Beach Bums | Pad Patter 6.15.18

Discussion in 'Chatty Pad' started by jenevang, Jun 15, 2018.

  1. jenevang

    jenevang Rocking a two-piece under my scrubs

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    Any of you out there? I'll be honest... the beach isn't really my thing normally. I think it's the red hair, white skin that burns when I think about the sun, tons of freckles and history of skin cancer that makes it lose it's appeal for me, LOL.

    So... we don't normally do the "beach" even though we live 3.5 hours away from the Gulf (the most beautiful beaches anywhere).

    This past weekend, I had the chance to run down to FL for 48 hours with 2 of my kids and we had a blast! Thankfully, it was overcast most of the time, even raining one day. But that didn't stop us from enjoying the sand and the waves and the time away.

    It was a blessing and I kind of didn't want to come back home!

    I'm a beach bum now! (especially when the sun is not shining too brightly :giggle )

    [​IMG]

    How about you?
     
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  2. jenn mccabe

    jenn mccabe She's OUR sunshine!

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    I grew up 30 minutes from the Jersey shore .... and then chose to live in multiple beach towns for about 5 years as a young adult. I'm a beach bum for sure! Although I don't like swimming in the ocean (I wade!) and don't particularity care for the sand sticking to everything ... go figure! But the smell of the salty air, the sound of the waves crashing, the dunes/grasses ... it's ingrained in my blood I guess. I love it.

    Love the gulf beaches ... so glad you got to get away for a little bit and so funny that you loved that it wasn't sunny!
     
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  3. kayjaydo

    kayjaydo Keeping my feet firmly on the ground

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    I prefer a pebbly beach to a sandy beach, and I LOVE rock pools! But we only get to go when on holiday, we live right in the middle of Germany and any beach is just too far to go to!
     
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  4. krscraps

    krscraps I'm a nerd.

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    I love the shore, hate the beach, if that makes sense. I love the Boardwalks on the Jersey shore, but never want to actually go on the beach. Haha.
     
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  5. michelepixels

    michelepixels A pun is not fully matured until it is full groan.

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    Mine is kind of a strange case. I grew up a 3rd generation native of San Diego. So you might think I had lots of beach experiences since childhood. However, my parents are frugal homebodies so we pretty much never went to the beach (I remember one real sandy beach experience and one walk along the cliffs of La Jolla). But then I had a boyfriend in college who lived in Mission Beach so for about a year I enjoyed experiencing part time beach living. Throughout my 20's I visited beaches from San Diego to Los Angeles often.

    Then, in 2000, my husband I moved here to Fredericksburg, VA. There are some river beaches nearby -- it has been an interesting change visiting rivers -- but the closest ocean beach is a 2.5 hour drive. We visited Virginia Beach once in 2000, and then I didn't make it back there until 2015, for a photography walk. Last year I actually went back twice though, and hope to go continue driving down there at least a couple times every year.

    I love the beach. I love the ocean even more. Although I think the Atlantic Ocean is weird; I prefer sunsets over the ocean. ;) I find it very relaxing to gaze across the emptiness of the vast expanse of ocean. I don't mind sand getting everywhere and love how it feels to walk in it. I love the smells and the roar of the waves. I just don't get there very often anymore.
     
  6. amien1

    amien1 I do enjoy a good exclamation point!

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    LOVE that gif! I'm a bulldog momma! ;)

    I grew up not far from the WA coast- and let's just say it's not the typical 'beach'- gray, usually cold & not super fun (Unless we were clam digging- that was fun!) Now I live in Eastern WA so not near the ocean beach- but the inlaws have a lake house- so we call that the beach! ;) I love to read my book, have a cold beer & my feet in the sand/water. I'm a sunbather in that aspect, but not like laying out in my swimsuit type of sunbather! lol!
     
  7. Iowan

    Iowan Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa

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    We live about 200 yards from the beach which has nice wooded trail leading down to it. During the summer we frequently pack a sack lunch and eat on the beach and people watch. We are close to a ferry boat launch which is also extremely interesting and peaceful to observe.

    I, like you @jenevang , have ALL the characteristics to avoid the sun (freckle easily, Irish heritage, burn and peel, skin cancer history, red highlights in hair, childhood sunburns). No sunbather here either!!
     
  8. gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

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    We live 30-40 minutes from Pensacola Beach, and about that from the nearest lake and river locations. There are a couple of creeks but they have subdivisions around them now . . . but I grew up swimming in them.

    I prefer the creek, lake, and river sites. There is white sand and the water is much more pleasant on the skin.

    I do love our beach. The sands are so very white and the water is amazing. I prefer to enjoy the beach under a huge tent or an umbrella though. I'm not a fan of getting sand everywhere. I prefer the gulf side waves to the sound side, but I don't have the balance or strength to combat the waves anymore - last visit I was immobilized for weeks afterward after getting knocked down by a wave.

    So I don't sunbathe anymore. My mom and grandma both have various skin cancers and I'm worried because when younger I **DID** layout with BABY OIL. YIKES. So I try to avoid it now.

    Even living as close as we do to the beach, we haven't visited often the past few years because of my back. Now that back is good, my hubby is working major overtime and he's the one that carries everything. LOL I really am ready to go for our annual trip (ha).
     
  9. rdjrneace

    rdjrneace Following the yellow brick road on foot

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    Takes us at least 10+ hours to reach a beach but I do love the waves hitting the beach. I can't sit all day at the beach but give me a couple of hours I can do that.

    I just recently booked a week vacation for all of my family (hubby, daughter, son-in-law, son, daughter-in-law, 8 grandkids, me and a partidge in a pear tree) at the Outer Banks. We have never been and I have to admit I am looking so forward to it. I also decided to get professional photos done while at the beach.
     
