Play for free, I play for me and play a whole lot more, more!
Singing about the good things and the sun that lights the day
I used to sing on the mountains, has the ocean lost its way"
Led Zeppelin-"The Ocean"
Salt Life.
I've been seeing these decals on the back windows of cars and SUVs over the last few years: Salt Life.
The mark of a beach person.
While I do enjoy to be beside the seaside as much as the next person, and I enjoy the beach vacations to Ocean City, Maryland I took with mom and dad growing up and the trips to Wildwood, New Jersey with my wife and daughter nowadays, I would not consider myself a beach person.
Is it the setting itself? No. I enjoy the setting. When it is quiet in the morning and tranquil, it is an incredible place to be. Few places match the natural beauty of a seashore. Crashing waves, the endless ribbon of sand along the coast, the smell of the salt air, the sound of seagulls...you feel like you are standing on the edge of creation watching everything come to life. The sunrises are absolutely epic, and the sunsets even more so. I enjoy seeing Lily, my 10-year old daughter, splashing in the waves with my lovely wife. I enjoy the food that is served by the many vendors along the boardwalk. I also am a fan of lighthouses, and Lily and I enjoy climbing to the top of them and marveling at the incredible views.
However, I do not enjoy being around "beach people".
Do I hate beach people? Goodness, no. I do not hate anyone. That is such a strong word, plus my religion forbids hating anyone. If I could use any phrase, I could say that beach people rub me the wrong way.
It could be a bit of envy, as you need a lot of money to live on the beach for even part of the year, and even as hard as we work, my family may never be that financially stable to be able to afford to own a beach front residence. So, maybe I sense a bit of a snobbishness coming from the people who live down there. It could be a misconception on my part, or a stereotype, but lets face facts: ocean front property is expensive and you need to be well off to be able to afford to live the "salt life".
It could be the party element that likes to populate the beach during summer months, the whole "suns out, guns out" testosterone oozing macho types that look like The Situation or the ditzy female types that resemble J-Woww and Snooki from Jersey Shore. The types that only care about beer pong, getting laid, and fist pumping...the whole Spring Break type crowd. It's never been my scene.
It could just be the noise and the craziness of it all. Beach towns swell up to almost twice or triple their population during the summer months. For someone who enjoys the area for the natural beauty and serenity that is supposed to be there, dealing with ignorant bicyclists on the boardwalk and loud and obnoxious carnies does not exactly make me want to return during the summer months.
Salt Life.
It's not my life, at least during the summer months. I would love to experience the shore in the off-season, after the weekenders have all gone home and the summer soldiers head back to Harrisburg and Philly to work their jobs. It is peace and serenity I crave at the shore, and I have a feeling I will get it in the off-season. No noise and no crowds.
Yet, summer vacations with my beautiful and wonderful wife and daughter make up for any of the faults found in beach culture and "salt life", as we create memories that last a lifetime. I love Andrea and Lily with all my heart, and despite hurting every single day of the vacation due to my chronic back and neck issues, I enjoyed it, and what meant more was their happiness over any issues I was having with pain.
See you next year, Wildwood, and see you next year, beach people.
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