As far back as I can remember I have loved the beach. On a hot summer day our destination was Revere Beach which was about a thirty minute ride by streetcar. My mother would pack a lunch and all the things that we would need for a day in the sun. One of the things she took along was a blanket, those were the days before the invention of the beach chair.
In order to make sure that we would have a seat on the street car we would walk an extra block to stand a better chance of getting a seat. It was no fun if you had to stand in a hot and crowded streetcar, most of the time we got a seat.
As we got close to the beach and could see the water a loud cheer would be heard from the passengers, me included.
We had arrived!!
I remember many things about the beach experience but i"ll just relate one that I remember very vividly. In those days the men wore wool bathing suits. My father loved the sun and did not like being so covered up by his suit so he dropped the top part of the suit, along came a policeman and told him in no uncertain terms to cover up!
At the end of the day we walked the length of the boardwalk until we came to what was called "the carbarn." It was always fun getting to the car barn because on the way we would stop for either a hot dog, soft serve ice cream or caramel corn. Sometimes I would have a ride on the Flying Horses" the Whip or go into the Haunted House."
As a teenager I went to Revere Beach with my girlfriends. The meeting place was called "Punks Corner." In order to get to the beach, we still had to travel in that hot street car. No air conditioning yet!
Than came the time that one of my friends had a car and DROVE. Off we went to Fishermans Beach in Swampscott. That beach had no amusement park or refreshment stands but the fellows we meet were worth the trip. We always had a great time at Fishermans!!
There were times I would spend weekends at the Cape with my friends. Beautiful sandy beachs and what made it really special was the water was "WARM."
There is a lot more I could write about the beach but I'm going to skip ahead to the present day. No more going to the beach, not even in Florida. It's a lot easier to walk over to the pool! No packing up the car, no looking for a place to park, no sand to bring home, there are no man-o-wars and the water is not freezing!
On occasion I still enjoy walking on the beach, collecting sea shells and trying to get a picture of a seagull but give me the pool anytime!!