Today we are talking about my favorite place in the world: the beach!

We have a guest travel writer here to tell us all about different beach recommendations in the U.S.

If the COVID-19 pandemic proved anything, it was the adventurous traveling spirit of the average American. As soon as draconian stay-at-home measures were lifted, people packed their suitcases, bought plane tickets for the entire family, and traveled. We not only go to the many stunning oceanfront properties in the U.S. but also to hotspots in Europe, Central and South America, and Asia. After two years of a grueling pandemic, it seemed as though everyone needed a vacation.

One of the most popular hotspots for young U.S. families with kids remains North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Says Sun Realty, Outer Banks Vacation Rentals experts, whether you want to vacation in the Outer Banks 4X4 beaches of Carova, the central beaches of Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, or Nags Head, the northern beaches of Corolla, Duck, or the Southern shores, or even the quaint villages of Hatteras Island, there is a vacation rental package for just about any budget-conscious traveler.

That said, what are some other popular or even off-the-beaten-path beachside vacations in the U.S. for the budget-conscious traveler?

According to a new report by Reader’s Digest, there isn’t anything that represents the word vacation more than a seemingly endless stretch of white sandy beach. However, if you believe such a trip is impossible on your limited budget in these days of high inflation and soaring fuel prices, think again. Lots of the best and most amazing beachside vacations can be surprisingly affordable if you or your travel agent know what to look for.

Be it cheap family vacation destinations to romantic towns and villages to super fun vacation spots for young couples or singles, there are lots of inexpensive beachside vacations for you to choose from in the U.S. (and abroad) so long as you do your research.  

Here are some beachside vacations for budget-conscious travelers. Also, while researching these vacation spots, keep in mind that you will want to look into vacation cabins, thrifty Airbnbs, and all-inclusive resorts.

Cambria, California

California doesn’t always come to mind when you begin thinking about a budget-friendly vacation by the beach. But the big West Coast state is home to lots of small beach town gems, including Cambria. 

Located off scenic California Highway 1 in San Louis Obispo County, the town is filled with early 19th-century architecture. Plus, it has the Moonstone Beach Boardwalk, awesome wineries such as the Stolo Family Vineyards, and even 100 “roaming Clydesdales” that can be seen at the Covell Ranch.    

This trip is perfect for the budget-conscious traveler.

Lincoln City, Oregon

Like California, you might not think of Oregon when it comes to fun-in-the-sun, affordable beachside vacations. But Lincoln City combines vast stretches of pristine beach with some interesting and unique attractions like the Lincoln City Glass Center. Visitors can purchase pieces of one-of-a-kind art or to commission their own glass sculpture.  

The artists who practice their talents at the Glass Center create the glass boats that are all over the beach for lucky tourists to stumble upon and bring with them on their journey back home. Lincoln City is also a hotspot for surfers seeking out big, challenging waves. You can purchase a lesson or two at the Safari Town Surf shop, or if you prefer, rent a kayak or a mountain bike.    

With lots of affordable and tasty burger and pizza joints housed downtown, Lincoln City, Oregon, is a win/win for budget-conscious travelers towing along the entire family.

Corpus Christi, Texas

If you’re looking for the perfect inexpensive vacation spot, go no further than the great state of Texas. Corpus Christi, in particular, boasts long white beaches, very affordable lodging choices, some of the most beautiful parks in the U.S., and lots of free or next-to-free activities.

When you’re in Corpus Christi, remember to explore the world’s biggest undeveloped barrier island, the Padre National Seashore. There, you can find 70-plus miles of beaches, shorelines, dunes, and lagoons. Other local highlights include the South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center. Plus, there are tours of the USS Lexington, which is permanently docked there, and the “gnarly” Texas Surf Museum.    

A great getaway for the entire family that won’t bust your budget.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Want the feel of being out of the U.S. while still being within its borders? Puerto Rico most definitely fits the bill. It’s easy to travel to, with many airlines providing direct flights to San Juan, and since it’s a part of the U.S., you need not worry about the hassle of passing through customs. You don’t even need your passport (although it’s never a bad idea to bring it no matter where you travel should trouble arise).

Puerto Rico is renowned for its stunning beaches and blue surf. Since San Juan is a major airline hub, you can make your trip even less expensive by using your miles to purchase your ticket or tickets.

This is a great budget-conscious beachside adventure for singles or young couples traveling on the cheap.

