Day 2: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Beach

For a long, dark period in my life, I dreaded going to the beach. The thought of lying on a blanket in the sand while burning to a crisp just did not appeal to me. My wife thinks differently, so this caused some friction when it came to choosing vacation spots. We managed to avoid most beach locales until last year when we went to Myrtle Beach. It was there that I discovered a marvelous invention: the umbrella. Apparently, this device will prevent the sun’s rays from directly hitting your body while you sit underneath it. Brilliant.

All along the sands at Myrtle Beach are sets of umbrellas and chairs you can rent by the day or week. They’re already set up so you just pay the lifeguard and relax in the shade. I also found out I could actually read a book whilst lounging in the shadows, so this made it all the more attractive. My sun-worshipping wife could lie out in the sun, if she chose to do so and Ally variously played in the sand or sat in the other chair.

The first morning in Kitty Hawk, I woke up and decided to take a morning run to the ocean and back, about three miles total. Glancing up and down the beach, I didn’t see any umbrellas and chairs set up for rental. Fortunately, we live in a world where almost no need goes unmet and there was a place close by where one could rent shade and seating for the week. Totally worth it.


We spent some time picking up beach gear, for which we got off to a late start anyway, so we didn’t stay at the beach for very long since Ally still naps in the middle of the day, though during the trip, that time slipped to later in the afternoon. So after about an hour and a half, we packed up our stuff and drove the mile and a half back to the resort. Didn’t do much else except enjoy some of Horton’s Eclipse white wine on the deck and then dinner afterward. All in all, a pretty slow news day, just the way we like it.