I want a beach house

I’m currently enjoying a stay-cation. I’ve come to realize that taking a couple of days off from work and enjoying some of the fun tourist things that are close to your own home is highly under-rated.

Today I went to the beach. I live 30-45 minutes from the beach and the last time I’ve been to the beach during the summer was about three years ago. So I made a conscience decision this year that I would go to the beach more, or at least once. I bought a beach chair, a beach towel, and let’s not forget the sunscreen. I got some spiffy new 90 SPF. It’s like full body armor in lotion form. It’s freakin awesome!

So this morning, I loaded up with all my beach gear and headed out. And it was great! The sun was shining. There was a gentle breeze coming off the water, and the water was a refreshing 60 degrees (by “refreshing” I mean your limbs grown numb after a few minutes).

I also took a walk around and looked at the beach houses and day dreamed about how one day I’ll rent a beach house and invite my family and friends to come stay with me. Some people may think that’s crazy. Why would anyone want to spend their summer in the same home with your extended family? I swear I’m not crazy. It’s just that growing up my Granddad had a lake house. And during the summer, my entire family, immediate and extended, would stay in the house together. Some of my best childhood memories are from that lake house. Riding my bike for hours in the circle drive, playing “kick-the-can” with my cousins, skipping rocks at the point, camping out in the front yard. These are all things that made up some of the best summers of my life. As a an adult, I realize that those summers helped develop a close bond among my entire family.

During my  visit to the beach today I continued to think about all my childhood summers spent at the lake house and how much I want to continue those traditions so that hopefully my children will be able to have fond memories of summers at a beach house with their family.