Olcott, New York

You might find yourself scratching your head over this selection. But this fun family destination located on the shores of the mighty Lake Ontario is a terrific destination for sport fishing and sightseeing since it’s only a handful of miles away from the Niagara Falls State Park. If you’re seeking a budget-friendly snack for the kids and yourself, grab some caramel corn at Bye’s Popcorn, a New York State culinary treasure. Even if there’s a line, it is entirely worth the wait.

Olcott is a great beachside trip for the entire family that’s easily accessible by car or, if you prefer, Amtrak train.   

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Containing close to 15 miles of gorgeous sandy beaches and some exciting attractions, Reader’s Digest calls Virginia Beach “dreamy.” Indeed, it’s a budget-conscious traveler’s dream when it comes to seeking out inexpensive beachside vacations.

Aside from relaxing seaside, you can spend some quality time at the Virginia Aquarium and the Ocean Breeze Water Park, the latter of which will be the perfect vacation pastime for the kids.   

Whether you’re looking to spend some fun in the sun at the Outer Banks or catch some monster salmon on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, the U.S. boasts some of the most incredible and inexpensive beachside vacations the world over. You just need to know where to look.

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This year we moved AGAIN. Did I mention that already? Maybe I’ve brought it up too much. Sorry about that., but moving is everything. Where you live and who you’re surrounded by, that’s your life setting.

I was at the eye doctor this week because I’d run completely out of contacts and haven’t been to the eye doctor since 3 states ago. The eye doc asked me many of the usual questions, including this one:

Of all those places you’ve lived, what did you think? Which one did you like best?

It’s funny how when people ask me this, all of a sudden I AM the old Rose in Titanic, at the end of the movie, looking back like “It’s been 80 years.”

I cannot fairly choose one of our duty stations and say, “This one was the best,” because so much of my memories of each place are colored by what was going on in my life at the time.

My best life experience was always Virginia. Always. I had this wonderful support network of friends there, 4 seasons of weather, and an active neighborhood. It was the best, and yet it was still too far from family, and the traffic was atrocious.

But when I see a photo like this:

I know where my favorite place is. It’s wherever the ocean is. The shore is my favorite place to be. So many of my best memories were there.

The first time I saw the ocean was on a truck driving trip I took with my dad. For a short while, he had his own trailer moving business. He drove the big rigs you see hauling mobile homes on the interstate with those signs that say “Wide Load”, and they have those escort trucks. My dad’s cousin Dale drove one of the escort trucks.

By the way, Dale’s escort truck was one of my favorite childhood things too. This truck had a 10 foot antenna on it. 10 or 20! I got in big serious trouble one time for climbing up and swinging on it until it broke off…

But going back to that trip with my dad, I was around 5 years old, maybe 6, and I got my first glimpses of the deep blue crashing on the shores, and I loved it already.

Beach with the Grands

My next life-changing memory at the beach was the year my grandparents took us to Panama City Beach and rented this little beach house that was only a block away from the shore. I was with my grandparents, my Aunt Linda, and my cousin Amber. My excitement was off the charts.

You see, it was hard for us to take vacations like that where you go to a place and stay there for days on end because we had my sister, who is severely disabled; plus traveling is very expensive.

I grew up sharing a room with my sister, Amanda. We shared a bed even, until 4th grade. Amanda is only 15 months my elder. Caring for her was a full time job, which Mom did pretty much by herself. I had to keep my room tidy, or Amanda would chew up my things. She is blind and unable to walk, but also her brain never developed past that of a sixteen-month-old.

Sometimes at night she’d freak me out pretty good by suddenly smacking her hand over my face when I was trying to sleep. I kind of get a chuckle about it now, but it wasn’t always funny at the time. I understood though, and I loved Amanda. We all loved her, cherished her, and protected her, not that I recall anyone ever trying to bother her when we were around.

Have you seen the movie Wonder?

I related to that movie on a level I haven’t been able to relate to any other movie, although trust me, the book is WAY better. Read the book! In the book, Auggie has an extremely deformed face, which causes the family to have to do things differently and subjects them to lots of staring, and Auggie requires special attention.

Auggie has an older sister, named Via. She’s the one I could relate to in the book. When a family has a member who needs an extraordinary amount of extra care, I think the other members try to make up for it. I always had zero desire to take any more from my family than was necessary because Mom and Dad’s hands were already full. So you do your homework without being told, you plan ahead and study for tests, you make sure you can send yourself to college, and you just try to do the right thing and not cause any problems.

