Beach Day: West Coast

Something I learned from years and years of going to the beach with my family and my friends’ families was that every family does the beach different but sort of the same. As a parent, I always want to be prepared for any outing we have. But when we were scheduled to fly back to my home state, I wanted to make sure I had what we needed so we wouldn’t have to make any extra purchases. I ordered a cute beach toy set that was affordable and had a bucket that was collapsible and small toys. This made for easy packing in the suitcase. Plus, we of course needed to bring trucks. So we brought a couple of trucks for the sand. The bucket was great for collecting shells and rocks.

I realized early on in being a mom that some things were just a bit harder because I’m very small. One of those things was trying to get around with a big stroller. So, we bought a stroller that was compatible with our car seat at the time and that was easy to close and put away. This stroller flies with us and goes everywhere with us. It’s nice to have something to carry all our stuff around with. We travel with our own beach towels, sunscreen, and bathing suits. But it was February so the weather was a bit colder than. Still not cold though, so we went to the beach almost every day.

Essentials to a beach day in California is either go to Trader Joe’s for snacks, or get lunch from In-N-Out and take it to the beach. But another family classic is getting bagels for the beach. When we started doing our normal routine there, one of our first stops was getting food for Trader Joe’s. We got the basics, fruit and sandwich stuff. Plus quick snacks. Making a lunch before the beach is an easy way to get the most out of a beach day. Also, extra clothes.

We met up with a friend and her kids, which made our beach day better because the kids got to play together. Then when we were done we walked into the town to get some tacos. Which is really the best part of the day!