Beach Tips

Everyone knows that when you head to the beach, especially in a tropical location, that you need to remember the sunscreen. Tropical sun will burn you much more quickly and easily than the sun you are used to if you live in North America. The suns rays are much more direct here; it has nothing to do with the temperature.

You probably also know to take water so you don't become dehydrated. Here are a couple of tricks I use to keep the water cold. First off, I buy a few bottles of water, not just one. I freeze all of them except one per person. You can then throw them all in the cooler, the frozen ones keep the non frozen one cold, and as the day goes on, the frozen ones melt, giving you cold water. This method keeps me supplied with cold drinking water all day long, whether I am on the beach or taking a drive in the car. If you are taking snacks this will keep them cold also. I have also taken ziplock bags and filled them with ice to keep things cold in a cooler. Besides providing me with more drinking water during the day, this method also allows me to put things together in a cooler where I don't have to worry about the ice melting and making a soggy mess of things in the cooler.

Another thing I like to do which a lot of people don't know about or don't use, is taking a sheet along to the beach. It can be used in several ways. I like to use it to lay on instead of a beach towel. When you are in a tropical location you don't really need a towel to dry off on, the sun does it pretty quickly and you don't get cold waiting to dry. The advantages of a sheet over a towel is that when you pick the sheet up off of the beach, the sand shakes right off, unlike a towel where the sand stays stuck in the fibers. It is also larger than a beach towel, giving space for more people. But my favorite reason is how small of a space that sheet takes up compared to two beachtowels. When I go to the beach I don't want to be a pack mule getting there, but I do want to have all of the necessities.

Do you take baby powder to the beach with you? It works really well for making the sand unstick from your body. I don't mind sand being stuck to me while I am on the beach playing, but when it is time to get back into the car I like to desand. If you sprinkle a little baby powder onto the sand before brushing the sand comes right off.