Okay, I know that was a long tangent, but I had to tell where I was coming from to fully explain my deep connection with the ocean by age 14.

Here was a place where I could leave all my usual cares behind me. Amanda, who as I said, we did love her, but she didn’t come with us to the beach. She was at home with Mom, the one who truly needed a vacation.

The beach was glorious, and I could never go without getting soaking wet from tip to toe. We had floats, friends, and Coca-Cola in the refrigerator. Who needed Disney World? Not us. This was amazing.

And that line where the water meets the sky on the horizon points to God.

It just does. You can’t look at that expanse and not see its Creator. Every time I go, it puts me in my place, and there I stand, staring in awe at the vastness of it all. It’s the perfect place to pray.

On the shore, against the never-ending enormous sky and sparkling water, all that land stuff seems smaller. The problems are there, but they don’t feel so close by with the waves crashing at your feet. It’s a spiritual thing. God feels closer and life seems clearer. At least, that’s how it has always been for me.

Even with the loudness of the waves, there’s a calm that I feel there. God is there, steadying my anxiety and reminding me that He is in heaven, and here am I on earth, and I let my words be few while I soak it in.

The sea shore is definitely my favorite place of everywhere that I have been. Just talking about it has made me want to hop in my car and go!

Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
12Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive any complaint you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity. 15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:11-15

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The beach is my favorite place to go in the summer, but it can be expensive and dangerous for a family full of pale skinned people. This year we actually managed to take a thrifty trip to Miramar Beach without getting sun-burned!

Alan and I are always dreaming up fun things to do together as a family, and our efforts are often met with …….resistence.

One of our fellas actually lamented, “I don’t want to go to the beach. I just want to stay home and hang out at the house.”

Sigh. Well, perhaps we were hasty in taking a beach trip the very second that school let out, but that’s life. Children are still at the mercy of the parents’ summer schedules. We are at the mercy of their’s the rest of the year.

When I was a child, I would have never said, “I don’t want to go to the beach!” I don’t think I ever did go to the beach until I was around 13 years old, and it was something I was exceedingly grateful for.

That just goes to show that the more accustomed to wonderful things that a person is, the less we appreciate those wonderful things.

John David was not the beach-resistor. He couldn’t wait to go, but once he got there he was soon disenchanted and ready to head to the pool.

Have no fear. The moment the reluctant boy sat foot on the beach, he never complained again. In fact, Alan took all the other boys to the pool after an hour, while I stayed at the beach with Joshua until I began to worry about our sun protection.

Look closely to see a small boy in a yellow shirt, stealing a float from an older brother. He made the snatch, and he fled the scene. Joshua and I sat and laughed.

To be fair, it wasn’t stealing exactly. We share the floats. He decided it was his turn. Caleb, who was using it as a basketball net, but was pausing to fetch his ball, didn’t notice until JD was safely on the opposite side of the pool.

I was extra careful about sunscreen this year, and it paid off. I brought 0 sun-burned people home from the beach. Hallelujah! 5/6 of us are as fair as fair can be. This was an accomplishment.

My sunscreen strategy was simple.

1. Try to keep everyone indoors between 11am and 4pm.
2. Re-apply every 1.5 hours.
3. Wear a cover-up as much as possible.
4. I wore a seriously ugly hat, and so did Alan.
5. Put swim shirts on the kids.

Egypt wasn’t built in a day, so we settled for the Sphinx and a pyramid.

WWII airplanes flew over in honor of Memorial Day.

Thrifty, thrifty, thrifty

Our other big objective this year was to spend as little money as possible on the vacation. I think that’s always been a goal for Alan, but in the past I secretly didn’t care. This year I cared just as much as Alan.

Our thrifty strategy was also simple.

1. Our condo was free. Alan’s grandparents let us stay at their place, and that’s why our family has gotten to go to the beach so frequently over the years. (Gigantic thank you to Alan’s grands!!!)
2. Only eat out once/day, and that will be a lunch.
3. Buy enough groceries to have plenty of snacks and easy to assemble meals so that no one will even ask to eat out. Success!
4. The condo has a pool. The beach is right across the street, so there is no need to pay for any other activities.
5. Rent a Redbox movie instead of going to the theatre. (Remember, we have to hide from the sun for several hours/day.)

