[0akback]

I love the beach, but I'm totally over the "day trip". I don't want to go to the beach unless I have a house to stay at overnight, then I absolutely love it!

In the summer we don't go very often, it's just too hot, and the warm water is far from refreshing. I enjoy the beach during every other part of the year though, including winter. My mom always rents a house or condo in PCB for New Years and invites us, and it's so nice with the lack of crowds and no pressure spend all day on the sand.

[Consent Withdrawn]

Every year if possible; sometimes multiple times. The benefits of being close to the coast!

[FLBob]

I'm less than a 2 minute walk to the beach. I don't go everyday but I go often. There are many reasons I go to the beach, but most all the reasons have some component of de-stressing. My neighbor and his wife say they have gone everyday since they moved here 25 years ago.
The closer you are to the beach the more likely you will go.
A friend that just moved to the area goes almost every day, he's getting hooked on hunting for sharks teeth. After loosing his son in a car wreck a few years back he now finds the beach cathartic.

[FertilityDoc]

For us, our condo is our refuge away from home. Being on the beach has it's advantages. I agree that the closer you are to the beach, the more likely you are to use it and enjoy it. I will go for a walk to the beach everyday we are in paradise. There is nothing like mindlessly walking down the beach and seeing what the ocean has washed up that day. Watching the dive-bombing pelicans is a never ending source of fascination. The sand pipers scurrying along the surf are beautiful to watch. The sea turtle nests are great to see. Can I find an intact sand dollar? The largest shell I've ever found? I am still awed by the power of the waves. It is amazing to see how the beach changes with the seasons. It never is the the same. Walking along the beach is truly peaceful. There is nothing in life that makes me feel at one with nature as much as being at the beach.

[BlueWillowPlate]

I love walking, swimming, or just contemplating eternity at the beach.
But wait...there's more!
One morning last month, I watched this little guy leave his nest and crawl to the Atlantic.

Last Saturday, I watched four more baby loggerheads hatch and make their way to the sea.

It just doesn't get much better than that.
Children and adults can learn a lot at the beach.

[AB2009]

Great pictures! My kids would love to see something like that

[bocamom]

I agree that kids can learn a lot at the beach! Not only is there swimming, respect for animals, weather patterns, and sports, but there is also so much about water management, and "where does it go when you flush the toilet" and litter, and that seaweed comes from the sargasso sea and plastic goes there, and all the plastic in the gyres, and picking up litter, and learning the way plastics are made and break down, and all the chemicals in sewage, and how development has affected inlet effluent. . . etc. . . etc. . . my six year old has an education that most adults can't claim in his two + years of living flat on a filthy beach.

Like, here, none of the turtles hatched last year. Why? he really intends to figure that out and get the sewage outfall pipe shut down.

and the exercise! football, soccer, volleyball, frisbee, surfing, running, kickball, yoga and meditation, pirate games. . . . an amazing classroom.

i have been going through chemo and multiple surgeries since we lived here. anywhere else he'd have been cooped up more and it may have been overwhelming, since i went long periods of time with no driving, but we just walk out there as soon as the sun fades and it is invaluable. sometimes the most i can do is sit in a lotus and teach him meditation, and hen watch him run around, but it is better than being inside.

I think kids should spend a couple of years in nature to get a feel for it and understand ecosystemics better. i am willing to bet this kid will be a lifelong environmentalist.

[kristin4]

I am living about 40 minutes from the beach. I will try and get to the beach once or twice a week.
I wish we could live closer, just can't afford anything that is close enough. I would rather drive an extra 30 minutes or so and save $100,000+ on a home.

I feel blessed that I am down here. I have the chance, to be where I feel good enough, to want to walk on the beach.

Right now, we are testing out new beaches in the area. We are trying to find one, we will all enjoy.
So, a 100-150 times a year is what I am hoping for...

[Mt.SNOW]

Originally Posted by FertilityDoc

For us, our condo is our refuge away from home. Being on the beach has it's advantages. I agree that the closer you are to the beach, the more likely you are to use it and enjoy it. I will go for a walk to the beach everyday we are in paradise. There is nothing like mindlessly walking down the beach and seeing what the ocean has washed up that day. Watching the dive-bombing pelicans is a never ending source of fascination. The sand pipers scurrying along the surf are beautiful to watch. The sea turtle nests are great to see. Can I find an intact sand dollar? The largest shell I've ever found? I am still awed by the power of the waves. It is amazing to see how the beach changes with the seasons. It never is the the same. Walking along the beach is truly peaceful. There is nothing in life that makes me feel at one with nature as much as being at the beach.

Oh my you took the words right out of my mouth, how majestic the waves, and the smell, the sand between your toes, its peaceful, its sooooooo unreal.


LOVE THE BABY TURTLE PICS THANKS FOR SHARING, GOT TO HELP ONE YR WALK A BUNCH OF BABIES DOWN, I DON'T THINK I HAVE EVER DONE ANYTHING AS COOL!!!!!

[ChrisA70]

Once a year if that. And I am 25 minutes away. BUT when I lived on the east coast of FL(Melbourne, Palm Bay, Vero Beach) I was there every week or 2.... Love the beaches over there.