I love this question because I love the beach!  We go to the gulf coast of Florida for a family reunion every March and to Grand Haven, MI on the beach on Lake MI a couple of times a year.

1. Beach Combing:  Looking for shells, sea glass and bits of driftwood is one of my favorite things to do, especially on Captiva and Sanibel Islands in Florida.  The shelling there is fantastic.

2. Treasure Hunting:  Last year i purchased a metal detector and the grandkids and I had great fun looking for 'treasure'.  We didn't get rich and only found a couple bucks in change, but we had a lot of fun.  We found a few old metal name plates.  I also think we helped the environment when we removed about a hundred beer cans in Destin, Florida. Too bad that state doesn't take deposits on those cans!

3. People watching.  Most people don't think they're that interesting, but most folks are given half a chance.

4. Build sand castles.  This is something that's more fun to do with kids, but you can have fun building them all on your own too.

5. Beach Party!  Get a few friends together, borrow a boom box and pack a lunch.  Dancing and singing on the beach is great fun and a very good stress reliever!

6. Clean-up patrol.  The grandkids and I gathered a whole trash bag full of cans, paper and broken plastic toys from the beach one day.  I know it doesn't sound like much fun, but it was because we had a chance to talk and one grandson found a cool pair of sunglasses.