Ok…I am almost done with the beach posts…just a little more. We always rent a house when we go to the beach and we spend most of the time right on the beach. I like to bake in the sun. Well, actually, I like to bake in the heat, but not so much the sun. I spent a lot of time in the sun when I was younger and I am beginning to reap some of that as I get older.
This year, I lathered up with sunscreen the first day but I forgot how hot the sun is at the beach. After swimming in the ocean and baking in the heat, the sunscreen doesn’t last too long. I got a lovely burn on my shoulders and knew right away I had to do something to keep from getting burned again.
We bought one of those cool party tents that people typically use when tailgating. It sets up super quickly. We anchor it in the sand and it provides a great place to escape the sun. I can’t really swim under it though so its protection only goes so far.
I wear a hat that covers my bald head. The kids wear hats to protect their scalps and that protects our delicate noggins but we needed more body protection. Emily had read about Rash Guard shirts before heading to the beach so we went shopping at the end of day 2.
Rash Guard shirts don’t allow sunlight through like a regular shirt does (I got burned through a regular shirt this time too). It provides spf 50 protection over whatever it covers. The ones we found at the beach were all skin tight so not everyone might feel comfortable with that but there are many styles to accommodate anyone.
The kids and I got shirts and wore them the rest of the week. We were well protected and didn’t have to worry about missing spots on our backs or remembering to reapply sunscreen every hour. We were very well protected between our hats, our shirts and the tent. We now count those three items as beach necessities…
What are beach (or vacation in general) necessities for your family?
I like using coppertone sport spf 30 spray on. We used that until getting close to running out on thurs. I used the same coppertone sport but a rub on with spf 50. I used the spray on my shoulders and rub on my legs. Well, I got my legs burned and Nathan burned his back. I elected to stay in after that. Lily only got some small places that burned on her back where we didn’t get the spray on near her swim suit straps. She is brown as a biscuit. I had heard of BullFrog stuff that is supposed to last real long but I haven’t used it.
The only other thing that I have to have on vacation is lots of food! We didn’t eat out much but I like to snack! Ice cream, cookies, you name it.
I think for Lily it would have to be her sand castle tools and the boogie board. She really had fun with all of that. Glad to hear you had a great time and recovered from your sunburn.
I’m ashamed to admit I’m one of those who doesn’t use sunscreen. I slather it on my kids and reapply on them, but not for me.
.-= Evil Twin’s Wife´s last blog ..Bra Straps and Squirrels* =-.
Beach needs: A towel, sunglasses and a good book.
Vacation needs: games, my camera and my family.
And FOOD.
.-= Capri Kel´s last blog ..The Doorwall to Nowhere =-.
Yes! Books are required along with boogie boards and food! Holy cow, how did I forget those?!
You are making me very jealous with your beach stories. We need a vacation.
Vacation necessities? I would say that to me a vacation must be timeless, like what you wrote a few days back. Unless I can forget about time and just relax, it isn’t really a vacation.
.-= Laura-Jane´s last blog ..Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island =-.
We don’t use sunscreen either……..for a few reasons but my kids always wear their rashguards haha! We got them from Old Navy for like $5/6 bucks a piece on sale.
Rash guards, plenty of snacks, some beach toys water toys, and a book are always needed for a trip to the lake here 🙂
.-= Erica´s last blog ..Moving And Grooving! =-.
Logan and I both have those shirts. I had to get mine in the men’s section because they don’t make them for women it seems.
.-= Christy O´s last blog ..A nasty rumor =-.