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Alison Stewart:  This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. We are continuing our series Summer in the City which we highlight all the fun to be had just by staying put in New York. Today's topic, the beach. Last week, our colleagues at Gothamist published a piece called "9 fun beaches in and around New York City." The list included locations like Coney Island, Brighton Beach Fire Island, and Rockaway Beach. Rockaway is the subject of a photo exhibition we'll discuss a little later on this hour. Hey, New Jersey, that Gothamist piece did not forget you, all you folks who like to go to Asbury Park or Point Pleasant. We're talking about how to plan a really great outing with family and friends. This includes how to pack, scouting out the best spots in the sand, the do's and don'ts at the beach. To offer us some tips, we have T. Espinoza, who founded the Style Medic, a blog and social media platform. T., welcome to All Of It.

T. Espinoza: Hi, thank you for having me.

Alison Stewart: Listeners, we are planning a trip to the beach today. What beaches are your favorite to visit this time in the year? What are some items that you have to bring with you to have a successful day at the beach? If you have kids, how do you keep them entertained? We can also get into beach etiquette here, what are the do's and don'ts when it comes to being a good beachgoer? Our number is 212-433-9692. 212-433-WNYC.

You can call in and join us on air or you can text to us at that number as well, or you can always reach out on social media @allofitwnyc that's both Twitter and Instagram. If you had to have three items to take to the beach, T., what are your top three, and then we can get into some detail, but right off the top of your head?

T. Espinoza: Right off the top of my head, first of all, you need sunblock. Definitely have to have sunblock because I'm going to sit out in the sun.

Alison Stewart: [chuckles]

T. Espinoza: I need something to eat and drink, but I'm going to count that as one, and a towel.

Alison Stewart: All right. We can break these down. Let's start with the towel. Some people are towel people and that's it, but you actually suggest using a yoga mat.

T. Espinoza: Yes. One, it gives you a little bit more comfort because it's a thicker material and you can put that between your towel and the sand for a little bit more comfort, or you could just use the yoga mat without the towel and just use the towel solely for drying off.

Alison Stewart: Yoga mats are so easy to carry these days. There are so many yoga mat slings.

T. Espinoza: They are. Exactly.

Alison Stewart: Now, some people visit the beach for the waves, some people go to tan. Some people just go to hang out and I've seen a lot of clothing that says it has SPF in it and that it can protect you. Do these cover-ups really help?

T. Espinoza: Anything that is a barrier between your skin and the sun's rays are going to help whether it has extra UV protection or not, but I would still say don't skip out on the sunblock.

Alison Stewart: What about hats?

T. Espinoza: Oh, absolutely. Our eyes, we can't put sunblock in our eyes, we need eye protection as well, and the hat is going to not only be fashionable because fashion, but it's going to protect your eyes and your face from the sun.

Alison Stewart: I know that you are somebody who is careful about how much money people spend. When you want to spend money on protection, where should you spend it, and where should-- Maybe you don't have to spend as much money on UV protection?

T. Espinoza: I wouldn't get fancy UV protection clothing. If you're concerned about blocking the rays of the sun, you could just get a regular long sleeve shirt, maybe a rash guard, something that's a lighter material, maybe a linen or something, but I wouldn't spend a whole lot there. If you have a good sunblock and just maybe a layer, or even a beach umbrella, something to keep you in the shade and out of the direct sun, you don't have to spend a whole lot there.

Alison Stewart: Let's take some calls. Linda is calling from Sunnyside, Queens. Hi, Linda. Thanks for calling All Of It. I want to hear your beach story.

Linda: Hi. Thank you for having me. I'm an avid Jacob Riis beachgoer. I meet up with about 12 to 15 people at the beach where we all actually met because we hang out at Bay 4, 5. Shout out to my ladies. I would say that I agree that some of the most important things to bring to the beach, I always have packed my beach chair, a travel towel, sunscreen, a hat, and a lunch, sandwich, chips, two seltzers, and three waters because by the time you finish that water, it's definitely time to get off the beach.

