Moonlight Beach: Sun and Sandwiches

My favorite summer day is Wednesday. That's the day I meet a group of friends (anywhere from 6-15 women) at Moonlight Beach for about an hour of old time fun in the water, then an hour of lunch on the shore of my favorite beach. Too bad the weather has been so crummy this summer. First it's hot an humid (that's ok for the beach) with nice warm ocean currents which are just what I like. We had some beautiful sunny days with 70 degree water temperatures, and had a ball riding wave after wave, until we were exhausted. I must hang on to my boogie board for dear life, because often the next day after boogie boarding my biceps are sore! It's worth it. We went from this beautiful weather to several weeks of cloudy weather, cool temperatures and a tremendous drop in the water temperature. Yesterday the water temperature was down to 60 degrees and I didn't have a wetsuit. No boogie boarding for me in that water. My feet, legs and thighs were numb, so I decided to pass on getting all the way in. I'm hoping for warmer water in August and September. We still have a great time at the beach, even if it is cold. Last week we were literally wrapped in towels to keep warm, yet we still managed to stay and talk for about an hour. Most of us bring a picnic lunch to the beach, but several women like to buy something at the snack bar. (that would be you, Barbara). With the remodeling of Moonlight Beach, the snack bar was the last thing to open, and with the hundreds of beachgoers every day, there was no concession stand until late July. However, they did have the rental area open, where you can rent beach chairs, boogies boards, water toys, and purchase sun screen and other beach related necessities. Finally, the snack bar has opened, and it was well worth waiting for. I guess you'd call it a gourmet snack bar. They offer lots of burgers and sandwiches and wraps, all in the $7.50-$8.50 range, and lots of drinks. Lattes, smoothies, frappucinos are available, in addition to sodas of all kinds. What this snack bar doesn't have is the old fashioned beach food we remember from our youth. No corn dogs, no cotton candy, no candy apples. This is healthy beach food, and it's good to know that if you forget to bring your lunch you have some healthy choices. A little pricey, but hey, this is 2013, and a plain cup of coffee is close to $2.00, so an $8.00 burger at the beach doesn't sound so expensive. The Junior Lifeguards are still at Moonlight Beach, and although these kids bring a sack lunch everyday, they still have plenty of money to buy extra snacks. Sometimes in the afternoon I see them pooling what little money they have left to chip in together and buy something. Moms, you've gotta send your kids to the beach with more spending money! Cloudy or sunny, warm or cool water, there's nowhere like the beach, and we need to remember that, as so many people do not have the luxury of driving 10 minutes to such a beautiful spot. We do live in paradise.