Too hot for the beach

It's official, this has been Perth's hottest summer in some 40-odd years, and its second hottest summer on record.  So the good news: statistically it's nearly impossible for it to be this hot next summer.

When the temperature climbs it's often nice to head to the beach but there have been days when it was too hot for the beach.  I know that sounds odd.  Kind of like saying it's too cold to snow.  But it's true.  And now we can say that we've experienced both.  I took the boys to the beach several weeks ago on just such a too-hot-for-the-beach day and we spent the whole time languishing in the shade.  If you ventured out into the sun, the sand scorched your feet.  Needless to say, the visit didn't last long.

We have had other less than charming beach experiences.  A couple of months ago we thought we'd go down to the beach for the afternoon.  It was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining and a cooling breeze had kicked up.  Little did we know that when a cooling breeze kicks up it means that at the beach the breeze is going to be kicking the you-know-what out of anyone who wanders into its path.  We huddled in a lump with our towels over our heads to keep the sand out of our ears.  That was another short visit.

For the most part, though, our beach outings have been lovely.  When the sun:wind:sand:water ratio is just right and you spread a blanket out under a couple of umbrellas and pull out some snacks...it really is just about perfect.