Packing for the beach--any tips?food?

[MomNeedsVacay]

Me and my fam of 5 is heading to the OBX (Outer Banks of NC) in a week and a half... I'm trying to figure out what foods we can bring with us... but any other beach packing trip tips would be great. Hopefully the drive is only about 6-7 hours long. We are staying in a decent size house in Corolla with a pool and washer/dryer. Any tips?? I have one tip that I got years ago and LOVE. I take baby powder on the beach with us..it helps dry the wet, sandy areas of the body.

 

[Christine]

Well, back in the day when the beaches didn't have real grocery stores, I swear we used to haul half our house with us. What a pain. I'm not sure what Corolla is like in that regard. If it has stores, I wouldn't pack a thing. Too much trouble. Other than that, we used to make a big pan of lasagna before the trip, freeze it, and then take it down.

I haven't done a big beach trip in years, but if I did it now, I'd go to the food prep place I use monthly (Dinner Done in Centreville, VA) and I'd be making some meals to freeze and take with me. I don't want to spend my vacation working in the kitchen.

 

[LisaInNc]

We are beach people.

On vacation I start about a month before with a list and then I look for things on sale. I try to bring some treats that I normally don't buy. It's vacation so I want it to be fun.

I make a few casseroles ahead of time and freeze them. I bring a big cooler with me. That way I have some favorites meals already made and I don't have to cook.

note.....bring your shopping bags WITH you, on the Outer Banks the large stores have to charge you for each plastic shopping bag they give you. They passed that law about 6 months ago.

Lisa

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

We are beach people.

On vacation I start about a month before with a list and then I look for things on sale. I try to bring some treats that I normally don't buy. It's vacation so I want it to be fun.

I make a few casseroles ahead of time and freeze them. I bring a big cooler with me. That way I have some favorites meals already made and I don't have to cook.

note.....bring your shopping bags WITH you, on the Outer Banks the large stores have to charge you for each plastic shopping bag they give you. They passed that law about 6 months ago.

Lisa

thanks for the tip on grocery bags! can you share your freeze ahead meal ideas?

 

[MsDisney23]

Buy Capri Sun and freeze them, they keep food cold, kids love them for ice pops...

 

[Ohiodislover]

We always try to keep it easy. Don't really like big heavy meals when at the beach.

I usually fry hamburger/ground turkey and season for tacos, sloppy joes, etc. Maybe some chicken or pork and shred for sandwiches.

We usually make hamburgers and hotdogs salmon burgers on the grill. When we don't have access to a grill we take the George Foreman.

As for going to the beach itself. We usually take a small cooler with some drinks, and a few snacks. Some pizza places deliver to the beach, which is a favorite treat with my family. I would recommend beach chairs (either renting or buying). After a while the sand gets way too hard.

Have fun!

 

[XYSRUS]

We stay at the beach every year. We keep it it light and easy. We used to haul everything down, now we go to the grocery store first thing off the island and get stuff we need. We make it a "no beef week". We have flounder, scallops, shrimps, mussels,clams, crab, and lobster. Ususally right off the fishing boats when they come in in the morning. The kids get such a kick out of this. The kids love it! For the beach we pack everything in a cooler(drinks, lunch, snacks) and gear once a day. Even though our house is close (to use the BR and shower) we are the type to spend all day at the beach. Also save and bring money for the ice cream man! Find out other stuff to do in the area too-mini tours, waterpark close by for the day, boardwalk-ish stuff, lighthouses. Also pack books and games for rainy days and quieting down time. Don't forget to hit the beach at night with a big ol flashlight-it's like another world! Have fun and chillax! That's what it's all about.

 

[mjkacmom]

We're an hour from the beach, and we bring towels, beach chairs, shovels and pail, and boogie boards (and rash guard shirts). My kids are entertained all day with just the ocean.

 

[simonsmom]

ziplock bags for kids to put shells and sea glass in

 

[curious3069]

Bring twice as much sunscreen as you think! We just got back from a week at a beach house in Destin, FL and we had to go out at least twice for more sunscreen because we went thru so much of it.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

This blog http://eatathomecooks.com/2009/02/vacation-food-saving-money-dry-ice-is-your-friend.html has great ideas. I believe she is also a DISer.

 

[hercamore]

Take something to soothe jellyfish bites or bug bites.


herc.

 

[kimmar067]

....may I suggest SAND-wiches???












































[....sorry,couldn't resist.....]


.

 

[kimmar067]

ziplock bags for kids to put shells and sea glass in

...what's 'seaglass'??

 

[kimmar067]

...if the house that you are renting has a microwave, I suggest bringing down a lot of microwaveable items....also, we always bring at least one case of water and a case of iced tea.....

Also: if your kids are between the ages of 4 and 11, make a personal box for each of them, like one of those lap 'desks' and fill it with their favorite goodies:
crayons
drawing paper
disposable camera
sidewalk chalk
travel games
deck of cards
bubbles (okay, bad idea - those can get all over your car!)
food coloring (2 or 3 colors)
funky-shaped glass bottles (usually with long necks) [they can 'die' sand with the food coloring and put it in the bottles to make sand designs]

 

[K and K's Mommy]

We've been to the Outer Banks three years in a row. We love it.

I'll have to admit that we have found some restaurants that we love, so we eat out about 4 times. Gotta get my hush puppies!

One thing we do is buy steaks and hamburgers here. Freeze and then stick in cooler. We grill them the first night and have a steak meal that night. We then have hamburgers already grilled for another meal in a few days.

The other thing I do is premix my dry ingredients for the pancakes I make. It makes pancake morning easier.

Have fun!

 

[mjkacmom]

...what's 'seaglass'??

Pieces of glass that have been buffed by the ocean.

 

[msjprincess]

I would just wait and buy food there. Bringing food seems like a PITA.

 

[minkydog]

I would wait until you get there to buy your meats, milk, etc. My grandparents lived in Kitty Hawk, so I spent my summers on the OBX. At that time Corolla and Duck were Nowheres-ville. And Southern Shores hadn't even been invented. Now the area is all grown up with grocery stores, Walmart, fast food, and great seafood restaurants. Oh, and the beach with all it's various Sea-doo rentals, parasailing,etc.

Be sure you buy some fresh crabs or fish to cook at your house. You can't beat the seafood up there. Take plenty of sunscreen, extra bathing suits for everyone, and water shoes if you have them. The sand is very hot there, and rough, because it's basically ground up shells. If you have a beach umbrella, take that too.

 

[msjprincess]

I would wait until you get there to buy your meats, milk, etc. My grandparents lived in Kitty Hawk, so I spent my summers on the OBX. At that time Corolla and Duck were Nowheres-ville. And Southern Shores hadn't even been invented. Now the area is all grown up with grocery stores, Walmart, fast food, and great seafood restaurants. Oh, and the beach with all it's various Sea-doo rentals, parasailing,etc.

Be sure you buy some fresh crabs or fish to cook at your house. You can't beat the seafood up there. Take plenty of sunscreen, extra bathing suits for everyone, and water shoes if you have them. The sand is very hot there, and rough, because it's basically ground up shells. If you have a beach umbrella, take that too.

Actually the sand in Corolla is very fine.