Making the Most of a Beach Vacation

With Spring break kicking off the warm weather, we just HAD to talk about the beach! It's one of the top warm weather vacations in the US and we absolutely can see why. The sights. The sounds. But what can you do to insure you have a great time? In this episode, we're going to share our tips to making the most of a beach vacation. Let's chat.

Transcript

We're the Essary family and we're explored America one destination at a time.

Um, this episode of TravelEssary we are going to give you some tips and tricks to help you make the most of your beach vacation. Let's chat.  

 Welcome and thank you for joining us on this episode. As we talk about how to make the most of a beach vacation. We would love it. If you would follow, give us a five star rating, or if you want to go. Just that much further. Join our Patreon page and get all the in-depth details of what is going on and what we're all about.  

So let's get into this how to make the most of a beach vacation now.  It's just  one of the most amazing sites, in my opinion, one of our favorite vacations specifically that we've ever gone to.  He is on the beach somewhere.  Yeah. 

I don't know what it is about the beach that is so calming. But the sound of the waves, the birds. It's so calming, even whenever it's like a packed beach, even when we went on 4th of July and it was extremely crowded on Hilton head, it was still. Such a calming and peaceful experience, I guess that's why people fall asleep to like the sound of ocean waves on there. TV or the radio or something. It's so soothing. 

Oh yeah. I mean, if you're looking for like that white noise, you know, a lot of people put on box phase or something like that. We have a noise maker in our bedroom that plays.  Ocean sound.  It's amazing. Like that's. That's what we fall asleep to. That's when our youngest one falls asleep to. And even.  You know, talking about. The Hilton head or even south Padre, the one we just got finished doing is.  Laying down like on the sand, although it could be like hot outside and like that top layer of sand is kind of warm. That underlayer of sand is really cool. 

And like this laying down, you really don't overheat.  

And we know that the beach is so popular. Getting just done with a spring vacation for most of the us, I think just had their spring vacation this past week. Do you know, that is the number one time of the year that beaches are visited. During spring vacation. Oh, I can totally see that people are, I mean, that's kicking off the spring time. The two bars  or, or are up there. Especially if you're coming down from the north anywhere and you've had to go through the. The bitter cold. Hold the harsh weather. And you get to come down. To the beach area and the beach area is just, it's warm. 

Now the ocean water may not be. Super warm at that time, but just getting out, getting out in sun, getting that, that tan and just having that wonderful time to, to run and around in the sand is what it's all about. Yeah, so we thought this would be a great time to talk about beach vacations, because spring break  kind of kicks off the warm weather trips and vacations and beach destinations tend to be . One of the number one. Desired vacations during warm weather season, which is totally understandable. Absolutely. Because in the warm weather, you're always looking to cool off and there's no better way. 

 Except of course. The AC, but being in the water. Cools you off. Definitely the fastest and it's so much fun.  But we know that not all beaches are equal. No, that is so true. Especially here in the Gulf. In Texas. It. They're not all the same. No, they're definitely not.  You can have so many different types of landscapes that are out there. 

But we desire that.  White and yellow grainy sand in those blue waters. Like that is one of the most number one desired summer vacations, or just a warm weather vacation. I think for most of the people in America, if not the world, like that is just something. Ingrained in us to, to desire. And, uh, like you said, , it's not all the same, especially here in the Gulf, but even along the east coast or even different parts of the world. 

Like we have visited multiple beaches  , just along the Gulf. And then on the east coast. We have not been to the west coast beaches yet. We have not. And that is definitely on our bucket list. Yes. Looking forward to that. But I can tell you, there is a vast, vast difference. Just between the Texas beaches, as far as like Galveston, which we have talked about Galveston in a podcast before. And then Corpus Christi and then south Padre, it's like three totally different destinations. Especially, if you talk to Texans who have been to all three. They'll tell you, there's a huge difference. 

Now, if you talk to some that have only been to one or two of those, they'd be like, oh, there's no difference. No, there's a difference. There is absolutely a difference between all of those and it's everywhere from what you're looking at to, , the color of the water to even the sand on the beach. 

