My second favorite beach experience was on an island off of Cozumel, Mexico. It was beautiful miles of white sand with a few palm trees scattered here and there.  The water was a pale aquamarine color could see to the ocean bottom.  There was a bar right on the beach under a grass roof.  Fruit  and snacks were served to you on the beach and in the ocean. Yes, that is right, in the ocean!  You could float on a raft and a waiter would arrive beside you to see if you were thirsty or hungry.  There was a buffet served under a grass roofed hut.  You could eat with no shoes and in your swimming suit.  There were hammocks stretched from tree to tree to relax on after your feast.  When you were ready to leave there were showers just like on Gilligan's island.  Shielded by grass sides, no roof, and you had to pull a string to get the water to run.  Sounds like a bit of heaven doesn't it?  Well it was!  Loved every minute of it!  Never been so relaxed

One of my most memorable beach experiences and most relaxing was on the beach of the Outer Banks of Cape Hatteras, NC.  One August my husband and I and our four children camped at a KOA campground in a tent.  We had never been there before, and we had no idea there were no trees.  At first I thought "oh no it is going to be at hot one! "  We set up our tent and ran off to the ocean.  I was amazed at the whiteness of the sand and the blueness of the water, a dark navy blue as I remember it.   The breeze off the ocean was constant, and I was amazed that I did not feel the sun's heat or I thought.  After the first day we were all a bright shade of red.  None of us were severely burnt, but I knew we had to use the suntan lotion.  Back then we did not have sunscreen. 

We fished, but I can't remember what I caught. Couldn't have been anything big. We visited the Elizabethean Gardens, the Old ships, the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, The Wright brothers, the Sand Dunes and much more I can't remember, but if anyone wants to go there I can look up the good things we saw. 

The one thing my husband always talks about is the dog who befriended me while I was sitting on the beach. I was by myself and no one else in sight and this beagle walked up and sat right down next to me like he was my dog. I looked around for the owner saw no one. He stayed with me for sometime and walked with me along the beach, and then he left.  Never saw him again. 

There were no boardwalks, no shops other than the camping store.  To some this may sound really boring, but it was a good place "to come back to center" as they say. We enjoyed quality family time.  It is funny though, I thought the kids loved it and had a wonderful time. This experience I thought would be in their memory for life.  Most of them don't remember it.  No matter what they say the experience gave them the value of a family, and they carry that with them today. 

I added a page link http://www.icw-net.com/ for info about the area if anyone is interested. Please share your favorite beach experience with me. I'd love to hear about it.  I will be posting more of my experiences in the future, so keep checking back.