Joshua and Daniel were all about the net fishing. They caught quite a few tiny fish and crabs.

Would you like our meal ideas that made this possible? It was so simple it’s almost embarrassing to list them.

Breakfast

cereal, eggs, and Pop-tarts

Since they are normally not allowed Pop-tarts, this is a humongous treat. I was curious if pop-tarts were any better than donuts, so I looked it up……They aren’t better, just different.

By the way: 1 Krispy Kreme glazed donut = 22g carbohydrates and 11g fat

1 Blueberry Pop Tart = 38 g carbohydrates and 5g fat

Cocoa Pebbles cereal =  25g carbohydrates and 1g fat

Eggs                    = 0.6 g carbs and 5 g fat

……Sooooo that’s why we don’t normally do pop-tarts. One of my boys gets crazy hyper from all that sugar. At least with the cereal, they get the protein from the milk to help my conscience. There’s no way I’m COOKING 3 times/day. Breakfast has to be easy.

Eggs are the clear winner, but not all of us can eat the eggs. I have a son with an egg allergy. Sad, right?

This one is allergic to nothing, and he likes his eggs dyed green and served with sausage.

Lunches and Dinners

Micro-wavable hamburgers. We are sort of fanatical about these because they are delicious, they are real, and they are brain dead easy to make quickly.

We also served egg sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, yogurt, and hot dogs while we there. It was only a 3 night vacation.

Next year maybe we’ll do a no-eating out at all policy because that would have saved us another $90, believe it or not. $90 was how much we spent on the groceries for the whole weekend, and yet that’s what it costs to take our family to a restaurant, other than fast food.

And by the way, it was a free of incident beach year too! There were no ER visit, no jelly fish stings, no rain days, and no sunburn. Ah, yeah. We fall more in love with Destin every year.

I’m 1/2 daredevil like Caleb.

I used to swim to the sand bar, and I CANNOT go to the beach without getting drenched from head to toe. It’s not possible. I don’t know how you do it. Moana was right. It DOES call you.

…..but I’m now 1/2 skiddish. I’ve been stung by jellyfish a few times, and y’all, that HURTS. Plus, I see fish and shadows, and I start to panic. Ah, if only I could have stayed young and dumb.

³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k]neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

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Check back tomorrow! I’m planning to upload photos of 17 mile drive, a scenic route that hugs the coast from Pacific Grove to Carmel! Or maybe I’ll do the seal pup photos next…

The post 42 Beautiful Photos of Monterey, California appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Today I took all the boys to the beach, by myself. Yes, it was a bona fide foolish thing to do. I might not try it again any time soon. It’s been warm here, and I just really wanted to go to the beach! The boys very excitedly dressed in their swimming trunks and packed in the van. We’ve never gotten ready to go somewhere so quickly!

Do you have a soundtrack to your life? I am one of those people who burst into RANDOM songs, ALL the time. If I’m not singing, I’m not happy. I sing, and I sing, and I sing. My head is like the “shuffle” option. It just pops up different songs all the time. Sometimes it’s because the song fits the day, and that was the case today.

There’s a new song out that just FELT like TODAY. To understand the title of my post and the vibe of our day out at the beach, you should hear this song:

Isn’t it great? So peppy! Plus, it really is a beautiful day to be alive.

Only, one small problem. I have a toddler.

He ties with his brother Joshua for being the most stubborn person I’ve ever met. 🙂 But at least his fits are silent. That’s right. That picture is one of JD’s famous “silent fits.” He was mad at me because I wouldn’t let him chase the birds anymore.

So let me tell you about our day.

First, we went to our favorite beach. It always has this great big tidal pool/drainage ditch that you have to cross, but usually there’s a bridge, and we just deal with it.

Today the wooden board that we call a bridge was gone, and the great big tidal pool was almost a river that went all the way to the ocean. It was massive. I would have taken a photo, but I was too busy trying to keep JD out of that nasty water. Alan says it’s nasty sewage drainage water. 🙁  He is a civil engineer, so I figure he knows a thing or two about it.

We had to hike a half mile around the thing to get to the ocean. That may not sound far, but when you are escorting a person that is two feet tall, insists on walking himself, all while lugging four beach towels in your shoulder bag, let me tell you, it’s far.

