Beach Essentials: A Hub Based Upon a Question...

First of all, I'm happy to announce that today marks day #20 in my "30 Hubs in 30 Days" Challenge. (Please excuse me for a moment while I give myself a quick pat on the back.) Woo-hoo! I'm 2/3 of the way to the finish line. As an added bonus, tomorrow I can begin counting down from 10 all the way to my victory dance when I publish hub #30.

To be completely honest, I've been running a little low on writing energy the past few days. I'm very proud of the effort that I've made and of the 19 hubs that I've already published this month. However, as I sat down to write this morning, I struggled to find a topic.

While brainstorming, I came across a neglected e-mail from Hub Pages in my in-box. It talked about this month's "Know it all" contest. The requirements were pretty simple. Basically, all you've got to do is write a hub as a response to one of the hundreds of questions that have been asked on Hub Pages.

I've never written a hub based upon a question, so I figured I'd give it a try. After all, this month's challenge has been all about pushing myself to try new things (writing-wise). So, I logged onto Hub Pages and began skimming through the "hot" questions. I was surprised to discover that a lot of the "questions" weren't really questions. Many were simply statements of fact. Others contained grammatical mistakes or typos. To be completely honest, I was about to give up and chalk this hub idea up as a lost cause!

Fortunately, I finally found a good question: "What are the essential things that you like to carry with you when you go to the beach?" (asked by saitam)

For me, this question is sort-of like that children's book, "If you give a mouse a cookie" by Laura Numeroff. The more items I add to my list of "essentials," the more things I decide I'll absolutely have to bring!

Before heading to the beach, the first step is always to dig my trusty old backpack out of my closet. Once the pockets are unzipped, I can start adding objects. First of all, there are the essentials: sun block, a hat, chap stick, and a towel to sit on.

Next, I'll add my camera. I love the beach! It's always beautiful and you can never snap enough photographs. Nature is so inspiring. Then again, if it's a really pretty day, I might want to do some sketching. So I add my sketchpad, a selection of drawing pencils, a mini pencil sharpener, and a few erasers to my bag.

Then, the more I think about it, a good drawing takes time-- which means I'll need a snack. So, I carry my backpack downstairs and into the kitchen. After grabbing a few granola bars and a bottle or two of water, I decide to go all out. Why stop with a snack?

Opening the fridge door, I start pulling out all of the sandwich "fixin's." If I'm going to have sandwiches then I may as well toss a few dill pickles into a Tupperware container and stuff it into my back pack as well. Oh! I can't forget dessert! I grab a tin foil wrapped Ding Dong out of the cabinet-- well, I better make it two!

After a meal, I usually feel a little bit lazy. Wandering into the living room, I select a book from my "to be read" bookshelf and add it to my backpack for a post-lunch read. I love lying on a beach towel in the sun while reading a book; don't you?

Of course, laying on the ground for a while does tend to make me stiff. I'll probably want to go for a walk to stretch my legs after I finish the book. So, I stuff my tennis shoes into the front pocket of my back pack.

Have I forgotten anything? Probably, but I think we've covered the basics.

Then again, I could take a different route. Maybe instead of a solitary visit to the beach I should invite some friends. In that case, I should dig the volleyball net out of the shed... Oh, and I'll need more sandwiches!