Happy July!
With summer finally here, I thought I’d re-share one of my favorite posts from last summer – Danielle & Jason’s Guide to Beach Etiquette – enjoy!
Since Jason and I have been spending quite a bit of time sitting on the beach, we’ve had the opportunity to observe our fellow beach goers…and you would be AMAZED at how many people seem to just not know how to go to the beach!
So, as a service to our fellow, “not in the know” beach goers we thought we would share a few tips to help make everyone’s beach experience more enjoyable! I present:
First things first. Make sure you know the beach rules if there are any!
I think the rules above at our community beach are pretty self explanatory.
However, for some reason, no one ever seems to be able to follow the “fill in any holes you dig before leaving the beach” rule. EVER. I can not tell you how many times I’m leisurely walking down the beach, gazing out over the water and BAM! Hole. (And yes, leave it to me to fall into every hole on the beach. I am just that talented.)
However, Jason and I have found a way to use these rule/ ankle breaking death traps to our advantage!
Find a hole near the front of the beach and strategically place your beach chairs RIGHT behind it. By doing this you are essentially putting a preemtive defensive block on anyone who might come along trying to commit the #1 beach going sin – setting up their beach camp DIRECTLY in front of your well scoped out front row beach real estate!
Ta-Da! Thanks to the hole we’ve protected our front row status!
Speaking of beach real estate, please respect the personal space of your fellow beach goers.
I understand beaches get crowded and while I’m all for making new friends, if at all possible the polite thing to do is to try to space yourself out from your beach neighbor. Ideally I should not be able to share my beach snacks with you without either of us having to get up out of our chair. (This rule can be applied to many non-beach situations as well.)
Personal Space Invasion.
Ah, now this is a personal favorite of ours…the flight of the beach umbrella!
Now I’m no rocket scientist, and how airplanes stay up in the sky is a mystery to me, but anyone who’s flown a kite should be able to put 1 and 1 together and figure out beach umbrella + wind = no bueno.
And here’s my real issues- it’s DANGEROUS! I can’t tell you how many run away beach umbrella’s I’ve seen come hurtling down the beach like spears waiting to impale anyone or anything in their way!
Luckily, Jason has a special knack for corralling loose beach umbrellas, so I’ve always been well protected.
But let me share a little experienced beach goers secret with you…THE UMBRELLA SCREW!
Yes, you can pick one of these brilliant things up for about a $1.99, pop it on any beach umbrella and safely and securely anchor your umbrella into the sand, thereby sparing any of your beach neighbors the unpleasant experience of being made into a human shish-kabob!
Now, more of a pet peeve than etiquette, but I must address smoking.
As a general rule kids, DON’T SMOKE! But if you must, take a minute to play weather forecaster and asses the wind speed and direction and make at least a little effort to not share your cigarette/ cigar/ whatever you may be smoking with your neighbor. (Again, another rule that applies to non-beach situations as well.)
In most other beach situations we are all for being neighborly and sharing!
Lastly, I should mention something that happened the other day that as regular, seasoned beach goers even WE were surprised by. It is NOT ok to pull your kids bathing suit down, let them pee in the sand and then just cover it up. Enough said, and no, I do not have a picture for this one.
Live, Run, Grow 
Ahh, this made me chuckle. We visit the beach frequently and yes, I agree about the smoking and pretty much everything here. The other big pet peeve I have is with kids who think it’s acceptable to run through a group of adults sitting at dusk having drinks. Last night we were with about 20 neighbors and one kid with a lacrosse stick thought it was acceptable to run through the group at one point. Total no no IMHO.
Ugh, yes! My problem is really with the parents who ALLOW their kids to do this! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been sitting on the beach and kids are literally throwing sand all over me and the parents just sit there feeling like it’s fine because we’re at the beach!
This is hilarious. I’m 100% with you on the holes issue, and the neighborly proximity issue. I’d also add that it’s lovely to have music on the beach, but I don’t always want to listen to my beach neighbor’s talk radio on full blast. And playing games like frisbee and paddleball are super fun, but if your throw toys keep landing on your neighbor, it might be time to move farther away.
Haha, YES! Both of those points are in my “Part 2”! The music thing really makes me crazy, I love the sound of the ocean and the waves, I think it’s just obnoxious when people blast their music assuming I don’t mind hearing whatever they’re listening to!
I completely understand WHY it’s a rule – a lot of people don’t train their dogs well – but I wish pets were allowed on the beach. I WANT TO PLAY WITH YOUR DOG, WORLD!
Hahaha, I go both ways on that. I’d LOVE to play with dogs on the beach, but my concern is the heat! Some people drag their dogs to the beach and don’t think about how hot it is for them (kind of like the idiots who leave their dogs in a hot car!).
HAHAHA, one of my favorite posts. All of these drive me absolutely bonkers!
Hahaha!!! Love this!!!