Atlantic Beach - Memories Since 1949
You may have seen that Larry Jr. and his family recently had the opportunity to take a few days off. They went to Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, the place where our family has made so many memories since 1949 (that’s not a typo; I really am talking about 75 years ago). How we found it is a story unto itself. I was just three and a half, so I only know this from having heard it many times throughout my life. My parents had lived in the DC area for a very short time and my mother’s sister had come over from England to visit. Mother was six months pregnant with my sister. My dad had a vacation coming, so they discussed a trip to show my aunt Joan a little more of the USA. My father suggested the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains. Camping. My mother envisioned her camping days as a Girl Guide in England where she was the only girl sitting on the smoky side of the outdoor fire trying to avoid being eaten up by mosquitoes. She suggested the beach instead. She and her sister had many fond memories of going to the beach with their parents when they were growing up in England.
My father learned that the beach everybody seemed to go to was Nags Head. So they packed up their new, 1949 Ford and headed south. However, there was no room at the inn, so to speak. It turned out there was a large convention going on in Nags Head, and there were no hotel rooms to be had. My father, determined to find a beach to take his wife and sister-in-law to, kept driving south. In those days motels and hotels were few and far between. Also, you had to be careful about where you stayed. Many miles later they found themselves in Atlantic Beach. It was a quiet, uncrowded place, a fisherman’s paradise. The road they were on dead-ended in the parking lot of the Atlantic Beach Hotel, which sat right on the beach. There was no air conditioning in that hotel. The screens on the window were bowed and weathered by the salt air and the water from the faucets was brackish. Still, it was a beautiful place. Very few people, an extremely relaxed atmosphere, and rooms that looked right out over the ocean. The sand was soft and easy to walk on. No rocks or broken shells, even as far as you could walk out into the ocean. The water was warm and the waves gentle.
Nearly every August after that, unless we went back to England to visit my mother’s mum and dad, we spent our vacations on Atlantic Beach. When my English grandparents came over in the early 1960s, my parents of course took them there. My grandfather announced, “First time in me life I’ve been warm!”
Though having a farm made vacationing difficult, Larry and I took our kids to Atlantic Beach when we could get away. And our children have continued the tradition, taking their own children there, walking in the footsteps of their great grandparents, Bob and Cynthia Baker. The trek to Atlantic Beach is a family tradition that has continued for three-quarters of a century.
I’ll always remember my days at Atlantic Beach with much fondness. So many good memories. And some not so good — sunburn being at the top of that list! I remember one summer when I was about fourteen, my chest not only got burned, but it itched very badly. Someone told me it was sun poisoning. Looking back, I know if I had had Big Jim’s available to me then it would have stopped burning and itching quickly, and it would have helped the area heal. In the two decades, Big Jim’s has been on our shelves, it’s been my go-to for burns, itching, scrapes, bug bites, and other maladies.
Though it’s been many years since I was back at “my” beach, if I were to go again, I’d pack the following (tap/click item and it will take you to the product page).
Big Jim’s (to help relieve and heal sunburn, stop itching of bites from beach flies and fleas)
Comfort Cream (to use as after-sun care on my face and to keep my arms and legs moisturized since being at the beach can really dry out your skin.
Antiwrinkle oil (this is a product I made especially for after-sun care. One creative customer uses it on his bald head! Use it after being out in the sun.)
Quick Fix (this is great for soothing your lips after a day on the water, or at the beach)
Therapy Bar (because motel/hotel soap bars are very drying, I have to have my own soap when I travel. For the beach, I’d probably take White Lavender, Tamanu & Tea Tree, or the Skin Comfort Bar.
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It’s been fun reminiscing about my long years of beach memories. I’d love to hear your vacation memories. If you have something to share, please feel free to email me at…. sehbjohnson@gmail.com.
