"Oh I do like to be beside the seaside"

So I am on vacation this week and am mostly staying home and working on my never ending 'to do' list and treating myself to a little down time here and there (the book review of a 'Spoonful of Sugar' should be here next week) and tonight I am going 'down the shore' as they say in Jersey.  My friend has a beach house for the week so I'm taking a day off (actually forced to by my nearest and dearest) and I'm going to enjoy the pleasures of the seaside.

There's an old English song that my Gran used to sing to me that has the lyric.....

"So just let me be beside the seaside"
"I'll be beside myself with glee"

(I apologize in advance to all those Brits who will now have that song stuck in their head for the rest of the day).

There are a wonderful array of 'beach benefits' for adults and children alike.  Some I have mentioned in my other post http://textiletrolley.blogspot.com/2012/07/holy-sandcastle.html

The fresh air alone is just great.....plus exercise of walking on the sand.....try running on dry sand....no easy feat (as I found out in one of my off road biathlons.....no wonder all the other athletes ran nr. the lake...lesson learned). As we all know swimming is very good exercise too just make sure it's safe with a life guard on duty.....rip tides are nothing to mess with.

Water is relaxing....just sitting on the beach, taking in the ocean is wonderfully therapeutic.  The sound of the waves crashing on the beach can be beneficial in rejuvenating the mind and body.

A day out at the beach is great for family bonding.  Parents are usually relaxed and will have time to spend playing with their children (put those phones and laptops away).  It's also a relatively inexpensive way to spend a family day together.  There are beaches here that charge per person and beaches that charge for a car.....either way I think it's money well spent for a family day together creating a memory that can last a lifetime.

If you're heading out to the seaside this summer have a blast and most importantly don't forget your sunscreen......you don't want that day out to be remembered by 'the time I got the worse sunburn of my life'.