You've Got To Burn To Tan

            I went to the beach yesterday. It’s now autumn so the crowds have dissipated some since my last visit. I like to travel north towards Malibu when I go to the beach. It was high tide when we got there. Much of the sand was covered by water, leaving few options to make camp.

            I noticed there were a lot of tourists. I can spot a tourist pretty easily. It’s their beach manner that gives them away. A family walked up and made camp near by.  The father was wearing all black. Californians don’t wear all black to the beach. It’s rare when they do. The father started aggressively throwing seaweed off to the side to clear a clean space for his blankets. He was grabbing big handfuls of sand with the seaweed. The sand was flying through the air. Luckily, it wasn’t windy or we would’ve had a problem. Californians are sand conscious, we don’t throw sand wildly through the air. Sand travels well, and it irritates people when it hits them.  The other hint that the family was from out of town was that the father didn’t take his shirt off and sat under an umbrella. He was scared to burn. Californians know you've got burn to tan.