Summer is a time for relaxation, sunshine and, of course, the beach. Duh. The beach is full of beautiful white sand, bright sun, and gorgeous beach bodies. All of these things are wonderful and great, don't get me wrong, I love the beach. It's just that sometimes all of these things have a bit of a negative effect on me and my fellow beach goers. Of course none of these things will actually deter any of us from soaking up that sun -- I just thought I would shed some light on some of the things that, while essential to beach life, are also a bit annoying.
Sunblock.
It protects our pure skin from the harmful rays, it gives us a nice bronze tan without a rough burn, it is the first line of defense against sunspots, freckles, skin cancer -- it pretty much saves lives. But none of those change the fact that the stuff is sticky and terrible. There is no grosser feeling than having either that lotion that attracts every grain of sand to your body, or that oily spray that gets stuck all over your hands. Again, it saves lives, but still.. no.
Sand.
So a beach is not really a beach without the pearly white sand to dig your feet into, right? There is nothing as beautiful as seeing that perfectly sand swept beach. But walking through that stuff is tough, not to mention it gets stuck to every piece of your body that is exposed, which is the most uncomfortable feeling ever. That's my workout for the week, the casual hike from the boardwalk to my towel. Oh, and you can visibly witness the changes in everyone's way of walking. They have this new arc in the back and look of pain on their faces.
Sun.
The sun gives us life. So a huge shout out to the sun for being the best buddy ever, but it also gives us burns that no amount of aloe can cure. And it seems that it is way too strong, because not a single pair of sunglasses can make it so that I don't squint and form some awesome wrinkles around my eyes. But hey, thanks anyways, Mr. Sun.
People.
People are great, people are fun, I love people just as much as the next person. However, I feel like there is so much open beach, yet people decide to set up their towels, chairs, and huge umbrellas right next to me every time I go. I get the feeling that it must just be an overwhelming majority of people with no sense of personal space. This is why people at the beach are a gift and a curse. I mean, it is a good place to make friends, especially when they are basically sitting right on top of you.
