Please explain east coast beach vacations to me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.oregonlive.com/travel/2020/05/crowds-return-to-cannon-beach-as-oregon-coast-town-begins-to-reopen.html%3foutputType=amp

“Crowds return to Cannon Beach.” Lol.

That’s not a crowd.

OP here. I just want to be completely clear that I don’t think west coast beaches are superior for recreation. They are a means to a windsurfing/watersports end. But I’ve literally never heard of anyone in my DC social circle windsurfing here so I just assumed it’s not what people are doing.

Windsurfing was mildly popular on the East Coast ~30 years ago but we don’t get the strong, sustained wind here so it never took off (ba-da-bump).

Plenty of other watersports though for active people. You just need to find your people. Try kayaking great falls?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah. I’d skip it. Summers on the warm soft east coast sand beaches, with their people sitting under umbrellas enjoying a sea breeze and reading books got nothing on a rocky west cost beach with its waves crashing on large rocks. And the numerous food places, games, rides, and bars and restaurants are nothing like the pristine desolation of coastal Olympic peninsula.

Right, a crowded boardwalk with fried food and bars is MUCH better than the Olympic peninsula.

OP, I’m with you. I grew up in California and find the East Coast beach vacation to be excruciating. The beaches are ugly and crowded here, and beach towns are expensive and over developed. And I even grew up near a California beach town where it is warm enough to sit on a towel for a while (Avila Beach.)

Oh yeah, because the beaches are so empty and stunning in California. That's if you like heroin needles and the smell of urine from the local homeless encampment. No wonder people travel from all over the world to go to...... Avila Beach....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.oregonlive.com/travel/2020/05/crowds-return-to-cannon-beach-as-oregon-coast-town-begins-to-reopen.html%3foutputType=amp

“Crowds return to Cannon Beach.” Lol.

That’s not a crowd.

um, are you under the impression that crowded beaches are an amenity?

Generally, most beautiful places have lots of people who want to go. You're gonna find a hell of a lot more people lined up to go to the Louvre than to the Indiana string Bean Hall of Fame or whatever

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be something really missing in someone who needs something as simple as the beauty of a summer day, or the warm breeze of the ocean, or the sound of waves lapping against the shore as you nap on a towel, explained to them. What did Aniston say about Brad Pitt? "A sensitivity chip missing"?

a nap while surrounded by a thousand other nappers and screaming children, in the shadow of fugly condos and tatty decaying dunes, hold very little charm fo anyone who has experienced the majesty of west coast beaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.oregonlive.com/travel/2020/05/crowds-return-to-cannon-beach-as-oregon-coast-town-begins-to-reopen.html%3foutputType=amp

“Crowds return to Cannon Beach.” Lol.

That’s not a crowd.

um, are you under the impression that crowded beaches are an amenity?

Generally, most beautiful places have lots of people who want to go. You're gonna find a hell of a lot more people lined up to go to the Louvre than to the Indiana string Bean Hall of Fame or whatever

Oh did you mean the Indy 500, or the thousands of European sports enthusiasts who come to Indiana for the Formula One races?

[Anonymous]

Spent my summers at the Cape and now spend a good amount of time there and DS spends pretty much the whole summer there

Our days look like:

Get up and have breakfast outside. DS will play with whatever kids are renting some of the houses at the beach. Usually playing with remote cars on the quiet street or riding their bikes up and down
Head to beach around 10. Immediately in the water for a couple of hours. Then DS will find kids to build sand castles with or play with a ball while I read and relax. Then back in the water. Usually for a walk or two. Sometimes bring fishing gear and walk down to the pier to fish. Leave around 430.

At night there is mini golf, kids in the neighborhood, some beaches have bonfires, etc. To change things up, sometimes we rent a boat or go sailing. A couple of times a week the ways are perfect for bogie boards.

It never gets boring for us but it's stuff we enjoy doing. DS could spend all day ij the ocean and love it. I could spend all day going between the ocean and reading in the sun.

I totally get spending your days doing this isn't for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.oregonlive.com/travel/2020/05/crowds-return-to-cannon-beach-as-oregon-coast-town-begins-to-reopen.html%3foutputType=amp

“Crowds return to Cannon Beach.” Lol.

That’s not a crowd.

um, are you under the impression that crowded beaches are an amenity?

Not at all. Thought it was hilarious. And it clearly makes the op’s point that people don’t hang out on the beaches in OR.

