One spring break we went down to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Being that it was March (April?) the weather was not ideal for what a person typically does at the beach. It was chilly, and rainy, and everything you don't want it to be when visiting the ocean.
My mom, being a thrifty shopper, had purchased the cheapest snacks and canned beverages she could find at the store. Our shoreline noshing was therefore limited to carbonated Shasta beverages in flavors like diet cream soda, diet lemon lime and diet black cherry (and this was waaaaay before diet tasted good!), and Lance crackers. Everything was piled into an ancient soft-side plastic cooler in a loud bright orange and yellow floral print. Very inconspicuous (not). Any other teens would have been diving under the sand to avoid being seen in such a situation, but I don't remember feeling embarrassed at all. It was a blast!
Like I said before, the weather was windy and chilly, so we were 4 of about 10 people on the beach that morning. We spread out our stuff and tried to pretend we were warm. It was great kite-flying weather, but not a good time to be in a bathing suit trying to get a tan. Brrrr.
My dad is a National Guard veteran, so he owns these really neat (and warm and weather resistant) camouflage blankets. We had two of them on the beach with us that day. We sat on one of them, and when it started to drizzle, all four of us huddled under the extra blanket, drinking nasty Shasta (aka "Nasta") and eating Lance crackers. Hilarity ensued. It's a memory we dredge up just about every time we're together.
When my husband and kids and I were sitting on the beach during Tropical Storm Barry on Saturday, the people next to us looked like this:
That green thing they're using to block the wind?
Why, it's a green camouflage blanket EXACTLY LIKE the one my family huddled under that day over 20 years ago!
Ain't that a hoot?!?
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