If you’ve vacationed at the shore, then you probably know the routine.
Just after dawn, walkers and joggers appear on the beach, sometimes solitary, sometimes with a companion or two. As the morning deepens, adults and children drift out of their rented homes carrying canopies and umbrellas, chairs and towels, and coolers containing snacks and beverages, and they set up camp. The younger children build sand castles or splash at the water’s edge, the older kids toss footballs and Frisbees or dive like porpoises into the waves, and the adults generally sit in the shade of their shelters, where they nap or chat together.