Member-only story
I Promise If I Ever Own Any Part of a Beach I Will Share It
Because I am not a salty beach hoarder
When I was growing up, my parents rented a beach house for our family. We were lucky enough to spend weeks in a place that had a tiny half bathroom inside, a shower on the porch, and a 40-year-old stove that smelled like a gas leak anytime we tried to use it.
It was in every way a cottage, but we were right in the sand, and directly on the ocean. It was a very fortunate part of my life. There were other families all around, and people often parked wherever it was allowed nearby, and walked onto the beach via public access points.
Rarely, someone would attempt to walk between the houses on the private crumbly cement walkways, and someone might call out a window to redirect them, or even tell them it was OK this time, but to go through the public way next time. Overall, most renters and owners alike didn’t begrudge the occasional lost beach seeker quick passage, as long as they didn’t do it daily, disrupt a clothesline, or drop trash along the way.
We all shared the public beach, whether we owned, or rented, or visited for the day. The sand, and the surf were everyone’s amenably. Most people were courteous, gave each other room, and minded their own beach business.