Like. It's all different.  Yeah. So the first tip that I'm going to give, when it comes to planning that vacation is one. No, what you're desiring, what you're wanting to get out of this vacation and then determine your location appropriately. To a location that fits that. You're going to have to plan and do some research to find the best beaches to find, you know, that white fine sand, if that's what you want or the blue water, or if you're desiring something different, then that's fine too. 

Sometimes people's desires are. Maybe the less crowded beaches. Or maybe their desires are in specific locations. So definitely research that to make sure you're getting what you want. Out of that beach vacation. If you're wanting to go surfing, you're going to need to research that because 

not all of them are surfer friendly. So depending on what you're wanting out of that beach vacation will greatly depend on where you need to plan that vacation..  I mean, there's nothing more disappointing than going, oh, I'm going to go to the beach and I want to go surfing or I want to learn how to wakeboard or something and you get out there to do your. Your water activity. And the waves. Are not cooperating. 

And so you go out there with all of your stuff and your gear and you're ready to grind, and you really do , some gnarly stuff out there. And then.  It's just disappointing. Because you didn't do your research to go to the right place. And not only here in sexist, but across the east and the west coast, , there's a vast difference of waves and where you want to go surfing or what you're looking for. 

If you're looking for more of the casual, calm waters that you just kind of want to relax and float in.  I mean, it's such a vast difference about where you go, you know, there's going to be all open or is there going to be a Cove somewhere that you can get away? And, you know, For it to be a little bit more calm. 

So definitely do your research. As far as that goes.  The second tip that I'm going to give you is to pack smart.  And light. Oh, this is, this is a killer because I've seen so many people on all of our vacations, especially when we go to the beach. That overpack.  And then you have to haul the stuff in sand, which is totally different from dirt or gravel  it's so difficult to haul things back and forth on a beach. 

It is, it really is. We have seen people get quite excessive on their beach vacations. And if that's what made them happy then by all means. But for us, I do not want to spend 30 minutes unloading and setting up a spot. And then another 30 minutes. To pack it all back up and take it back out to the car. 

Like, that's just not idea for me. That's just loading and unloading. That's not getting from point a to point B. I have seen people that  by the time they get to the spot that they want to set up on or where they want to go, they're flat out exhausted. And like they take a 10, 15 minute break just to catch their breath. Because  they overexerted themselves just getting to a spot because it's a difficult.  Yeah. So there are a few things I think are absolutely necessary for everyone. Top of the list. Sunscreen, don't forget your sunscreen on the beach. You will fry.  

Now, there are some people that are blessed with.  Good skin that they don't really burn. They just kind of tan over. And if you're one of those people, you're extremely blessed. I and especially Misty or not one of those people.  I will burn first, then peel and then I'm pretty good after that.  Misty's just red and then white all over again. So I'll turn into a lobster for a while, but that sun coming off of the water and the bright sand, it's just. It just mirrors it and just makes it 10 times worse  it's almost like  when you're skiing. And you get a sunburn faster. 

It's like that with sand and water too. If you ever noticed when you're in a swimming pool. That you burned so much faster because  the sun is reflecting off of the water. So you're going to want to reapply sunscreen multiple times a day. Do not forget it, or, , your beach vacation. 

That was awesome. Today is not going to be so awesome tomorrow. Right? You could ruin a couple of days by being sunburned because . You can't move.  A few other things. , sunglasses and hats, they do the  same things.  And then, ,  Something to lay on or sit on.  It's not idea to sit directly in the sand for multiple reasons. Multiple reasons. 

One Sam gets everywhere. Oh, my goodness. This is so true. And even taking the most precautions of trying for it, not to get all over the place. It's still finds its way all over the place. It gets everywhere. Too. It's not that comfortable. And in the summertime, depending on where you're at, it can get too hot to stand on or sit on. 

Like it will scorch your body.  And three.  I don't know about everywhere, but I do know here in Texas, sometimes our beaches have flesh eating bacteria in this sand.  Uh, long was sandfly.  

And then you have the little crabs.  And then of course something to stay hydrated.  Oh, that's a big one. And , we've talked about this on multiple podcasts, especially whenever we talk about. Doing traveling and where you're going to be for something for an extended period. He is. You have to hydrate. 

