FANS:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MEMORIES:
beetlefish remembers...I remember hearing stories of my mother and her cousins having races on the jetties on Cape Cod when they ... More »
Posted on 08/19/09
PHOTOS:
It could be the sun and the sand… or maybe it’s the castles… the clam-bakes… barbeques… fire pits. Maybe it’s the romance and reflection of a moonlit walk… Maybe it was just the teeny-weeny yellow polka dot bikini (that she wore for the first time today)… It’s hard to say exactly what makes the beach so great. Whether you’re on the west coast, the east coast, the gulf coast, or on another continent entirely, the beach has been the place for good vibes and good times; just don’t forget your sunscreen.
Even in the Victorian era, when men and women usually went to the beach fully-covered (which was still considered immodest) the beach was a popular place to go with the family. Of course, times have changed – a little more skin is shown, and in some places only skin is shown – but the fun is all there. Beach style fills magazines come every spring, in anticipation of what will be the coolest trends on the sand. Though drawings of women in bikinis have been found on Greek urns (for sports participation purposes) the modern bikini was popularized in France during the mid-1940s. Since then we’ve seen styles that have dared to cover even less.
The beachgoing lifestyle became a huge part of pop culture with the emergence of beach-pop bands like Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys and of course surf-guitar legend Dick Dale. And let us not neglect the surge of movies resulting from the craze, Gidget Beach Party, Muscle Beach Party, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, Beach Blanket Bingo and 1966’s milestone documentary, Endless Summer. Of course, that was just the 60s. More recently, Baywatch glamorized not only the beach but the legendary lifeguards that protect them. The surf culture continues today, and has moved from being a part of the sub-culture to being part of what’s mainstream. Many ocean-close colleges offer Surfing in their curriculum.
A kid at the beach would come armed with the tools to tackle nature's brick and mortar: sand and water. With shovels and scoops, buckets and dump trucks, and if you were lucky (or lazy), sand castle molds, one could build a pleasure dome of remarkable splendor. A sharp-eyed kid who'd gone on a beach-walk scavenger hunt might even decorate the spires and walls with found objects... seashell windows, seaweed flags, maybe even a driftwood drawbridge over the scooped and filled moat. As with the teeter-totter of all creation, there was always the kid who enjoyed smooshing and destroying the castles even more than creating them. And if that wasn't your boat, maybe you were amused by burying a parent's feet (or whole body, up to the neck) in the sand. After all of that tiring work, an evening marshmallow roast (sometimes complete with chocolate and graham for s'mores) was usually in order.
Beaches have also been the domain of resorts and vacation destinations for the young and old, from the rocky beaches of Maine to the white sandy beaches of Florida, the glamorized west coast, or even the shores of the many lakes and rivers in the U.S. and abroad. Give them water and they will come-- to dig their feet in the toasty sand. To crack open the book that's been patiently waiting to be read. To watch the waves lap against the shore. To shuffle off the cares of the day-to-day world... so much easier to accomplish while soaking up the sun at the beach.
