And on the third day He "took together in one place the waters that are under the sky and He named the dry land Earth and the waters Seas"  (Genesis as quoted by Pier Augusto Brecchio in Man and Water)

Frenando Saenz Pedrosa, painting

Easy access to the beaches was such a high priority for then Governor William Donald Schaefer of Maryland that he made "Reach the Beach" a signature piece of his transportation agenda changing the landscape of the Eastern Shore with freeway style divided highways and bypasses around the historic towns. Access road 158 to North Carolina's Outer Banks turns into a parking lot every Saturday when the beach rentals lining up on the shoreline turn. Finding parking near the beaches of Coronado Island or La Jolla in the San Diego area is as impossible as finding a seat in New York's subway during rush-hour.

With the summer vacation season and the annual migration towards the ocean fronts in full swing the question arises: Why do people do this, flocking to beaches like Canada geese flying south when winter comes? When and where did the beach vacation begin and why? ......

Victorian beach goers

Beach going doesn't seem to have been a pastime in the Middle Ages even though reports from antiquity about ancient snorkelers shows that men has braved the ocean for a long time, even though initially not for leisure or re-charge but to earn a living. ....