I have always been extremely fond of the beach, but my mom on the other hand would prefer to not be beachside. She is one of the very few people that does not have a constant desire to be sitting on the beach five hours a day and baking in the sun. Why is it that people choose to sit on the beach all day instead of another travel destination? We all know that Americans and people worldwide love "beaching", and I have decided I'm going to get to the root of this obsession.
This year I went to Myrtle Beach on vacation with two of my best friends and I had a blast. I am not the only person in this country that loves the beach, and this year I discovered why we enjoy it so much. It starts with the simplicity of being on the beach. It is very hard to feel stressed out when hearing the crash of the waves against the shore. As the famous Zac Brown Band once said, "only worry in the world is if the tides gonna reach my chair". I couldn't have said it any better myself. Shore there were a ton of things I could have been worrying about. Maybe this article or summer reading or traveling to Poland in three short days, but none of that even dented my utter serenity on that sandy beach. It is a week or so in which you can completely escape all of your worries, and that is very hard to find in all of our busy lives.
Our society has developed a love for laying out in the sun and turning our skin a darker color. I am definitely guilty of the desire to be tan myself. So, having the time to lay on the beach all day and gain that precious skin color is a very sought after thing in our world. I turned two skin shades darker in my time at the beach, and I saw other people on the ocean shore basking in the sun hoping to achieve that beautiful glow. For some reason, everyone thinks you can get more color at the beach. It might just be a myth, but I believe it too.
The beach is a place that seriously never gets old. I could go to the beach for two weeks and do the exact same thing every day. Here is how my daily routine at the beach worked. Wake up. Breakfast. Beach for two hours. Lunch. More beach. Shower. Dinner. Late night beach walk. Bed. Repeat. This is another thing that draws people into a beach vacation. Even if it is a vacation, you still have a routine. Most parents love the idea of keeping their kids in a routine, and what is better than being able to do that and have a vacation!
If you're not into just laying at the beach all day, water activities are always readily available for you. This year I went parasailing and banana boating, and both of them were very fun and exciting. Whether you're into laying around all day or going out and having fun, the beach has it all. Also, for all the athletic people, running on the beach is an awesome exercise that works all of your muscles.
If you are not attracted to any of those activities, the idea of warm weather alone can lure people in. coming from an area where we have fairly cold winters, looking forward to the beach and warm weather is the only thing that gets me through. This beach trip, I talked to many people who said they go to the beach because it is always going to be warm.
For adults, the night scene in large beach destinations can be very exciting. There are multiple bars and restaurants that allow you to continue your fun through all hours of the night.
The beach has been pleasing people since the beginning of time. I have always wondered what drew people to the idea of the beach. But after I waved goodbye to the beach, I realized that we all are in love with the idea of relaxing and being happy (except my mom), and there is no better place to do that than on a beautiful beach.