Alison Stewart: I like, you've got a plan. You and your group, have a great summer. Let's talk to Mac, calling in from Toms River. Hi, Mac, thanks for calling All Of It.

Mac: Hi, Allison. Thanks for having me. I think one of the best secrets of the Jersey Shore is Island Beach State Park right next to Seaside, which is the complete opposite experience. Seaside, crazy with people drinking and partying. Island Beach, I was there yesterday. There was a fisherman a quarter mile down one way and another couple, maybe another quarter mile away. It's a real escape from everything. I don't know what's going on. Sometimes they charge for going in there. Yesterday, there was no charge, so it was free.

Alison Stewart: Love it. I'm glad you had a great time. Mac, thanks for the tip. Got a text that says, "Hey, Alison, just left Jacob Riis Park for a morning run. If you are a Riis Park goer, the season parking pass is the must-have item for the beach at $100 for the season. If you go two times a month, it's cheaper than paying for parking each visit." That tip is from Kate from Brooklyn. Kate, thanks for that hot tip. Also, giving us some hot tips is T. Espinoza. We are talking about ways to go to the beach, how to have a good experience. If you want to tell us your favorite beach in the area, we'd love to hear it. 212-433-9692. 212-433-WNYC. If you want to tell us what's something that you bring that makes your beach-going experience great that you want to share with the crowd, we would love to hear it. Also, beach etiquette, do's and don'ts. Before we leave the clothing, footwear, what is your choice of footwear?

T. Espinoza: Something that you could easily take off, that's not going to bring the beach home with you, so maybe a flip-flop. Something super easy.

Alison Stewart: Again, I'm going to go back to money, it's on my mind. Flip-flops, I've seen flip-flops for $5. I've seen flip-flops for $200. Where do you stand on the cost of flip-flops?

T. Espinoza: I say, definitely save your money there. They're all made out of the same thing and they're not going to be comfortable no matter what kind of flip-flop you wear.

Alison Stewart: Let's go to line four. This is an etiquette tip. Pat is calling in from East Windsor. Hi, Pat. Thanks for calling All Of It.

Pat: Hi. I'd like the people who use that spray suntan lotion to please be very mindful of where the spray ends up. I happen to be very, very allergic to it. If I'm hit with it, I'll have a massive asthma attack. I try to stay upwind when I go to the beach but it would be really nice if people who use that product were a little bit more careful with it.

Alison Stewart: Pat, that is a great piece of advice for people to be mindful about those around us. Let's talk a little bit about beach etiquette, T. When you claim your space at the beach, how do you feel about people who leave chairs and then tents, and then go elsewhere and don't come back for a while? Is that a yay or nay?

T. Espinoza: It depends on how long is a while. If you're gone for hours and hours, it's not fair to the folks who come behind you. If it's your own tents and you're setting up your space, then fine, but if you're claiming seats and not coming back for hours, that's not cool. To piggyback on what Pat said, also be careful about spraying those sunblocks indoors, it makes the floor slippery and could pose a hazard.

Alison Stewart: Oh, really good point. I didn't even think about that. A lot of people who want to be careful at the beach, they bring huge umbrellas, and some of these tents are like small villages these days and it can block someone else's view. Do you have some language or thoughts about how you approach someone who's maybe doing something at the beach, which they don't really mean to be doing something bad but unintended consequences?

T. Espinoza: Oh, language. I don't know. That's a tough one. If they're blocking your view, I'd maybe say, "Hey, could you scoot over a little bit so that I could see maybe my kids or you're blocking?" Something. Maybe just tap them and say, "Hey, could you scoot over a little bit?" or "There's another spot over there that may be better for you."

Alison Stewart: Just non-confrontational, it sounds like.

T. Espinoza: Yes, because you want to have a good day at the beach. You don't want to start it off on a bad note.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to John from the Jersey Shore. Hi, John. Thanks for calling All Of It.