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  10. AJK

    AJK I plead the 5th ...

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    I am with Dawn-- I love the outdoors. We lived in Myrtle Beach for 9 years, and that was ENOUGH. The beach itself was ok, but polluted after every heavy rain. :badmoodSewage somehow seeps in, and it gave me an ear infection that re-occured 7 times. I now have issues with that ear. PLUS, the traffic is, umm,:crazy to put it mildly. The area was never designed to handle that many cars- only one main road.
    Lastly, actual public beach access--- if you want to go to the State park, then you can have it. But the heat and humidity make it a struggle lugging all your stuff and kiddos (if you have them) to a spot you claim as yours. :helpy
    I LOVE the beauty of the beach. But I am not a fish like my Mom, Son and little M.J. I don't like sand in my lower 40 :blush and I hate being tumbled by a wave. So, even though it is just over an hour's drive, nope. Not goin...hmph
     
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  11. bellbird

    bellbird Pollywog

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    most of our trips away involve the beach even though the nearest beach is about 15mins from our house but this is me too
    we use so much suncream, i've been vit D deficient - i remember running out of (face) moisturiser while we were in the UK and not thinking about it really when i bought a cheap one from the supermarket to use for the rest of the trip and then getting burnt in France when we finally saw some sun because i'm so used to SPF in moisturisers here. We have so many types of suncream in the bathroom cupboard it's probably bordering on ridiculous but that's part of # beachlife The sound of the ocean always has a calming effect on me, but it seems to have an energising effect on my kids - go figure
    I'm always amazed by the different colours of sand and pebbles at different beaches -i prefer to think of beach bum life as a lifelong process of scientific study! ;)
     
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  12. IntenseMagic

    IntenseMagic Some grannies cuss a lot. I'm some grannies.

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    I am so totally a beach bum! I have loved the beach since I first laid eyes on it at the age of 2 or so. We live about 6 hours from the ocean, but it's not bad for a long weekend or vacation, so we go at least once a year and sometimes many more times. My family owns 1/3 of a condo at Myrtle Beach, so we could go once a month or so if we were able. My retirement plan includes a house at a quiet beach and a permanent spot in the sand for the rest of my days! Hopefully in the next few years! I don't really burn easily at all, so a little sunscreen now and then and I'm all good.
     
  13. bbymks5

    bbymks5 Where oh where can it be?!?

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    If we lived closer than 5-6 hours away from a beach I'd be a total beach bum! I love everything about the beach; the sand, the smell, the waves, the seagulls, people watching...
     
  14. LeeAndra

    LeeAndra A total Betty.

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    I grew up in a very indoorsy (ha!) family who did travel to FL every year and visit various amusement parks + a couple of beaches but otherwise did NO outside activities (not even eating outside) growing up.

    I am very fair, burn very easily, & get overheated quickly so I wouldn't say that I'm a beach bum but I do enjoy it now that I have an umbrella big enough to completely shade me from the sun + found a beach with a staircase vs. having to go up & down the sand dunes in my bare feet lugging all of our crap.

    We go to Lake Michigan (the beach we like is about 45 minutes from here) a couple times during the summer for the kids. My daughter adores the water, and my son is finally warming up to the idea of being in it.
     
  15. Scrapping with Liz

    Scrapping with Liz Crafts for days.

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    Love the beach! I grew up in central FL. We could go to the Gulf or Atlantic. Then when I got married we moved to Jax and I was even closer to the beach, just 20 minutes away. Now we are at least 8 hours away from the beach. :( But we do live by lots of rivers, creeks, and lakes that I do enjoy. I prefer the ocean though.
     
  16. ashleywb

    ashleywb Sand in my toes

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    I LOVE the beach. I love the sand, sun and ocean, the breeze off the water and the sound of the waves. There's not much better than parking a chair down by the water and reading a good book. I even love that sticky, salty, sandy feeling on my skin. My parents have a place on the gulf coast so we go down there 2 or 3 times a year.
     
  17. Cherylndesigns

    Cherylndesigns All glasses should be bigger than 1.5 oz

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    I love the beach, too. I love living so close to the Gulf. I'd rather go to beaches that are off the beaten path, however. I don't like the really crowded beaches.
     
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  18. Amson

    Amson Yoo-hoo!

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    I love beaches especially early morning or late afternoon. I rarely go to beaches at holiday time or weekends as the beaches around here are usually too crowded. Being retired, it is wonderful to be able now to visit mid week. We have beautiful beaches here and the water is crystal clear. You can basically swim all year although that is one thing I don't do - swim at the beach.
     
  19. bestcee

    bestcee In love with places I've never been to

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    I love the beach - but rarely get to go anymore - Two fairly landlocked states (Utah and Nevada). We've been to a couple lakes a few times, but they aren't like lakes out east where there's a beach to them. There's like 2 feet of rocks and boom! water. Blah. They are good boating lakes, but that does not mean good beach lakes.

    I'm a product of the Great Lakes though, so the sand doesn't have to be white, the water doesn't have to be warm, or even very clean. Just give me an expanse of water to enjoy without worry that I'll drown 1 foot into the water.

    I need a beach vacation now!
     
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  20. jenn mccabe

    jenn mccabe She's OUR sunshine!

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    I am from this era too, and did the same thing! Or used that dark Hawaiian Tropics oil that smelled gloriously of coconuts while frying my skin! It's unreal to think of doing this now, but back then it was the norm. We are Irish too and my grandfather passed way too young due to Melanoma. His vice was always being outside playing golf. I really need to get a skin cancer screening but I'm afraid!

    I still love the sun but do it in very small increments and with sunscreen now.
     
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