The big boys waited very sweetly for the slow team (JD and me) to catch up. They love jumping in the waves, and thankfully none of them get in too far.

Look closely. That’s Dan, not JD, looking for more ladybugs.

JD has this fascination with chasing birds. Do all little boys do this? I think ALL of mine have. When I decided to do the beach thing by myself, I thought it would be okay because last time JD just sat and dug around in the sand and complained a little bit. No biggie.

This time JD kept taking off after birds. Now that wouldn’t be so bad, but I have three other boys to keep an eye on. I had to keep making Daniel come with me to get JD.

In this video, you can see the boys running, but you can’t tell how big this drainage pond is. It was much longer than it was wide!

Finally, Dan just banked himself in the sand and started building ladybug houses. Caleb soon joined him.

We found lots of ladybugs in the sand today, and we all thought that was really neat.

building ladybug houses

This is the best I can do for an all four boys pic.

Once JD accepted that I was finished chasing birds, he threw his silent fit, and then he spent a while watching a ladybug. Joshua started asking to go home, so he took a vote. We said, “JD, do you want to go home?”

JD smiled, “Yes!!”

Hoping to avoid the long trek around the nasty water pool, I spotted what I thought would be a short cut around the other way. Let’s just say it didn’t end where I thought it would, and we ended up walking on asphalt in our bare feet. Thankfully, the boys are so used to California briars in their bare feet in our backyard that I was the only one complaining. JD was happy to be carried all the way back to the car, which didn’t end up being a shortcut at all. It was another long hike. I was so grateful that Joshua could carry the beach bag for me!

It was not the peaceful day at the beach that I had pictured. It was a stressful hour at the beach. One hour. That’s how long we lasted. I mean, of course it wasn’t relaxing. Ha! What was I thinking? But I was singing, “It’s good to be alive,” the whole time because you know what? It is!

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The greatest thing about moving to California is definitely the nature watching opportunities. I can’t tell you all the wonderful things  my eyes have seen since we’ve arrived! I will do my best to show you what I can, though!

Perhaps tonight I will finally download all the kayaking pictures we took using Alan’s cell phone. Kayaking with the seals, sea otters, and sea lions was incredible, and we managed to get a few photos of them. Wildlife fascinates me.

One thing I have always loved about the beach is that it’s different every single time you go. On Monday, it may be covered in sea weed, or kelp, as is the case here. On Tuesday, there may be less of it, but lo and behold, a dead sea lion has washed ashore. The next day, you may see him again, not looking so great. A week later, all of that is gone, but there are billions of tiny shells and rocks everywhere. It is always different.

In the past 3 months, I have seen:

-a sea gull harassing a sea otter, in hopes of obtaining some crab scraps

-a sea lion, just as interested in me as I was in him

-A seal was stalking us when we were kayaking, for a while–freaked me out a little bit…

-sea gulls devouring a family’s McDonald’s picnic, as they posed for pictures by the water…….Poor family.

-homeless people sleeping on the beach

-a dead sea lion washed ashore, with a giant hole in his side–a little disturbing

-billions of tiny, molted crab shells

-seals, leaping out of the water

-one humpback whale, leaping out of the water—-If awesome weren’t such an over-used word… how to describe this…It was a breathtaking sight that I will never forget.

-two sea otters mating….while the baby chased them, squealing at the top of his little lungs….haunting and embarrassing…

-jellyfish–thankfully from afar……I was stung as a young teenager. That’s something I’ll never forget.

–and just the other day……a pelican FEEDING frenzy. There were literally hundreds of pelicans. Pelicans are favorites of mine, so I was delighted to be there!

Of course, this sea lion buddy was there too. You can’t go to Monterey Bay without seeing a sea mammal!  I love it.

I wish this picture were clearer. These birds have such long beaks.

By this time, it was getting darker. After all, I have to wait for my childcare to get home from work to do things like this. 🙂

Come back soon for sea otters and redwoods! Hopefully, I’ll get those up by the end of the week.

Update on Caleb:  The “coke in the morning” was a complete disappointment. He acted more like a caffeinated child than a medicated child. That would point in the direction of this NOT being ADD that we are seeing in Caleb. I may not want to try the caffeine thing again!

Meanwhile, the baby just woke up from his nap, so this is one momma that needs to become a lot more like the caffeinated child…..Where did I put my coffee cup…..

5 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Matthew 6:25-27

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