I don't think you can do this at the local playground.

Coming to you from the beach, where for one week a year I embrace the fact that I have little to do besides read, walk, and look at the ocean. Always a breeze to keep the heat down, water to cool off in when I do get hot, and peace. My kids are happy to dig, ride waves, throw frisbee, walk with me up and down the beach, and are exhausted every night. Boring? Not in the least. Relaxing, restoring, wonderful!

I wouldn't choose to go with just a group of adults, but my kids have a lot of fun, so I enjoy seeing them happy.

I love being at the beach. But our beach is rarely crowded. I go during the week and am often the only person there. The sand is soft and the water is warm. It's delightfully breezy. I don't have young children so the beach is always relaxing. My favorite place!

We enjoy all types of travel and vacations.
We love being near the water though. Surfing, SUP, kayak, boating, even just swimming. Then sit on the beach and read a couple of books. Grilled fish for dinner, walk to the ice cream place. It's awesome.

I love the beach because there is so much to do.

We go to the beach and swim, ride the waves, build sand castles, volley ball, soccer, bury kids in the sand, dig for sandcrabs, read a book, read a magazine, sleep.

We go fishing at least once, we crab and clam a few times.

The kids like the boardwalk, which I hate but we only do it once a summer.

I love fresh seafood and I love, love, love crabs... so we do a crab feast one night.

I actually find other vacations boring because it is basically looking at buildings and art then eating too much but not much else.

We are beach lovers. We prefer beaches that aren't crazy crowded. Kids love playing in the sand, diving into waves and boogie boarding. I love swimming in the ocean, boogie boarding, and relaxing under an umbrella with a book listening to the sound of the ocean.

We also do a lot of vacations to places like national parks that are full of hiking and activities. We typically tack on a day or two in a nearby city (San Francisco/Bug Sur, Olympic/ Seattle, Zion and Bryce/Vegas) Although even the city portions are typically more about checking out cool neighborhoods and local food more than things like museums; the idea of visiting a city or museum on vacation doesn't sound fun to me at all. Different stroked for different folks.

Anonymous wrote:Unclench OP.

I like being by the ocean at any time of year. It has a calming effect on me whether I get to swim or not. The sand feels nice on my feet. I feel more in tune with nature.

This is so unnecessary and actually indicates that you have overreacted to op's opinion, which might cause one to think that you should 'unclench'.

I like going to the beach for a few hours, but more than that is too long for me. However, beach areas tend to be more laid back and allows my family to just hang out on the deck, grill, sleep late, etc. our non-beach vacations include lots our tours and sightseeing. So not as relaxing as simply slowing down and enjoying the moment.

A week at the beach is too long for me but it is nice to unwind for a couple of days and splishsplash around.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's baffling when I see hoards of people at the beach... alll just sitting on the sand... bumper to bumper. That really does not make sense to me. At that point, can you even look at/enjoy the ocean?

I would find it boring on a good day but that takes it to the 8th circle of hell.

That does sound like hell. Try a less crowded beach next time.

Ah. You've never been to SoCal, I take it

Anonymous wrote:I think it's baffling when I see hoards of people at the beach... alll just sitting on the sand... bumper to bumper. That really does not make sense to me. At that point, can you even look at/enjoy the ocean?

I would find it boring on a good day but that takes it to the 8th circle of hell.

That does sound like hell. Try a less crowded beach next time.

Anonymous wrote:I think it's baffling when I see hoards of people at the beach... alll just sitting on the sand... bumper to bumper. That really does not make sense to me. At that point, can you even look at/enjoy the ocean?

I would find it boring on a good day but that takes it to the 8th circle of hell.

Crowded beaches, crowded cities, crowded museums, crowded anything: spare me.
I love beaches with no people.

I think it's baffling when I see hoards of people at the beach... alll just sitting on the sand... bumper to bumper. That really does not make sense to me. At that point, can you even look at/enjoy the ocean?

I would find it boring on a good day but that takes it to the 8th circle of hell.

I think it depends what you mean by going to the beach. We spend the summer on Cape Cod. But we only go to the beach a few times a week and sometimes only for an hour at the end of the work day. We do plenty of other water based things - walk on the beach, kayak, paddleboard, sail, motor boat, plus biking, playing tennis, etc. So for us going to the beach does not necessarily mean literally being on the beach all day.

I'm right there with you. I think my childhood made me hate the beach...dragging a bunch of stuff in the heat to just go sit and get sand in your crevices. I've seen dozens of beaches, they're all pretty similar in my memory. I'd rather go to cities and museums.

I recently went to an all-inclusive Caribbean resort with a bunch of friends. We were all on the beach when I said, "hey, do you guys want to go into the city and check out the museum about the Caribbean slave trade?" They all laughed at me. I went anyways. It was fascinating and depressing. Diff'rent strokes.