1. Sun

    It's not that I don't get much sun where I live. In fact, we get a lot of sun here. But when you go on a beach vacation, you don't get too bothered when the sun gets too hot. You enjoy it. Over here, when the sun gets too hot, we complain that we perspire profusely since we have things to do and places to go.

2. Sea

   What is it about the sea that has a calming effect? I could just sit at the beach and watch the wide expanse ahead of me. The waves makes you feel like you are being swept away into paradise. You forget about all the stresses at work and simply enjoy the water lapping at your feet as you focus your vision into the horizon.

3. Sand

   I love stepping into soft white sand. Walking on a sandy beach is my favorite. Whenever we go on a beach vacation, we will walk the length of the beach from one end to the other. It can be tiring because your feet has to walk on uneven surface as you plunge into the soft sand at every step. But I still love it. I can't wait to make sandcastles with my daughter. I think she'll love it too.

4. Sky

   Why is it that the sky is so blue whenever we are on a beach vacation? Why is the sky not so blue where I live? I have always wondered about that. Is it only me who thinks that way? It's just so different. At the beach, there doesn't seem to be a single cloud in the sky and you could really enjoy the clear blue sky. Unlike where I live, the sky is often filled with clouds, sometimes threatening to rain.

5. Seagulls

   Seagulls are fascinating creatures to look at. They will fly high and suddenly swoop down into the water and catch a fish in its beak. How do they do that? It's amazing.

6. Sunbathe

   I love to show off my tanned skin after a beach vacation. It helps put a little color into my fair skin. I don't like to just lie around sunbathing, I like to do other things in the sun such as read a book, eat an ice-cream or swim. Seeing my sunburnt cheeks at the end of the day gives me great satisfaction.

7. Swim

   I'm not a good swimmer. So, normally if I'm at the beach, I will just play in the water, feed the fishes with bread or try to look for my husband who has dived into the water and has not surfaced for awhile.

8. Sunrise and Sunsets

   Why do I get so excited to wake up early in the morning to catch the first glimpse of the sun as it rises? But I don't feel that strong urge when I'm at home. And at the end of the day at the beach, watching the sun slowly disappear in the horizon winds down the beautiful day.

9. Seafood

   Another thing I must have whenever I'm at the beach is the seafood. It's nothing like having great barbecued crabs, prawns and fish at the beach. Yummy!

10. Solitude

    But the great thing about the beach is the feeling of solitude, even if you're with someone you love. You just feel at one with God's greatest gift of nature. Your mind breaks free and you feel calmer and more relaxed. That's why I love the beach so much.

1. Name that musical tune.

   Put your car radio on the "scan" feature. When a new song comes up, the first person to identify the singer gets a point. Tally up points and declare the grand prize winner when you reach your destination.

2. Count horses by the roadside.

   Divide your family into two teams. One team is assigned to one side of the road and the other team covers the other. The object of the game is to count the number of horses each team passes on its assigned side. A tally of horses passed for each side is kept. The team with the larges number of horses counted when you arrive at your destination is declared the winner.

3. Create a unique story.

   The first person starts telling a story by saying the first line. The next person in the car adds the next line and it goes around and around until the story reaches its climax. This game will bring out the creative story telling talents of your travel companions.

4. Play a rhyming game.

   The first person things of a word and announces it to the group. The next person has to come up with a legitimate word that rhymes with the first word. Each person takes turns coming up with a rhyming word. The first person who can't come up with a word that rhymes is eliminated. The game continues until everyone is eliminated except the winner.

5. Write a poem.

   The first person in the car starts by voicing a sentence of their choice. The next person follows up with a rhyming line. Each subsequent family member contributes a rhyming line. Pretty soon you'll have a unique poetic creation. This game is guaranteed to keep you laughing.

6. Play the alphabet game.

   Start with the letter "A". The first person to point out an object that starts with an "A" gets a point. Proceed through the alphabet to the letter "Z" (That's going to be tough unless you're in Africa and come upon a zebra). The person with the most points is declared the winner.