That's the number one, in my opinion, that's the number one that will make you so tired during vacation. You almost, or we'll get miserable. 'cause you don't hydrate it though.  

So to me, those are the main essential it's like everyone needs. Even towels to me, aren't absolutely essential beach towels are nice, but how quick do you dry off? Once you get out of the water, if it's a hot summer day, you're talking five minutes and you're a bone dry, right? And the only thing that's really going to stay wet for an extended period of time is going to be your bathing suit. So you're flushing your hair. 

Don't really stay. Wet. That extensive of a time. Yeah, I definitely recommend one little mesh beach bag, like per person. That should be plenty. Have. Items.  Again, unless you just want to do all of the hauling and the toting , you know, when we went to our Padre vacation, We saw people bring like grills on the beach and  they brought food and coolers. , but it looked like they had a big group of people and that's totally understandable. But for us.   It's more miserable for us. 

The more stuff that we have to have. Well, it's like, you could also break that down into.  Who you go with? , how large is your group family size form below. You know, it's not that big of a deal, , especially if you plan on staying out there all day and you have like 20, 30 people. Then loading and unloading 20, 30 people is an extensive job. 

And so going with those things of grills, Ice chest things of that nature. I mean, that totally makes sense. But something where it's just us. I mean a simple one bag of peace and we're hearing all of our things for all day. Super simple.  And then I suggest that things that you wear that you don't necessarily have to carry. His shoes that can get wet. , whether it's sandals or water shoes or something like that. , because there are shells on most beaches and they can cut you our little one just got cut on our last beach trip on his little toe. Um, to, if you're squeamish, there've been a few times that I was in lakes or oceans and have stepped on dead fish and that wasn't super pleasant. 

So.  If you're squeamish at all and get some water shoes that you can take into the ocean with you. Yeah. I mean, I really find that as a safety precaution, because you, you don't know what's on the beach. You don't know, what's kind of washed up on the beach. And so that just kind of protects you a little bit more. Especially whenever you're walking out and it also helps walking on the sand. 

Yes. If it's hot. Yes. Which a lot of times in the summer in July and August, it gets hot.  My third tip is to start early.  Okay. Beaches get crowded. Fast.  We saw that in 4th of July, , when we went, um, again, this is depending on what time of the year you're going. We're specifically right now, mostly talking about summertime because that's, what's coming up. Um, in February, our beaches weren't crowded at all.  And that was really lovely and wonderful, but summertime beach vacations. Every single day of the week, they're getting crowded fast. 

They especially even more so on the weekends. Oh yeah. Because all the locals are coming out now. Oh yes. So start early one. It's the most beautiful time to be on a beach. It's beautiful. And the sunset absolutely breathtaking. It's going to be colder. So whenever you do exert all that energy to get everything to the spot that you want. It's going to be cooled, and it's gonna allow you to kind of cool down a whole lot faster, right? 

And much cooler in the, in the morning and have your body adjust to those temperatures. As the day warms up less crowded. You can find the spot you want so much easier. Um, , we've done this multiple ways where we've gotten there early. And we've got to  choose our spot. And then we have been where we got there in the afternoon. And we were like tiptoeing around people's blankets, trying to find an empty square to put our stuff in. Yeah, because you always want to be courteous no matter where you go, no matter how crowded it is, you don't want to get in people's way. 

You. If they've set up and they kind of have all their things, all laid out, you don't want to start going over there and I'm like pushing everything out of your way. So we did go in one afternoon, like late afternoon, cause . We were planning more of an evening type outcome. Then an all-day outing. And I was actually miserable, trying to look for a spot. It's like all over there and then it was like, yeah, but then we can't see the kids playing in the water. We actually need to go further. 

And so the more we walked, which is the more. Hi. The more tired we got and then.  You know, , we went in the morning, so we beat everyone who was sleeping in on their vacation and everything. So we got out there, like at eight, nine o'clock.  I call that sleeping in on vacation. And.  We had our pick of the crop. 

