Skip to main content

Beach Suitcase Essentials

Well, today I am not exactly able to access my computer as I'll be in the car heading to the beach. We did start the trek yesterday evening stopping and staying the night in Vicksburg, MS (about halfway point). So today won't be too terribly bad.

Anyway, there will be no workouts today. I'm not thinking a quick salad at Quizno's will be very exciting to share. And I'm sure you don't want to hear me whine about how I don't like to sit in a car for very long - thank goodness for audio books though.

So, I thought it'd be fun to talk about packing for vacations. Jason and I have pretty much gone to the beach ever since we met (waaaayyyyy back in 1995). So we're kind of pros on beach packing. When it comes to other trips, I sort of don't know what to do. Seriously. Seattle, totally confused and ended up wearing pretty much the same thing all weekend. It's like my brain just fizzles. But beach packing...auto-pilot.

Now, I do still want to over-pack. But I have the basics down pat. I just have to scale back on the number of outfits and shoes I want to bring along. Because honestly, I pretty much live in my bikini, a cover up, and flip flops the whole time. So all those cute outfits, shoes, accessories I lug down with me, they go unworn.

Heather's Beach Suitcase Essentials:
  • Bathing suits - I bring one for each day. Yes, I have that many and then some. 
  • Cover ups - Must bring at least one black and one white to coordinate with my beach hats and bikini color.
  • Beach hats - 1 white and 1 tan/brown to coordinate with suits and coverups.
  • Flip flops - 1 black pair and 1 tan/brown pair (you see the coordination theme right?).
  • Sunblock - I bring an ass-load: 1 sports spray on 15 spf, 1 sports spray on 50 spf for outdoor running, 1 baby formula 50 spf for face, 1 sports type 15 spf (because it lasts longer).
  • Beach bag - the beach bag already has essentials like the sunblock and tissues in a water-proof case (my nose gets runny).
  • Sunglasses - 1 black pair, 1 brown pair (for obvious coordination reasons)
  • Beach towels - 3 because I can wash them so no need to bring all of them along.
  • Long-sleeved t-shirt - because it can get chilly sitting on the balcony in the evenings.
  • Lounge wear - 1 pair of shorts and 1 pair capri yoga pants.
  • Workout clothes/gear - I always bring running shorts, sports bras, socks, running shoes, some DVDs, reistance bands, and weighted gloves. 
  • Books - Gotta have beach reading material...nothing heavy please. Light fluff is a-okay.
  • Music - Must have tunes, especially chill music from singers like Jack Johnson. Perfect for the beach.
  • Real clothes - I typically bring 2 sundresses, 2 pairs of shorts, and a couple of halter or tube tops and 1 pair of capri jeans (in case it's cooler in the eve and we actually leave the condo).
  • Basic essentials - you all have your own: undies, bras, makeup, hair "stuff", etc. 
  • Food - I pack up things like homemade veggie burgers, seitan, and tofu in case I can't find it in stores there. I also pack up spices that we typically cook with.
  • Beach chair/Mat - This year we're taking one folding lounge chair and beach mat b/c the new chairs the condo owner has are not nearly as comfy as the old ones. 
So there you have it, that's what I pack up. Looking at the list, it looks like a lot. But it's really not so much. All the clothes and makeup items fit into one bag. We have a separate bag for beach gear and books, a collapsible cooler, and a reusable bag for the food items that don't need to be kept cold (like granola bars, oatmeal, or any spices I take with us).

What would your beach vacation suitcase(s) look like?

    Comments

    Popular posts from this blog

    Love in Photos

    In honor of Valentine's Day - Love in Photos Husband Family and Furbabies Friends Even if you're not a fan of Valentine's Day - I hope you have a wonderful day and remember the loves in your life.

    Hump Day and More Pineapples

    Full-Body Workout  I'll readily admit that getting up this morning was quite painful and almost didn't happen. I forced myself out of bed though not exactly excited about tackling a full-body Pyramid workout. Sort of daunting at 5 am really. I did the warm up from Shock Cardio Cardio Core Circuit (cardio only premix) then hit the weights. It was a pyramid up only so I increased my starting weight. I topped it all off with the first 2 1/2 drills from the cardio workout. I ran short on time and was basically spent. Squats into Plie Squats Step Ups (seriously hate these especially at 5:30 am) Incline Chest Flyes into Chest Press Pullovers into DB Underhand Rows Step Ups (freaking again) Static Lunges Overhead DB Press into Lateral Raises Deadlifts Kickbacks into Overhead Extensions Hammer Curls into Alternating Curls Calf Raises I am so excited to report that my new cross-trainers and running shoes arrived today. Can't wait to test both of them out. I waited way way way too

    Hitting the Gym and Lazy Means Creative Tex-Mex Creation

    Sunday, Gym Day Why do vacations and min-vacations go by so quickly? Just doesn't seem quite right. Anyway, we left Branson around 9:30 am to head back home. It was a pretty uneventful drive back, which is usually a good thing. We got home and unpacked, then I headed up to the gym. I started with a 10-minute treadmill run to warm up before hitting the weights for back and light legs then abs. I went with a giant set for back then supersets for legs. GS - 4x8 Underhand barbell rows Pullovers Double-arm rows SS#1 Rear-leg elevated lunges (Bulgarian Split Squats) - 3x8 Calf raises - 3x20 SS#2 - 2x8 Walking lunges Plie squats with low-end pulse Single-leg deadlifts - 2x8 I did some ab exercises, stretched, and called it quits. Lazy = Crazy Dinner I may have made it to the gym and washed a few loads of laundry, but I never made it to the grocery store - lounging in the pool trumped grocery shopping. This meant getting creative with dinner. We had another package