John: Thanks, Alison. Thanks for taking my call. I want to emphasize that people could bring reusable things when they go to the beach and not make more plastic litter like bring your reusable water bottle, pack your lunch in a reusable container, get your steel straw and all that stuff. I work for a group called Surfrider Foundation. We just did a cleanup in Rockaway on the dirtiest beach day of the year, July 5th, and that is the day when the beaches need a lot of love. We got some great media coverage and our volunteers ran a great cleanup and got lots of stuff off the beach. You can contribute to keeping the beaches clean just by bringing those reusable. Can I also make a comment about the umbrellas?

Alison Stewart: Sure, go for it.

John: I'm in New Jersey, a lot of towns have actually banned the tents, which I actually don't agree with. I think it'd be much better if the towns that don't want these view-blocking tents just to say "They're okay, but you have to do them on the back of the beach, like on the back 40, back closer to the dunes or closer to the boardwalk or whatever so you're not down by the water and blocking people's views." Umbrellas, there's documented cases of umbrellas going flying away and impaling people and people dying. I can't stand the thought of that's the only thing you can use and you can't use a tent. We should allow everything and just maybe keep the tents in the back 40.

Alison Stewart: John, a lot of good information there. Let's talk to Terry calling in from Rockaway, who has tent feelings as well, and umbrella feelings. Hi, Terry.

Terry: Hi.

Alison Stewart: You're on the air.

Terry: Hello?

Alison Stewart: Yes, you're on the air.

Terry: Yes, hi. He was just talking about the tents. Over here in Rockaway, people set up these tents that are gigantic. They take up so much of the beach. A lot of times they're in the front when they should be in the back closer to the walls, where there's a wall there in the Rockaways.

Alison Stewart: Terry's on board with in the back. Let's talk to Mary Ann calling in from the East Village. Hi, Mary Ann. Thanks for calling All Of It.

Mary: Hi. How are you? You're doing a great job, by the way.

Alison Stewart: Oh, thank you.

Mary: I just wanted to say that yesterday for the first time, I went to Sandy Hook on the Ferry. It was a great Ferry ride. It was beautiful. It's $30 round trip. They take you right there to the beach. You ride on a little school bus when you get off the Ferry, and the beach is clean, the water's clean. It was fantastic. It's the oldest lighthouse in the country over there at Sandy Hook.

Alison Stewart: I love the picture you just painted for us. Mary Ann, thank you so much. T., I want to go back to something that I believe it was John from the Jersey Shore said, talking about reusables. What are some of the reusables that I know you do a lot of consumer products that you found that one, they're good at what they do, and two, that coolers and things like that, and they help keep the beach clean.

T. Espinoza: The most, I'd say, exciting or exciting or the coolest one that I found thus far has been a reusable and collapsable water bottle. You could fill it up and then once you're done, you just collapse it. It's really small. You can tote it around, put it in your purse. That could be used for so many different things, not just the beach. I think that's been one of the coolest ones that I found in some time. It's inexpensive, less than 10 bucks.

Alison Stewart: What about people who do go and they do have a big old event, and there is some litter? Is there something that people can bring with them to help contain all of that?

T. Espinoza: While we're talking about reusable, we've all gotten the grocery bags from our shopping trips. Just take those with you and use them as trash bags. They're also recyclable.

Alison Stewart: There you go. We're getting a lot of calls about-- and text, "No music, please. Use headphones." That is a big pet peeve for a lot of people. Let's talk to Stephany on line 4, calling in from Summit, New Jersey. To you listening, I'm curious if you've had any experience with this product. Hi, Stephanie, thanks for calling in.