I mean, wherever we wanted to set up and then other people would just set up around us. So.  It was really nice getting out early.  Yeah. Also, if you get there early enough, um, a lot of the little creatures tend to be more in the evenings in the mornings and the cooler weather. So if you want to see the crabs skitter along the beach and. You want to see the birds doing their thing? Um, morning time, you're going to see way more animal activity on the beach. 

If that's something that interests you.    One of the thing that we have talked about previously,  was capturing moments. And while I do not believe in being tethered to technology twenty four seven, including cameras and phones. I do think you're going to want to.  Have pictures or videos of those sunrises on the beach, those sunsets of those moments we just spent,  a week on the beach and I still have tons of videos on my camera roll that I need to go through. , little shots of Jasper playing in the water and doing all the fun stuff and just like the beautiful calmness of it. That I want to save and cherish forever. 

A lot have been shared on our social media, through little rails and stuff. They're adorable. But, if you need to bring a waterproof case or even a bag to put your phone in or camera and stuff in. For two reasons. One, because you're on a beach and you're have a possibility of things getting wet too. Sand can ruin a lot of your stuff. 

If it's a fine grain sand, it can get into your cameras and get into if you bring iPads out there or cell phones and it can absolutely destroy them. If it gets in your charging port, I mean, you're kind of in trouble. 

So bring something to capture those memories, but make sure you have it stored somewhere. Well, you're not going to have to worry about it.  Dying on you basically while you're out there. 

Okay, so here is a big one. This is sort of a tip. But also more of a soap box.  Don't leave your trash on the beach.  . , it's just so. 

I don't even know a word for it. I mean, it's a pet peeve of ours in no matter where we go, either it's at the beach or we're walking down a trail. It doesn't matter. I guess we get it from Texas where it's, you know, it's like, don't mess with Texas. Don't mess with Texas. I mean, like that's a legit thing is, you know, pick up your trash.  And.  It does several things. Number one to protect the wildlife and that's. I mean, we want this world to stay around for as long as it possibly can. 

So we want to  protect, the wildlife that is out there. Number two, we want to protect the scenery because we want to be able to enjoy the beaches for as long as we can. And number three, it's just the humane thing to do to be quite honest in most of the time, especially if you go into a public beach, there's trash cans everywhere, and those people go through, they clean out the trash cans. , 

they have someone hired that that's their job to do. And so it's super easy to just grab your trash on your way out. Throw it in a trashcan. 

Yeah, it reminds me of that same where it's like leave nothing, but footprints take nothing but memories, like don't leave your crap on the beach. Makes it unpleasant for everybody else. Especially when you have toddlers who want to touch everything on the beach and there's trash on the beach. And. That's just so irritating. 

There's enough trash that washes up  on the beach. We don't need to add to it, but if you're the kind like me, I tend to want to pick up things that I see and put it in the nearest trashcan, just doing my, my little part. Um, Jeremy always tells us when we're camping or doing some sort of activity at a park. He always tells us leave it better than when you came, like leave it better than when you came. 

So even on a beach, if that means in your area, You see something, pick it up, throw it away. And that makes it better for not only you, because your spot is clean, but better for, you know, the next people and everybody else.   My last big tip, and this is the big one. If it's possible.  So we talked about. Not bringing a bunch of stuff. Packing smart.  And there was a trip where we had way more, that we took way more to the beach than just what I mentioned. We had umbrellas and we had wagon and we had the whole shebang. But that's because we stayed in an Airbnb where all of that was provided. And it was on the beach. So it wasn't such an issue and in hassle. So my big tip is if possible.  Get you an Airbnb. That is right along the beach somewhere. 

And many of them, if not all, or most of them will have beach accessories that is available to you. That you can take to and from the beach. And that was absolutely wonderful to have. Because they had everything and we didn't have to load it up into the vehicle, drive to a location unloaded. 

So it wasn't a whole bunch of back and forth. We simply threw it in a wagon, walked down the trail.  And.  Where we were at, we didn't have to walk very far. Unload and set everything up. And then if we wanted a break or we wanted to drink 

or if you needed to go to the restroom, it was super simple just to do what you had to do. And then come back out to the beach. We always lift at least one to two people there that saved our spot. So it was super easy. My favorite thing was that 

we didn't have to pack any of that in our car. Most of us that live in America do not live along a beach. Which means when we visit a beach. 

