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A Day at the Beach

© Anne Paxton

It happens every summer. I get out my bathing suit from the back of the closet. I get the flip-flops, the sunglasses, the sun hat, and my magazines and plop them into my "summer bag" as I like to call the yellow and green canvas bag that I have resurrected from the bottom of the pile of purses I have in the corner of my bedroom. I pull my hair into the standard ponytail to keep it out of my face. I slap on the some sunscreen and I am out the door and head to the beach. Fast forward to about six hours later when I return home. My hair is a mess, there is sand in places I don't want to know about, I've lost my sunglasses and my skin is the color the fire engine that almost ran me off the road on my way home. The sight, as they say, wasn't very pretty.

Why does this always seem to happen? I imagine a simple day at the beach and yet I come home a total mess. A lot of it-surprise, surprise-is the preparation. The most important thing to start with is the bag, and remember, when it comes to the bag size does matter. A medium sized bag (no more than 15" x 12") should be enough to carry your essentials and it will prevent you from over packing the way a larger bag would. My preference is for canvas bags. The material is sturdy and durable and often comes in a large number of colors and designs. Some people prefer straw bags, but I find that they fray too quickly. This may not be true of higher end bags, but your talking to someone who enjoys buying on the cheap. The best place on line to look for a bag is http://www.ebags.com. They have a wide selection and very reasonable rates. And if you sign up with them they will contact you whenever they have a deal or a sale going on.

The second step is clothing. If you plan on wearing a bathing suit or bikini it shouldn't be necessary for you to wear anything more than a nice tank top or blouse with a pair of shorts or skirt and some sandals. Jeans, slacks, jackets, and extra shoes should not be necessary unless you plan on going someplace directly from the beach. If that is the case then keep those articles in your car and not in your bag. Do not even think of storing them "temporarily" in your bag. You will forget they are there and then end up heaving this stuff down to the beach. If you want to protect your face and head then a simple baseball cap or summer hat should do. And don't bring several caps to "match" your outfit. Pick one and stick with it.

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