Beach Days in the ’80s
“Hey, wanna hit the beach?”
“Absolutely!”
“I’ll be right over!”
That was how simple it was back in the day. I’d hop into my parents’ trusty Toyota Corolla, and with a few Diet Pepsis, a bottle of Hawaiian Tropic oil, some Seventeen magazines, Sun-In (because who cares that I was a brunette?), towels, and a boom box, we were set. Planning time? A mere ten minutes.
Beach Days Today
Fast forward to now, and planning a beach trip looks like a marathon of texts:
“Beach day?”
“When?”
“Next Wednesday?”
“Can’t do that.”
“How about Thursday?”
“Nope.”
“Friday morning?”
“Only Friday afternoon.”
“Okay, but parking will be impossible.”
“What mornings work for you?”
“Monday works.”
“Great! Let’s do Monday at 9:00!”
Boom! It’s a plan!
Come Monday, I wake up early for the preparations. I fill a cooler with ice packs, lemonade, juice boxes, slices of watermelon, and grapes—because balance is key when you have hungry tweens or growing boys. Snacks are crucial, so I load up a beach bag with salty, sweet, and everything in between.
I wrap sandwiches in plastic wrap—plus extras for those inevitably sandy sandwiches. Time to assign the tween the important task of filling water bottles for everyone. She rolls her eyes and mutters about not finding any bottles. I point out the water bottles right in front of her. She shrugs sheepishly.
In the spirit of hydration, I fill a gallon container with ice water. We’ve learned that hydration is key instead of just chugging warm Diet Pepsi while baking under the sun. Next up: sunscreen. I rummage through closets and bags to gather face sunscreen, lip sunscreen, spray sunscreen—no more Hawaiian Tropic oil for us! We’ve matured; now it’s all about protection.
I tell the kids to dig out their rash guards, which leads to the classic refrain of “We don’t want to wear those!” and “I can’t find mine!” I grab my cover-up and my beloved beach pants—yes, they’re a thing!
As I stuff everything into bags, the kids are already pulling things out while asking, “When are we leaving?” After some searching, I find hats for everyone. They’ll likely toss theirs in the sand the moment we arrive, but hey, hats are good for us!
I drag the umbrella out of the garage, brushing off spiders and webs—gotta have shade because, let’s be honest, the sun doesn’t treat us like it used to when we were kids. I put my son in charge of gathering towels, but he wanders around claiming he can’t find any. Twenty minutes later, he presents a bag of crumpled towels.
Of course, I now bring chairs to the beach—lying on a towel is just not happening anymore. I can’t handle the heat or the sand in uncomfortable places. Adulting at its finest!
Finally, we gather beach toys: boogie boards, skim boards, a football, shovels, pails, nets, and lacrosse sticks—because kids apparently “get bored” at the beach (the horror!). And how could we forget the goggles? Kids today can’t swim without them! Back in my day, we just dealt with the sting of saltwater in our eyes and loved every second!
Before we head out, I grab Band-Aids (because someone will inevitably get hurt) and bug spray (because those pesky insects love the beach too). From the first planning text to finally leaving? Ten days and three hours.
I toss a magazine on top of the pile, still clinging to the hope that beach days can recapture the magic of the ’80s.
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Summary
Going to the beach has transformed from a spontaneous adventure in the ’80s to an elaborate planning process today, filled with texts, snacks, and the need for protection against the sun. While the essence of fun remains, the logistics have certainly evolved, reflecting our modern-day priorities and responsibilities.