Life's a Beach

Once a year we would get packed into the car, I mean packed, and head to Wildwood, New Jersey for a week at the beach. As far as I can remember we always rented the same house. It had something to do with a friend of my Fathers. The house was small and within easy walking distance of the beach. It was close enough that we could walk home for lunch and then go back for some more sun and sand. Usually, there would be a bit to much sun and we would need to have Noxema cream rubbed on our shoulders and backs. I can still smell the cream.

Outside next to the house was a shower so that we could get the sand off before coming in the house. After dinner we would head to the boardwalk and enjoy the shops and games along the way. I don't know how many times we made these trips, but I know it wasn't many. Some of that had to do with money and some with my Fathers deteriorating health.

Eventually, the family vacation took us on day trips to Lion's or Cedar lake, also in New Jersey, but not as far. Here they charged an entrance fee and then you picked out a spot near the beach and basically set up camp for the day. The water was called "cedar" water and flowed into the lake from an outside stream. It was dark brown and discolored everything it touched, including your skin. The skin part wasn't bad since it made it look like you had a great tan, at least until you showered.

Each lake had a nice sandy beach that surrounded the lake. In the water there were a couple of platforms you could jump off of and at the end there were actual diving boards. At the time the water was way over my head, at the deepest part, but around the platforms an adult could stand up with no problem. Usually, we would arrive with our family and maybe some aunts and uncles and cousins. The first thing we did was unpack the car and get everything set up. We always brought a grill, clothesline, lounge chairs and several coolers full of soda, beer and the makings for sandwiches.

On every family outing, Mom had her "pink bag". It was pink vinyl or plastic with a white draw string. She seemed to have everything in there. If someone needed a band-aid, it was in the pink bag. If Dad asked for matches to light the grill, they were in the pink bag. If you needed tweezers or nail clippers, they were in the pink bag, next to the suntan lotion, Ben-Gay, sunglasses (for the whole family and some spares), washcloth, air pump and needle, toilet paper (just in case) and numerous other articles. I just know that if we were attacked by a bear at the lake, Mom would tell someone to get that crossbow out of the pink bag. It was very comforting knowing that Mom had her pink bag. It was always the first thing anyone asked about when we arrived at our destination; Mom, did you bring the pink bag? I never remember seeing the pink bag at home. I also don't remember ever seeing Mom restock it, but it was always there and always had what you needed.

Later as I grew up and started making trips with my friends, rather than my family, I would try to recreate what I remembered from our family vacations. For some reason going to the beach at Wildwood or Atlantic City, with my friends, never produced the same feelings as when I went with the family. For one thing we were never able to get a little house within walking distance of the beach. The public beaches had gotten much smaller and the boardwalk had changed. At the lake it was also very different. The atmosphere was not the same as when I had come there with my family. The water wasn't as deep, although it was the same color. Something was missing. Maybe it was Mom putting suntan lotion on my back that I missed or maybe the security of having the pink bag around. Whatever it was, it wasn't the same as when I was with my family.

Well, as always, time went on. Now I have a wife, kids and grandkids of my own and once again the beach is enjoyable. It's not the same as when I was a kid. Now we go to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, it's very commercial and finding a place on the beach to spend a week is very expensive. Although there are some public beaches you can go to, you have to pay for parking. Once you are on the beach it usually makes for a great day. I love getting in the water and throwing the kids around. I love walking on the beach and feeling the sensation on my feet when the water takes the sand from under them. Even the sun on my back feels different than, say, working in the yard. There are so many things that I like about the beach; the planes with the banners, the waves, finding weird looking shells. It's all great, but most of all I think I enjoy watching my family be happy and that always seems to happen at the beach.