7. Have a spelling bee.

   Have someone bring along a dictionary or thesaurus. One designated person goes around the car asking how to spell certain words. When a participant is unable to spell the assigned word, he or she is eliminated. The last remaining person wins the spelling bee.

8. The license plate game.

   Make a list of all 50 states on a sheet of paper. As a car with a license plate from that states passes you, check it off the list. See how many boxes you can check off before reaching your destination.9. Name that capital.Have each family member monitor the license plates on the cars they pass. The first person to name the state capital for that particular state gets a point. Count up point totals when you reach your destination and declare a winner.

As you can see, there are a variety of fun things to do on the way to your travel destination. Why not give some of these ideas a try?

Shovel and round bucket (the kind you use for making little sand towers.

Step 1:

Find a good spot on the beach to make your sandcastle. You would want the sand to be a little bit wet so you should go somewhere near the sea (about 10 - 15 meters away). Now, with your spade, make a line revolving full circle around you. You do not have to move around but simply rotate your body along with the spade.

Step 2:

The first part of the castle that you are going to make is the moat. So right on the outside of the circle which you have just made, start shoveling in the sand and continue to follow the line until you are about 20 centimeters away from where you started. That extra bit will become the bridge. I recommend taking each step backwards after every time you take a spade-full of sand instead of working forwards (it's easier this way). With the pile of sand you have on your spade each time you shovel, toss it in the middle of the circle. The moat should be at least 20 centimeters deep all around.

Step 3:

Sometimes chunks of sand will break around the edge of your moat; here's a trick to stop that from happening: about 10 centimeters away from your moat, put the tip of your shovel into the ground. What you are going to do now is you are going to make a slope. The top of the slope starts 10 centimeters away from the original moat while the bottom of the slope ends at the corner (the corner closest from where you stand) of the bottom of the moat. I probably haven't explained this very well. Maybe this diagram of the finished moat will help you better to understand what to do.

Again, with the pile of sand you have on your spade every time you shovel to make the slopes, put it in the center of the circle - you should have a mountain of sand once you finished step 2. As you can see on the diagram there should be slopes on both sides.

Step 4:

Now, in the moat you need to flatten the sand so that it has a smooth surface all the way round. You also might want to smear some extra chunks of sand out of the moat (and once again, toss it in the center of the circle) which will also make a nice and smooth surface on your moat. Step 3 is just to make your moat nice and neat, so if you want go straight onto step 4; go ahead.

Step 5:

Now you will you will use your bucket. On the opposite sides of the bridge make one tower on each side, by putting sand in your bucket (make sure it's wet sand, but not too wet) and then quickly turning it upside down on the surface. Your two towers should out side the inner circle and moat but still near to where the bridge starts.

Step 6:

All you need to do for step six is smoothen up your mountain of sand which you should have laying there in the middle of your circle, by flattening the sand a bit and with both hands smear the necessary sand, starting from the bottom of the mountain all the way to the top - this will also make you mountain taller. Do this all around the castle.

Step 7:

Now use your bucket to make eight towers all around the mountain. That will be all for step 7.

Step 8:

This is the penultimate step to making your best sandcastle. Take your spade and lightly hit the top of the mountain tip until it has a slightly bigger surface diameter than your bucket. Once you've done that, take your bucket and make the final tower on the top of the mountain.

Step 9:

Finally, do what you did for your moat but instead make it a straight line heading out to sea. The channel should best be about a meter long. So when the sea comes in, it will flow through that channel and flow around your moat as well.

Final touches:

Using a side of your index finger or whatever finger you want to use, press into the mountain (not too hard) which is now a magnificent sandcastle and keep doing that until you've reached the top tower. These prints are supposed to indicate as stairs. Do this two or three more times elsewhere on your castle and it will fully complete. Voila!