There is an unspoken way that we go about our day while we are at the beach house. We rise, eat a bowl of cereal, put on our beach attire, lather up with sunscreen, go to the beach, reapply sunscreen to the area on your feet that your flip-flop may have rubbed off, set up chairs facing water, stare. Then, around lunch time, someone goes and gets lunch for the crew or we all go back to the house for a sun break. After lunch, more beach time. While on the beach, we take walks, play this roller-ball game my dad invented many years ago, play Frisbee, etc.
Around 3 or 4 pm (or when someone mentions that they may be burnt to a crisp), we pack up, drive back to the house, hose our feet off, clean up, take pictures, go out to eat and shop.
Then, the next day, we do it all over again. I love it!
My dad does something all year round to prepare for our wonderful vacation time. He saves his change. There is this little class container by the back door at my parent's house.
After he fills the container and cashes in the change, he purchases gift cards to restaurants that are in Daytona Beach - then, some of our meals are already paid for ahead of time - one less thing to worry about. It also helps narrow down the answers to that question, "What do you guys want for supper, tonight?"
My parents taught us the importance of saving money. Growing up, if there was something special we were wanting to purchase, my parents would have us begin to save up for it. Even to this day, I have a little jar that I save money in for bigger items. It makes those items, once purchased, seem even more special.
Our family vacations are some of my fondest memories. I get giddy with excitement as our beach time approaches. And I think it's cool that my parents prepare, even in little ways, all year round to make that time special.
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