I am not a beach person. I hate heat, sand and crowds in no particular order.
School holidays in Sydney are a particularly hard time for me because my son loves the beach, in fact he loves the heat, sand and crowds in no particular order.
So yesterday when a friend asked me to accompany her and a tribe of about a zillion kids that she was looking after for the day, to the beach I nodded slowly and started rain dancing. It turns out that my rain dancing was very ineffective because this morning I woke up to the bluest skies you have ever seen.
One of the things that I hate almost as much as heat, sand and crowds is preparing for the beach. I am not sure if it is the Jewish mother in me or just the fact that I could have been a very good boy scout (I take the motto “Be Prepared” very seriously) but there was a lot of food involved. Fruit and sandwiches and chips and lollies and more fruit and different kind of sandwiches and some treats and some more fruit. And then the sun block – the spray one and the cream one. Oh and the face one. The beach ball and a soccer ball and some chairs and an umbrella. And water and hats and swimmers and changes of clothes and just So Much Stuff. I was glad I had space in my car for some kids.
A drive to the beach with two 12-year-old boys and two 12-year-old girls is always very interesting and something that may one day go on my list of things that I hate, but I am too much of a sticky beak for that right now and I love eavesdropping on their conversations. I learned that … actually I learned nothing – they repeated each other a lot and played games on their iPhones while texting the kids we were about to meet. Actually that is not true, I learned that it is NOT COOL if an adult sings along to the music on the radio even if it is very soft. Point taken.
We arrived at the beach and I braced myself for the heat, sand and crowds. I had quite a bit of bracing time because of said crowds and parked in a leafy suburb mere kilometres from the beach. I then destroyed the backs of two 12-year-old boys by asking them to carry the food down to the beach.
We met their friends, and my friend who had more food than I did. I was just getting myself ready to complain about the heat, the sand and crowds when we found a place to sit under the tree. There was hardly any sand on the grass where we sat, there was no-one close to us and the shade provided the perfect shelter against the heat.
Extra explanations for selecting sales online viagra you could try these out range from the physical to the psychological. The First Tip: Do not panic and jump at the first sign of pain, discomfort, numbness, or excess swelling. uk tadalafil Preparing establishments are given, also, and also there are also ordinarily eating places canada cialis online the place customers might assuming they can’t cook. Most universities offer two-year degrees that cialis 5mg price are specialized Associate’s degrees with a focus on a particular subject matter, in addition to four-year Bachelor’s degrees. I looked out and saw this.
I looked right and saw my friend.
I looked at the beach and saw nine kids beaming with delight and running to the calm, welcoming sea.
I still hate the heat, the beach and crowds but I had an awesome day today.
Even when I got home and unpacked as much food as I had taken.
Are you a beach person?
This is so true – talk “beach” and everyone thinks Bondi or some other cliche… but there are so many beaches – almost 100 in Sydney for example – and all so different…
If someone asked me to Bondi, I’d probably say no… but I love walking down to my local inner-harbour beach, buying some calamari and chips, sitting near the water under the shade of a moreton bay fig… that’s what I call a beach!
The very word Bondi makes me ill 🙂
I was going to comment when you told me, but I was too impressed to speak.
I am getting to be less of a Non-Beach Person now that my kids are older and a) are less at risk of drowning, b) are less at risk of getting lost, c) can help me schlep all the crap to and from the car.
But I still am bothered by the sticky, hot and sandy.
PROUD of you.
Next time you come with me!
Also I think I meant ‘shlep’.
What’s not to love about Nielsen Park? It’s the best beach in Sydney and so much nicer than Bondi. See you down there this summer (I’m the one that looks like the beached whale)
I look forward to that!
Looooove the beach. But then I was born in the Caribbean 🙂 Ant and I have slowly been working our way closer and closer to the beach and this next house will be only 1km away. Which is thrilling for us. As is the fact that our kids seem to love the beach as much as us.
At least you don’t have to drive the whole grocery cupboard over – you can just walk it down! xx
I’ve never been a beach fan. Perhaps it was going up in the desert or the fact that sand annoys me. And I was actually afraid of large bodies of water until I was 12 (did I mention the desert bit?).
And my wife doesn’t like them either so we MAY have spent the first 3 years of the twins life pretending the beach was a made-up place (no judging). Eventually they twigged so we had to start regular trips and it is wonderful to see their faces. Almost worth it. Ok probably worth it.
I wish the beach were a made up place!
I’m with you on the too hot bit. Especially in North Queensland where you have to dodge deadly stingers as well!
Ewwww stingers!
If beaches had no sand (but I don’t want pebbles, like in England, I’m thinking maybe nice grass right down to the water’s edge), I’d be much more of a fan.
I like the idea of cement! Grass can be a little sandy 🙂
Definitely a beach bumb. Love it. With 5 kids it’s the easiest and cheapest way to wear them out in summer. All the stuff, sunscreen and sand in the car? Not so much.
It is cheap! Our day at the beach cost exactly nothing! xx
Shhh…please keep Nielsen a secret. Too many people are finding out – I’ve even see tourist groups being herded in there 🙂
Shhhh not mentioning a word 😉
I’m with John James and the spreading tree…it somehow justifies all that packing of STUFF (mainly food)! Nielsen is exquisite, mid-week but avoid it on the weekends 🙂
On the weekends the safest place is home. Did I mention I hate crowds? xxx