My husband strongly dislikes crowds. He dislikes heat. He dislikes long periods of time in the sun. He does however share my love of the ocean. How does this possibly work, you might ask? We go off-season.
For us as a family (I’ll take the kids by myself or with friends the majority of the time in the summer, with his occasional appearance) beach season starts about October. We live in New England so to some this may seem crazy, and it did to me at first too, until I discovered the perks.
We have had the opportunity on our off season adventures to discover such treasures without the added stress of large crowds. It’s less expensive since we don’t have to pay for numerous fees that occur during peak season, like parking. I find if we dress for it the colder weather is not an issue. In the colder seasons you can just keep adding layers, you can only take so much off during the warmer months.
Today’s adventure was a prime example of the benefits of going off season. We headed to a local beach. A spot we typically avoid at all costs during the summer due to large crowds of people and all that stress that comes along with that. During the winter though it’s another story entirely. It’s empty. You can enjoy the fact that this is actually a beautiful beach.
Today we loaded the kids in the stroller and started our adventure. We first let them play at the beach playground that was empty except for us. Then we checked out the beach, which ended up being the best part of our day.
Surprise #1.
For whatever reason they had created huge sand dunes all along the beach. The kids and my husband had a blast climbing all over these mountains.
Surprise #2.
Then as we approached the beach we saw tons of shells scattered everywhere. Huge conch shells, giant crabs, colossal clams, giant hermit crabs and sand dollars. So much stuff that we have never seen at any New England beach we had been to before. We all had a blast exploring it. Had we not ventured to the beach on this 40 degree day we would never have had the opportunity to have such a unique experience.
So think outside the box. It doesn’t just apply to the beach. We do this with other places and things too. Vacations. Events. Experiences. Sometimes the less ideal time to visit a place in someone else’s eyes can be the best time in ours.
So go off season. You never know what hidden surprises await.
At the beach during a blizzard (when the tide is at it’s lowest of course). The beach is clear, the wind and waves are howling, and a short walk is amazing. We sometimes did that but had to hold on to the kids. Joyce and I still often do a spring and/or autumn beach walk at wells. A mile to the jetty. Few people there and the view is the best. We never go when there is wall to wall people. The very last thing I want to do. Runs in the genes a bit I guess?
Also, get a cheap traditinal kite and fly in on the beach at night when there is a full moon. At night there is a land breeze so the wind is blowing out over the water. The kite will rise in that direction. During the day it’s a sea breeze… wrong direction.
I love that kite idea. We need to try it.