I have concluded that Americans are generally obsessed with the beach. Every advertisement and graphic that tries to give an impression of relaxation has a person sitting on a sandy beach sipping some beverage next to the ocean. This image has bombarded us so much that when we think of our next vacation, we usually think about hitting the surf–even when we’re not!

I have nothing against beaches, but I also don’t see anything that particularly special about them. It’s true, a nice walk on the sand can provide a landscape to let your mind drift. But this doesn’t come without work. It always seems like going to the beach is a delicate balance between comfortability and nature.

For one thing, the sand gets everywhere. It finds its way into our clothes, feet, awkward orifices, electronics, food and picnic baskets. We defend against this by toting beach blankets and exercising a degree of caution. But I find this annoying! This act of sand defense ruins any relaxing mood I had.

Even though we all know about the sand dilemma, we highly value the beaches that have sand. I find this sand-loving attitude quite amusing, since we seem to do everything possible to contain the sand once we set foot on the beach–and yet, it is the thing we crave.

Okay, so maybe I’ve exaggerating the sand problem a little bit, but I’m sure every single one of you has had the same feelings at one time or another. So next time when you decide to relax, maybe you should choose a rocky beach. That way, you’ll final defeat the cliche sandy beach loving attitude.

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