One Beach Visit for Every Month : A 2018 Recap

Last year I set a goal of putting my toes in the sand at a different beach every month and I called it the Beach of the Month Club. (Credit for the original idea goes to Mr. UR) Here's a recap of those twelve beaches:

January - Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina
Cape Hatteras is a national seashore that stretches 70 miles from Bodie Island Lighthouse to Ocracoke Island that's managed by the National Park Service. Often hailed as one of the 10 most beautiful drives in the US, Cape Hatteras is windswept desolation at it's best. 

We visited Cape Hatteras right after a snow so it was my first time wearing snow boots at the beach. We also drove on the beach for the first time ever (after getting a permit at the park service office) 

Cape Hatteras is always a favorite of mine - I love the Outer Banks. So I started the Beach of the Month Club with a true favorite.

February - Folly Beach, South Carolina
February's visit was one of my favorite beaches, also and one that's close by that I don't get to often enough. Folly Beach is one of Charleston, South Carolina's three beaches sitting directly south of the city and tucked into the edge of James Island. In fact, Folly's nickname is the Edge of America and it feels like that when you visit this funky little surf town. There's really only one main street and only one big hotel - The Tides at Folly Beach -  but that doesn't deter beach lovers from returning to this little corner of South Carolina year after year.

We stayed at the Tides which was offering a winter special and enjoyed sunrises over the Atlantic and a meal out in town. A perfect winter beach visit.

March - Del Mar, California
Some 20 miles north of San Diego lies the seaside town of Del Mar - home of the famous Bing Crosby founded Del Mar Racetrack and a town for those with a "taste for fast horses, beautiful beaches and award winning cuisine."

Del Mar is the closest beach to my niece's house so that's where I put my toes in the sand in March. We had a beach dinner picnic and saw a pretty sunset - enjoyable even with brisk temps in the 50's. 

April - Pensacola Beach, Florida
Pensacola Beach, located on the Florida Panhandle, is known for some of the softest, sugar sand beaches in the US and it's gorgeous aqua green water. We spent a weekend here in April and stayed right on the water at the Holiday Inn Resort Pensacola Beach.

It was a fun weekend of seafood, sun and surf - we ate at Shaggy's Seafood Shack on the bay, spent a day perched in our chairs on the beach and checked out the pure white sand of Gulf Islands National Seashore. 

And, of course, I'd love to go back. It's such a beautiful area of the country.

May - Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara was the beach of the month for May. We were on a 10 day Southern California road trip and it was my first visit to Santa Barbara. We arrived by train from LA and did a walkabout around the town taking in the sights. After a walk on the beach, we ate at the delightful Santa Barbara Fish House before boarding our train back to Los Angeles.

And I have to say that I found Santa Barbara to be delightful. What's not to like about a beach with palm trees surrounding it, a pier, waterfront restaurants and a walkable town with a Mediterranean vibe?

But then I guess most visitors from the West Coast already knew this. 

June - Lake Travis, Texas
June brought me to my first Lakeside beach in Lake Travis, Texas. Located about an hour drive outside of Austin, Lake Travis is large - 18,000 acres and 270 miles of shoreline - and has had low lake level problems recently. But it's bouncing back. 

We stayed at a lakeside condo and enjoyed the pool. 

And we made the pilgrimage to the most famous spot on Lake Travis - The Oasis Restaurant. Known as the "Sunset Capital of Texas, this restaurant sits some 450 feet above the lake and is the 5th largest restaurant in the US.

July - Naples, Florida
Naples, Florida is a unique destination for me as it's the only Beach of the Month where I've lived before. I spent a bit of my high school years here and have had family living here for years so I know my way around and have been to the beach here many times.

Naples is located on the far southwest corner of Florida and is known for it's gorgeous Gulf of Mexico sunsets. I made sure to make it to the beach for one of those sunsets while also visiting family.

August - North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
North Myrtle Beach is located in the popular beach area along the coast of South Carolina known as the Grand Strand. It's a popular spot for families with lots for them to do - miniature golf, beaches, seafood restaurants and souvenir shops to name a few.

I visited North Myrtle in August with my mom to attend a few shows there and I managed to coax her into visiting the beach, too, while we were visiting.

September -Lake Garda, Italy
Lake Garda was one of my favorite stops on our European road trip in September. It's one of the five lakes in the Italian Lakes region and the towns on it's shores look like they are straight out of a fairy tale. Add in lakeside villas, pebble beaches, clear water and an aperol spritz and you have a little slice of heaven. In fact, it's said that this is where the Italians go to holiday.

I'd go back in a heartbeat! 

October - The Low Country, South Carolina
In October I found myself in Beaufort, Bluffton and Hunting Island State Park enjoying it's marshland, beaches and low country cuisine. 

If you haven't been to this area before, you're missing out. I managed to not only put my toes in the sand and eat some delicious food but also visit the Bluffton Oyster Festival. 

November - Whitehaven Beach, Queensland, Australia
The beach of the month from November comes to you courtesy of our trip to Australia to visit our youngest daughter. She's been living in Australia for almost one year now - and we had the blessing of being able to visit her for two weeks.

We took a flight from Sydney to the small airport at Prosepine so we could visit the Great Barrier Reef from Airlie Beach. That was a phenomenal trip and the next day we were able to go to the Whitsunday Islands by boat and spend half the day on Whitehaven Beach. Consistently voted one of the top beaches in the world, Whitehaven is your pure white sand, deserted beach "dream come true."

Our day here was through Cruise Whitsunday's and I'd highly recommend it to anyone venturing to this part of the world. 

December - Bondi Beach, New South Wales, Australia
In December we visited that uber cool beach of surfing fame, Bondi. Known around the world for it's surf culture and proximity to the city of Sydney ( you can even get here with public transport), Bondi is famous for it's TV show, surfing, skateboarding, shopping, coastal walk and the Icebergs Club. 

The Icebergs sits directly on the water with 3 waterfront pools, has a sun deck, bars and a restaurant. And you can swim here for a small fee - as long as the pools are open.( The pools are closed for cleaning or if the surf gets too rough so check before you go if swimming is your goal)

So there you have it. Twelve little bits of paradise.

How about you? Would you like to visit a different beach every month?



Linking up with :My Corner of the World at Photographing New Zealand and The Weekend Wanderlust Weekend Travel Blog Party