Five Things We Always Do the First Hour We Arrive at the Beach
PJ and I have a little beach shack in Florida that has become one of our favorite places in the world. We usually make the trip down a few times a year: once in the spring for my birthday, again in May for PJ's birthday, and then one longer stay in the middle of summer when we can truly settle in for a couple of weeks.
It's our happy place.
The house itself is tiny at just 700 square feet for two adults, three kids, and three dogs (and sometimes a cat). We spent about a year renovating it, and while it's certainly not perfect, it's ours. And over the years we've learned how to make every inch work for our family, even if we’re quickly outgrowing it year after year.
When we're here, life slows down for a while. The kids spend hours splashing in the water and searching for shells while PJ and I camp out under our Shibumi Shade with a book in hand, people-watching, and talking about life. We end up having conversations at the beach that never happen at home. Dreams for the future. Big ideas. Little ideas. Things we want to do. Places we want to go.
We never fully unplug, but we get closer here than anywhere else.
And after years of making the same drive, we've developed a little arrival ritual. No matter how excited we are to get our swimsuits on and run to the beach, there are five things we always do during that first hour.
1. Unpack everything and put it away
Ever since PJ built us shelves in our bathroom last summer, we don't do the live out of suitcases thing like we did the first couple of years we stayed here.
The groceries get put away. The pantry gets organized. Clothes get hung up. Toiletries find their spots in the bathroom. Drinks go straight into the refrigerator.
It takes a little effort upfront, but it makes the rest of the trip feel so much more relaxed. Nobody is digging through bags looking for sunscreen or asking where the snacks went.
2. Make the beds
There's something about making the beds with clean sheets that transforms the house into our home away from home for the next few weeks. The second the sheets are straightened and the pillows are fluffed, it feels like we've officially arrived. You know what I mean?
3. Start a load of towels
If you've ever stayed at the beach for more than a day, you know the towel situation gets out of hand fast. Beach towels. Bath towels. Kitchen towels. The pile starts forming almost immediately, so starting a load of towels on day one feels like giving future us a small gift.
4. Light the candle
Four years ago, when we closed on the beach shack, our realtor gave us a leathery, bergamot candle as a housewarming gift, and over the years that candle became part of the house. I know that scent doesn't exactly sound like a beach scent, and most people probably picture coconut or salt air or something like that, but for us, this scent is the beach scent.
I've ordered four replacements over the years because I never want to arrive and not have it waiting for us. The second we light it, something shifts, and vacation has officially begun. The smell instantly brings back every memory we've made here: morning coffee in the tiny kitchen, sunburned kids eating popsicles, rainy afternoons with all five of us squeezed onto the couch watching a movie.
It's funny how a scent can, in a weird way, become a time machine of sorts.
5. Walk to see the ocean
Before dinner and before errands and before unpacking the last few bags, we always walk down to the beach so the kids (and maybe PJ, too) can run and jump in first thing.
After months of looking forward to the trip, seeing the water feels like the official start of vacation. It feels like the ocean has been waiting for us. And every year without fail, standing there for that first moment, we have the exact same thought:
We're back.
It's a simple routine, but after years of coming here, we've realized these little rituals help us settle in faster. The beds are made. The groceries are put away. The candle is burning. The ocean is just down the street. For the next couple of weeks, the kids will spend their days in the water. We'll spend ours reading, talking, napping, and enjoying the rare gift of having nowhere important to be.
And for a little while, our tiny 700-square-foot beach shack becomes our entire world. It's small, a little sandy, occasionally chaotic, and absolutely one of our favorite places on earth.