Lesson's from the beach.
Earlier in the year we visited Harbor Cove and had our first taste of the Pacific. We walked on a bit of sand, dipped our toes in the water and found a crab hiding in the rocks. It was a breezy Sunday afternoon and it was fun. It wasn't a real beach trip though.
Once again Brandan was hard at work while the kids and I went off on an adventure to remember. We drove from our house to Santa Monica State Beach. It was two long hours in the car to reach our destination and we were determined to dive right in. We had a blast, made some memories and learned some lessons we would love to share with you today.
Lesson #1- Bring an umbrella. Of course my first plan of attack was to check Pinterest for awesome beach ideas to make our first real beach day epic. I saw this idea to make a beautiful tent from ropes, sticks and a couple of bed sheets. I packed up our clever tent items and we hit the sand. Guess what?! Its windy at the beach and instead of making a tent we created a kite. Not as awesome as planned so we took it down and toughed out the sun. I had a vision in my mind about reading a book with a cool beach breeze blowing over me while my kids frolicked in the waves. That didn't happen either though. An umbrella would have been awesome!
Lesson #2- No inflatables. I had no idea! We packed up our pool bag full of floating toys and hit the beach running. The lifeguard very politely told me that was a no go. Really he was very very nice about it though. The toys we wish we had, Body Boards! I didn't know what they were so I included a link that goes to Amazon. I have no clue what makes a good or bad board so don't take this as a thumbs up for this product. We've also heard them called boogie boards but when searching the internet that brought us to little electronic tablets. These tablets also look cool, but not for the ocean.
Lesson #3- Ziploc's are awesome! I'm not a huge fan of leaving my valuables unattended. I locked up the important stuff in the car but what to do with the car keys? I packed them up in three Ziploc bags and kept them on me the whole time. They came out perfectly dry and happy. They are also great for bringing shells home and not getting sand all over in the car. Thank you to whoever invented these little lifesavers!
Lesson #4- Fitted sheets made the sand issue a lot easier. All over the internet there are tips about fitted sheets and keeping the sand off your space. It also keeps the sand contained in your car for the trip home. When we were loading up there was no getting all the sand off our things. We put everything sand decorated and wrapped it up in the sheet. We tied up the corners and just like magic the mess stayed contained until we could shake it out over grass. Magical!
Lesson #5- Don't bring anything in you cant live with out. I'm not a sunglass snob, I'm a connoisseur. I'll admit it. I only love Oakley sunglasses. When you find something you love, why get something else? That might be my guilt talking but I'm taking this a little hard. While splashing in the ocean I found myself in the mercy of a bigger than me wave. When I came up from the water I was short one pair of precious Oakley sunglasses. I had to borrow my daughters non Oakley glasses to drive home. This taught me two important lessons. Don't take anything in that you cant live without. The ocean swooped them up and somewhere out there is a mermaid rocking my beloved shades and looking fabulous. Number two, If I bought my kids Oakleys as well I would have had a pair to drive home in. The positive side of this is that we will all be getting new glasses to block those bright sunshiny rays.
The beach was awesome. I loved even just watching the people play. I understand now the draw to just find a place and be there. On a cool breezy day I could have napped there for hours. I will be going back armed with better beach toys, an umbrella and a book for sure. I will also bring a waterproof camera because there was a million photos I wanted to take but I didn't want to risk my phone to the ocean gods that day. I've posted a few we did get along with the kids quick trip take on the day.
Id love to know, what is the best part about the beach to you? I know we have a lot to learn here.
Remember to fill your life with memories instead of dreams.
{Hugs}
Misty
Once again Brandan was hard at work while the kids and I went off on an adventure to remember. We drove from our house to Santa Monica State Beach. It was two long hours in the car to reach our destination and we were determined to dive right in. We had a blast, made some memories and learned some lessons we would love to share with you today.
Lesson #1- Bring an umbrella. Of course my first plan of attack was to check Pinterest for awesome beach ideas to make our first real beach day epic. I saw this idea to make a beautiful tent from ropes, sticks and a couple of bed sheets. I packed up our clever tent items and we hit the sand. Guess what?! Its windy at the beach and instead of making a tent we created a kite. Not as awesome as planned so we took it down and toughed out the sun. I had a vision in my mind about reading a book with a cool beach breeze blowing over me while my kids frolicked in the waves. That didn't happen either though. An umbrella would have been awesome!
Lesson #2- No inflatables. I had no idea! We packed up our pool bag full of floating toys and hit the beach running. The lifeguard very politely told me that was a no go. Really he was very very nice about it though. The toys we wish we had, Body Boards! I didn't know what they were so I included a link that goes to Amazon. I have no clue what makes a good or bad board so don't take this as a thumbs up for this product. We've also heard them called boogie boards but when searching the internet that brought us to little electronic tablets. These tablets also look cool, but not for the ocean. Lesson #3- Ziploc's are awesome! I'm not a huge fan of leaving my valuables unattended. I locked up the important stuff in the car but what to do with the car keys? I packed them up in three Ziploc bags and kept them on me the whole time. They came out perfectly dry and happy. They are also great for bringing shells home and not getting sand all over in the car. Thank you to whoever invented these little lifesavers!
Lesson #4- Fitted sheets made the sand issue a lot easier. All over the internet there are tips about fitted sheets and keeping the sand off your space. It also keeps the sand contained in your car for the trip home. When we were loading up there was no getting all the sand off our things. We put everything sand decorated and wrapped it up in the sheet. We tied up the corners and just like magic the mess stayed contained until we could shake it out over grass. Magical!Lesson #5- Don't bring anything in you cant live with out. I'm not a sunglass snob, I'm a connoisseur. I'll admit it. I only love Oakley sunglasses. When you find something you love, why get something else? That might be my guilt talking but I'm taking this a little hard. While splashing in the ocean I found myself in the mercy of a bigger than me wave. When I came up from the water I was short one pair of precious Oakley sunglasses. I had to borrow my daughters non Oakley glasses to drive home. This taught me two important lessons. Don't take anything in that you cant live without. The ocean swooped them up and somewhere out there is a mermaid rocking my beloved shades and looking fabulous. Number two, If I bought my kids Oakleys as well I would have had a pair to drive home in. The positive side of this is that we will all be getting new glasses to block those bright sunshiny rays. The beach was awesome. I loved even just watching the people play. I understand now the draw to just find a place and be there. On a cool breezy day I could have napped there for hours. I will be going back armed with better beach toys, an umbrella and a book for sure. I will also bring a waterproof camera because there was a million photos I wanted to take but I didn't want to risk my phone to the ocean gods that day. I've posted a few we did get along with the kids quick trip take on the day.
Id love to know, what is the best part about the beach to you? I know we have a lot to learn here.
Remember to fill your life with memories instead of dreams.
{Hugs}
Misty