Sun of a Beach

Well, it's been a quiet week in Lake Woebegone as i still bask in the memory of my favorite Sun of a Beach in the continental U.S..  Mama Sants and I recently returned from the Emerald Coast, more specifically, Destin, Florida.  Now I agree it's too built up, the traffic is ridiculous and I am sure that there are other spots along the Florida panhandle or elsewhere that provide all of the great attributes of this heavenly spot without the hassles, but this inquiring mind needs to know where they are and what makes them so great..  This eclectic blogaudience of mine has been everywhere and so the call is going out.  What do you consider the best beach vacation in the world?  Some of you have dipped your toes in the Med, and others who have only experienced Lake Erie, have later had to dip the meds in their toes.  I know some of you can tell us about the best spots in Hawaii and whyii (get it, get it?).  Others like Jimmy the C will probably vote for the Outer Banks even though you might have to rob one of the inner banks in order ot afford one of those beach houses for a week.  Let's hear from the New York crew all about the wonders of Jones Beach and having the distinct opportunity of running into Jimmy Hoffa in the surf off of Coney island or at least some of his remains.  Patty and Rey will no doubt vote for Virginia Beach as they get lost in let's remember, and of course there is Myrtle Beach for the Sacco clan.  For just plain all out beauty, the San Francisco crowd hopefully will enlighten us about the wonderful times they have known at North beach and the full moons over Half Moon Bay.  I can hear Diane da V yelling, "Hey man, it's Cayman".What I am trying to elicit is an anthology of the greatest beach stories you guys and gals have experienced all over this big blue marble.  Vato, tell me about the lobsters you have known on the East Coast and Diane and Rupert, you world travelers, give us all a global perspective.  Jackie and Mark, tell us about the South Seas, or at least as much as you care to share.  Has anybody been to Cabo?  any and all, please respond.  I am in a Beachboys kind of mood and I need a top 10 list of the best beaches to put on my wish list, but be sure to include  some personal stories to go with the list.  Here is one embarassing shorty from Destin.  Linda and I had just had dinner at one of the  greatest restaurants of all time==POPPY's at San Destin.  There was a big backup at the Valet stand and so they were calling out the makes of cars as they brought them up because it was so crowded that they couldn't maneuver the cars to the cramped front of the line.  The valet called out "Infiniti" and so i asked the young man to lead me to my Q-45.  I followed him throught the huge crowd only to realize when we got to the car that he really wasn't interested in the car I owned back in Texas,but rather the car I happened to be  driving that evening, which was a rental Impala compliments of Alamo.  What does Emily Post have to say about how much you should tip a valet for opening the door for you to a car that isn't yours?  Ok, one more from Destin.  After waiting an hour to rent a kayak for an hour's worth of paddling, Linda and I were facedwith only the small task of boarding the vessel in about three feet of water.  Well, the surf was a little too much for the Commish, but after a couple of failed attempts, Linda was firmly seated in the bow position and I in the stern.  Unfortunately I fell backward and made the bad decision of asking Linda to reach back and pull me to an upright position so that we could begin our voyage.  For those of you that may not know it , the laws of physics are not suspended just because you are on vacation and as a result I managed to pull Linda out of her secure position and  dump us both into the beautiful Gulf of Mexico, with the kayak on top of both of us.  With much frustration, we managed to achieve stability in the sand rather quickly, however the kayak then took out its frustration on us and slammed both of us in the shins repeatedly.  I grabbed the kayak by the tow roap and dragged it back to shore.  Total elapsed time of the one hour rental...four minutes and 21 seconds but it seemed like an eternity to me.  This beach fiasco was only matched in history and elapsed time by my unfortunate $200 rental of the skidoo on the beach at LABADI in Haitti,  but that is another story for another time.  Just like the Santa Fe debacle on skis I would like to have blaimed both water mishaps on the altitude but unfortunatele at sea level, there isn't any altitude, so I will attribute the problems encountered on the beach to poor equipment ,and I am not referring to mine.

Till the water falls   

Comments

[BigHurt]

The French Riviera is really Nice. It's probably one of the worst beaches you could ever hope to tread upon as it is covered with golf ball sized rocks in lieu of sand.

I've walked the beaches of Galveston many a time. It's a lot like the French Riviera just with jellyfish in place of sunning babes.

On one such trip, Carl Sieber wore his only pair of glasses out into the raging surf. As happens when man challenges the sea, he saw his glasses knocked off by a 3 foot rogue wave, and he could not see.

As for dream beaches: I want to visit St. Lucia or Turks and Caicos. They look absolutely amazing.

Nice post, Commish.

[Chris F.]

I've had many beach experiences. I've hung ten in Kauai, and I've narrowly avoided getting 'rolled' at Waikiki. I've sunbathed in the French Riviera (but not like the locals). I've enjoyed the best french fries in the world on the Ocean City BoardWalk. I've sat through a dazzling lightning storm at Myrtle Beach. I've spotted and dropped all up and down the Outer Banks. I've felt like a complete toolbox with Cool Joe, Patches, a boombox, and some plastic cups on Nagshead. I've burned off two layers of skin on the bottom my feet in Painesville. I've run for cover from Hurricane conditions on South Beach, and I've even seen a guy wet his pants on cue in a Spring Break contest at South Padre.

These spots were a lot of fun and some were quite pretty, but not as beautiful as the sights of Hermosa Beach. I'm talking about real scenery, real natural beauty. The sight of Maria Sharapova with a football, throwing consistent 30 yard tight spirals down the beach before retiring to her beach blanket 12 feet from Nate, Olie-O, and I is what takes the cake for me.

I wonder if Maria is typing in her blog right now about the time the scary red-bearded guy from Hermosa followed her back to her hotel and cornered her in the lobby.

[EJF]

As you might expect my beach experience has a clear East Coast bias. I've been all over the place from Jersey to Key West. Contrary to my squashing ways, I've been able to find good things about all the places I've been. In Jersey, hitting the beach during the day and Altantic City at night certainly has its advantages. The Delaware beaches on the weekends in the summer are like Spring Break for the masses of overworked young professionals from DC. I know that the Floyd Boys can certainly attest to the active nightlife in the OC...MD that is. Too bad little Tim made sure that Seacrets remained a secret to all of us but Pat. However, if you can't be entertained at the Sand Bar by the Captain, White Pants, and Hot Mommie, then you shouldn't be on a beach vacation in the first place. Overall the Outer Banks is probably the most solid choice in my opinion. Great beach, not too crowded, but still plenty going on to keep you entertained. If you associate the beach with the golf course, you definitely cannot beat Hilton Head. If you are simply looking for high quality beach, and nothing else, Marco Island, FL is a great choice. Although if you eat dinner later than 6pm and stay up past 8pm, you will be the only one. The East Coast really does have it all, but my #1 location goes to beautiful Negril, Jamaica. Perfect beach, water as clear and as warm as a freshly drawn bath, beautiful scenery, great culture. I can almost taste the jerk chicken and Red Stripe now.

[dirtydi]

I have great memories of lots of beaches in many places since I am a real beach lover, tho not a lover of actually getting into the water there. Loved the mindpix of both of you and the Kayak! My best beaches have been in the BVI while sailing on a boat with five others and having beaches all to ourselves. A very old memory is the beach in Holland years ago that was covered with dog poo......those folks loved their dogs and spread the towels right amongst it!