So when I go to a beach on my bucket list, I have this ritual I follow to keep the memories of that beach alive later. You might have a different one or you might want to adopt this one, but either way, the connection to my collection (ha!) is so personal that I can tell you exactly what I was doing and wearing, eating or drinking, when I did this. So while I still pick up shells, I have something no one else does.
1. Find a bottle
Now this one is up to you. What I do is I go to a shop around the beach and pick a bottle with a screw top. My favorite kinds are the glass bottles but I’ve also done this with a plastic bottle and that turned out just fine. It’s up to you!
2. Drink it
Seriously. I don’t care what kind of drink– alcoholic, non-alcoholic– but you have to drink it on the sand, watching the waves in a very contemplative manner. Let your mind wander while you sip! Most recently, I drank a bottle of lemon… something… negroni? wine? on the sand, and it was the most refreshing thing, exactly what I needed for that time.
The right bottle and drink will find you. I firmly believe that. Whatever you choose, find the beauty in it. Find the beauty in drinking a lemon something with 6% abv at 10am while you watch the waves. Drink an orange juice in a plastic cup. Chug water because you haven’t had any all day. Every single drink has something of value for your body. Find it!
Drain the drink to the last drop. Don’t leave more residue than necessary.
3. Fill it with sand, rocks, sea glass, or whatever is nearby
My only caveat is don’t fill it with water. Seriously do not.
I’ve done all of these as part of my bottles. I have a beer bottle full of sand, the lemon something full of sand, but I have a layered plastic bottle: sea glass at the bottom, the tiny rocks, sand, and sea glass at the top. It depends on you and what’s around you. It depends on what you’re willing to do. I spent an hour picking sea glass from the tide to put in my water bottle. There’s beauty in creating the reminder, even if it’s not as aesthetic as some people want.
I look at those bottles and I’m not thinking about how ugly they are. I’m transported to when I drank beer from my hotel balcony and watched the world’s longest wave. I’m thinking about when I shared juice with my niece before stepping onto a white sand beach. I’m thinking about anything except the aesthetic. If you are an aesthetic person, make it pretty! Get a really nice bottle and do it how you’d like.
If you flew to get the sand, then you should keep the bottle in the carry-on to make sure it stays safe. If you drove, you’re much luckier. TSA always swabs my sand. Like c’mon guys, I literally just like beaches. It’s not that serious. My bottles always pass and I get to keep them. You can too!
4. Seashells?
You don’t have to collect shells if you’re going to the bottle method, but there’s nothing better than walking the shore and finding the really cool shells you wouldn’t find at any other beach. Probably. And if you do, so what? Collecting shells with my feet touching the water reminds me of being a child, but without all of the trauma. The beach is simple that way.
Make sure you’re not bringing crabs home with you and be careful if you’re going to grab one suspiciously bright! I haven’t encountered this yet, but I know that sometimes the prettiest things will get any beach-goer and that can turn so dangerous.
I say the word “so” a lot. I don’t know why I’m nervous talking to a blog post. I can literally edit this. I mean, I won’t. But I could.
If you want a super personal memory, get a bottle, collect the sand, and stare at it forever with pride.