Summer Lovin

As the summer heats up, both families and frats pile into their cars, jam the highways, and head off to the solace of summer, the beach.
Ah the beach. Or for those in New Jersey… the shore, but who cares about them?
The days of getting a beach house with your friends for a week or two, filling up the fridge with nothing but beer and hangover cures, and trying to pack in as many wild nights as possible into a couple of hedonistic weeks seemed like the best times of your life. Those are the days to live for.
Or, in many a person’s case, were the days…
For many other tamed and maintained post-collegiates, the days of skinny dipping hot tubs and beer bongs are over. Instead of applying sun tan to a recently acquainted babe, you’re applying SPF 50 to your baby…
But now the beach has become something else entirely. Now it is a place to decompress and really enjoy the things that you work so hard for. Teaching your son how to fish on a pier. Bike rides with the family on the boardwalk. Taking a walk on the beach with that special someone.
Its funny how your perspectives and wants can change and how fast they do change. Once you were carefree and jubilant, and now you are careful, but still jubilant. The times you spent with your college friends were great, but in comparison, how do they stack up to your beach trips now? Would you trade a week of bachelordom at San Padre or Cabo San Lucas for a week with your family at Ocean City or the Outer Banks?
And for those lucky few that live on or near the beach, how has the beach changed for you? Many friends of mine were lucky to live by the sea, and seeing them grow, as have I, it’s interesting to see how the ocean environs have changed in meaning. Once a secluded inlet used to throw summer parties are now prime fishing spots for the family.
So for those of you in the throes of a decadent summer, hats off. These will be the times you won’t forget. Well, some of the moments you remember, but that’s because you downed too many PBRs. Others you’ll want to forget.
And those of you who are taking a week off from work to spend time with family, enjoy. These times are also memory making, but it’s more about the company your with than the company your trying to meet.

-Boomer

www.collegiateliving.com