A Beach Vacation Ideal For Your Family

How many fond memories do you have of going to the beach for a family beach vacation?  I know I have plenty of fun in the sun experiences.  As a little kid I can remember gathering my plastic bucket and shovels and whatever else I could get my mother to let me have out of the kitchen to make some pretty cool sandcastles.  I would gather everything up and put it in my beach bag ready to go as soon as everyone would load up in the car.

Now as an adult when I go to the beach I usually try and plan my vacation around one of the sandcastle competitions.  Almost every beach community has some form of sand castle/sand sculpting competition.  Even in Western Europe there are very large festivals with each artist trying to outdo each other in size and the special effect area.  Hundreds of these held all over the world.  If you are lucky you will even see some of the artist trying to break into the Guinness Book of World Records.

One of the things I didn't know about sand sculpting was "pounding up". That is when the retaining walls are made out of wood and are put together in either a square or rectangle shape. Then they are filled with sand and pounded down to make each layer really compact.  Usually watering each layer really well is part of the process also.  This pounding up is repeated for each layer until whatever height is achieved.   Normally this whole process starts a week before competition.  The artists always work from top to the bottom.  I did notice on some of the sculptures that there were little wires sticking up from the top and it took me a little bit, these were placed there to keep the birds from landing and possibly destroying part of the sand castle.

These professional competitions normally last for several days before the final judging begins.  During that time you can take your family to tour all of the wonderful creations.  I have been going to SandFest in Port Aransas, Texas for a number of years and my family and I have always had a great time.  There are plenty of condos and hotels to stay in the area.  Some require a 3 day minimum but it is well worth the extra day to spend with your family exploring the beach area.  Maybe even doing a little fishing while you are there.

I would suggest taking a hat along with some type of shirt with sleeves.  Preferably cotton as it breathes so much easier in the sun.  I saw many people wearing flip flops walking around the sand castle competition but I much prefer either barefoot or tennis shoes.  Don't bother bringing your beach chair or towel with you while you explore the competition, you will be walking the whole time exploring all of the vendors shops while admiring the sand sculptures.  Don't forget the sunscreen either!

I highly recommend a beach vacation for your next family getaway.  Plus being at the beach has an additional benefit, negative ions.  Those are actually the good ones.  Every wonder why when you leave the beach you feel so good, it is due to the negative ions coming from the water.  Ahhhhhhhh   More on that in another Hub.