We're going to have to take beach accessories with us.

And not having to pack that in our card gave us so much more space for other luggage and items. So that is. Um, I'm going to say my biggest tip . To make the most of your beach vacation.  Is to be able to have all of that accessible without you actually having to go buy it for a one-time trip or for you having to pack it to go halfway across the country. Or for you to have to carry it or load it into your car to drive to the beach, whatever  your situation is.  Out of all of our beach vacations, that one was by far my favorite and the one with the least amount of hassle.  And not having to plan so much as far as what do we need? 

. Do we have room for it? You know, things like that. 

So in order to find out if where you're staying has all of the necessary items for a beach. Whether you're on VRBO or Airbnb.  You found the perfect, , beach destination.  It's a long the beach and that's where you want to stay, go into the amenities and what they offer. And a lot of them will have like an exact description of what they offer. 

How many chairs, how many umbrellas. Whether they have beach blankets, whether there's a wagon for you to tote it all, like it will be. Very descriptive from what I have seen inexperienced. So whenever , you're booking that, go down into the description and make sure that it has the things that you need. 

And if there's something in there that you want, that it does not have, then you'll know that you need to bring it.  

And be mindful of those things and take care of them because if you mess them up, You will have to pay for them.  

 If you go to a place and Airbnb, or you go somewhere that  doesn't have all of the.  Beach accessories. You can always purchase them locally at one of , the stores that are there,

but don't forget  those special items for entertainment that you can't find somewhere. A great book that you've been reading we do that all the time in our vacations because , we like to read and we just found that one of those peaceful things that you can do  if you're a shell collector, , make sure you're bringing, you know, a container with some sort of lid. And you can spend quite some time, , finding the perfect shells and things like that. 

That's something our kids always love doing. And they would take home small little jars of their favorite shells. Our oldest is the one who did that. I think she still has her little jar of shells.  Or if you're an artist building a sand castle or building anything, ah, the sand. I'm not very good at that. 

I mean, people Lewin all over, anything built out of the sand. That looks impressive. Something more than just a bucket flipped over. That's about all I can do. Yes. But those people , that do those things and we were out south Padre. And they had a whole sculpture. Thing going on over there. Oh yeah, they have.  Yeah. It was beautiful and it's like, I can't do that. 

You know, I can barely make a moat around my mother. The castle offer, like  sand castles classes. Someone's. Got to offer those because this is something that. The fun thing to experience on a vacation vacation. Absolutely. You know, it's almost like going into.  You know, one of these places and doing the cooking class in class. Doing the sculpture class. I mean, they do painting as well, all over. I love to learn to do something other than turn a bucket upside down. Cause I don't know how they, like, I guess the consistency of mine always falls apart. I guess wants to draw it or something it's crazy or, you know, uh, just dig a big hole.  

That's all I do.   

I think. One of the most important things when you're going on a beach vacation is , to relax. Isn't that the number one reason why people go to the beach. We said at the beginning, it's so relaxing. Don't forget to just relax. You don't always have to do, do, do go, go, go. Just spend some time just enjoying the sound and the view. 

And those are just a few tips and tricks that we do. To make the most of a beach vacation.  

Simple yet efficient. It works. It works. It does. It works. Cause theirs.  There's nothing that needs to be complicated about going to the beach. No, it should be like the least complicated vacation you take. Yeah. There's not a lot of planning that goes into a beach. 

There's not a lot of.  Anything like the thought process. Is not.  Extra tenuous. It's one of the easiest vacations I plan.  Because , you don't have to add a lot when you're going to the beach. It's not expensive.  , your accommodations is the most thing that's costly and your food. Yeah. And simply just unless you bring your food and your  in an Airbnb, you can bring sandwiches and. I just be in there. 

 Getting out of the mundane nine to five, Monday through Friday kind of thing, and just chilling.  Yeah, join us next week. We're going to talk about Hilton head South Carolina. Not only is it one of our favorite beach destinations in America that we have visited thus far? But it is an extremely unique and beautiful little island. So we want to talk more about that. Next week.