. And forget about getting into the water unless you’re wearing a wet suit and don’t mind braving sharks, undertows and those logs. Still…I love Oregon’s beaches for their rugged beauty, expansiveness and that view of the Pacific.
Kathleen Valenti
I have yet to make it to Oregon but have been planning a trip to visit my friend in Portland. The beach sounds beautiful. When I was in San Francisco, the water at the beach was freezing and everyone who went in was wearing a wet suit. I got my feet wet for a few seconds just so I could say I did. Too cold for me!
I prefer the beach in spring or fall when it’s not so crowded & the weather is cooler. I won’t ever swim in it, so I don’t mind if it’s colder outside.
Rehoboth in the fall is great. I love going in late September. The crowds are gone, but the weather is still nice enough to sit out on the beach.
Not a beach person. I garden in the summer. Gardeners tout the belief that there is some enzyme in the dirt that acts as a antidepressant. I don’t know, but I do know that by March, I am craving dirt on my hands. Potted soil isn’t the same, it needs to be real dirt. The byproduct of crawling around in the dirt is flowers, of course, and that is nice too.
I have a vegetable garden that I use and enjoy very much. My husband does most of the work, though. I do the cooking.
I’m with you when it comes to dirt. And no gloves allowed!
LOL! I have four pairs of gloves I lay out before I go outside, each for a specific purpose and sometimes I even put them on but somewhere along the line, they get torn off and thrown in dirt. I’m not even aware of it happening.
Sit and read on the beach.