You can find less crowded beaches on the east coast. They’re quite lovely. Warm and sunny, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be something really missing in someone who needs something as simple as the beauty of a summer day, or the warm breeze of the ocean, or the sound of waves lapping against the shore as you nap on a towel, explained to them. What did Aniston say about Brad Pitt? "A sensitivity chip missing"?

a nap while surrounded by a thousand other nappers and screaming children, in the shadow of fugly condos and tatty decaying dunes, hold very little charm fo anyone who has experienced the majesty of west coast beaches.

Much better to be surrounded by howling, freezing wind, the smell of rotting seaweed that smells like week-old fish, and sketchy homeless looking types. No wonder everyone flocks to those west coast rocks that you call beaches

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.oregonlive.com/travel/2020/05/crowds-return-to-cannon-beach-as-oregon-coast-town-begins-to-reopen.html%3foutputType=amp

“Crowds return to Cannon Beach.” Lol.

That’s not a crowd.

um, are you under the impression that crowded beaches are an amenity?

Generally, most beautiful places have lots of people who want to go. You're gonna find a hell of a lot more people lined up to go to the Louvre than to the Indiana string Bean Hall of Fame or whatever

Oh did you mean the Indy 500, or the thousands of European sports enthusiasts who come to Indiana for the Formula One races?

No, I mean some stupid small town museum with nothing going for it. And of course, east coast beaches being like the Mona Lisa or other renowned beauties

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.oregonlive.com/travel/2020/05/crowds-return-to-cannon-beach-as-oregon-coast-town-begins-to-reopen.html%3foutputType=amp

“Crowds return to Cannon Beach.” Lol.

That’s not a crowd.

um, are you under the impression that crowded beaches are an amenity?

Generally, most beautiful places have lots of people who want to go. You're gonna find a hell of a lot more people lined up to go to the Louvre than to the Indiana string Bean Hall of Fame or whatever

lol I’ve seen the popular E Coast beaches. They aren’t beautiful - they’re just the only thing you know.

anyway I understand what OP is getting at in terms of activities. Out west (and I’m including places like Colorado and New Mexico) outdoor activities are just much more a part of life and culture than they are in the DC area. Before anyone whined about how they “love hiking,” let me tell you it’s just very different out there.

[Anonymous]

One word to describe west coast beaches: dumpy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.oregonlive.com/travel/2020/05/crowds-return-to-cannon-beach-as-oregon-coast-town-begins-to-reopen.html%3foutputType=amp

“Crowds return to Cannon Beach.” Lol.

That’s not a crowd.

um, are you under the impression that crowded beaches are an amenity?

Not at all. Thought it was hilarious. And it clearly makes the op’s point that people don’t hang out on the beaches in OR.

You can find less crowded beaches on the east coast. They’re quite lovely. Warm and sunny, too.

Unless you’re going up to Maine, there’s nothing that even comes close to W coast beaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One word to describe west coast beaches: dumpy.

ocean city v olympic peninsula. one is dumpy; the other is ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.oregonlive.com/travel/2020/05/crowds-return-to-cannon-beach-as-oregon-coast-town-begins-to-reopen.html%3foutputType=amp

“Crowds return to Cannon Beach.” Lol.

That’s not a crowd.

um, are you under the impression that crowded beaches are an amenity?

Generally, most beautiful places have lots of people who want to go. You're gonna find a hell of a lot more people lined up to go to the Louvre than to the Indiana string Bean Hall of Fame or whatever

lol I’ve seen the popular E Coast beaches. They aren’t beautiful - they’re just the only thing you know.

anyway I understand what OP is getting at in terms of activities. Out west (and I’m including places like Colorado and New Mexico) outdoor activities are just much more a part of life and culture than they are in the DC area. Before anyone whined about how they “love hiking,” let me tell you it’s just very different out there.

But when you focus on that adrenaline spike you miss out on appreciating the natural beauty. I've hiked both places, and much prefer the east coast, because I find it much more beautiful and peaceful. I dont need to be climbing uphill for two hours to finally get to some peak and look out over a mostly brown landscape to get excited. I'd much rather stroll down a treelined, flat trail where my adrenaline isnt going a million miles an hour but it's gorgeous and soul-fulfilling.

West coast adrenaline obsessives seem to miss so much with their mentality. And look stupid when they need the very basics of the human experience explained to them as a result

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One word to describe west coast beaches: dumpy.

ocean city v olympic peninsula. one is dumpy; the other is ...

Fun!