Stephanie: Hi, Alison. Great show. Thank you for having me. I wanted to go back to the conversation about the umbrella versus the tent and offer an alternative that you often see on the beaches actually down in the south. I'm not seeing as much of here and it's beginning to catch on. It's called the Shibumi shade. It's a great product that's only about two pounds. It's super lightweight. I use it because I have two little kids and we take a bunch of other stuff to the beach. Having something that's super portable is great. The way it works is it's a nylon, almost like a parachute-quality material. It's about 10 by 10, and you can unfold it really quickly and then thread it onto a rod that breaks down into about two feet segments and easily springs up. Then you anchor the ends of that rod with the Shibumi threaded through it, and you put them in the sand.

That creates this arc with this floating shape above it that allows everybody to see easily. You're not blocking anybody's view behind you, but you have a lot of shade. You get a room of about 100 square feet of shade. It's great for families in the sense that you can fit a lot of people under there. It's lightweight and it won't blow away as the other commenter said about the umbrella. It's not a danger. Highly recommend. It's a startup company, so I think it's always great to help new businesses.

Alison Stewart: Thank you for all the information. Also, it's fun to say, Stephanie, you got to admit.

Stephanie: It is.

Alison Stewart: Thanks so much for calling in. I'm going to ask you to listen in, T., because we're going to start talking about kids at the beach. Laurie, from the Upper East Side, is introducing the topic. Hi, Laurie. Thanks for calling all of it.

Laurie: Hi, Alison. I love your show.

Alison Stewart: Thaks.

Laurie: I'm calling because my beach-loving children are now adults. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got from my mother was that when you go to the beach, plant yourself near other children, near families with other children, because the children will start to play with one another and you'll have a somewhat relaxing day at the beach. I just wanted to share that. It was just really one of the best pieces of advice I ever got from my mother.

Alison Stewart: That is a great piece of strategy. Laurie, thank you for calling in. For people who are taking kids to the beach, what advice can you give them, T?

T. Espinoza: One, keep an eye on your kids. Keep an eye on your babies for safety. Also, like the caller just said, if they're playing with someone else's kids, you want to make sure that they're behaving and that the other folks' kids are behaving. Definitely keep an eye on your babies.

Alison Stewart: I always think of trying any clues on how to get sunscreen on wiggly kids.

T. Espinoza: Oh, my goodness. Distractions. Distract them with food, drinks, snacks, beach toys. Give them something to play with.

Alison Stewart: I was watching your interview, you're very big on ways to not bring the beach home with you.

T. Espinoza: For sure.

Alison Stewart: What are some tips you have? Even though we've had a great time, you don't want to track sand into the house, people around here take the subway, they have backpacks. What are some tips for not bringing the sand home with you?

T. Espinoza: If you've got little ones and they've got toys, the best hack for that is to put all those toys in a mesh bag. Even if you don't have little ones, whatever you're taking with you to the beach, put it in a mesh bag and just shake that bag out before you leave and all the sand will just fall through the mesh and you'll still have your stuff. Baby powder will help you get the sand off of your hands and feet. Baby wipes or any kind of wipes will help you keep yourself clean and not take the sand back with you.

Alison Stewart: Someone has texted to us, "I'm all about wearing Crocs at the beach. It's really the only place they should be worn. Much more comfy than flip-flops. Easier for walking through sand and easy to clean sand off." This is somebody in our team, no sand at home. Thanks so much for texting in. Our phone number is 212-433-969, 221-2433 W NYC. We are crowdsourcing away to have a great time at the beach. Maybe you want to share where your favorite beach location is. Maybe you have a special beach trick or hack to make the day go more smoothly. If there's a beach etiquette issue you want to shout out, you can do that as well. 212-433-969, 221-2433 W NYC. You can join us on air and have a chat, or you can text to us. Our social media is available as well @allofitwnyc. My guest, my ride-along is T. Espinosa. She is the Style Medic. It is her blog and a social media platform. Let's talk to Nick from Brooklyn. Hi, Nick.

Nick: Hi. I like to go to Far Rockaway. It's funny, you got some callers saying that "No music, please. Put on headphones." I like to go to Rockaway specifically for the music. They have these great live bands off the boardwalk in the beaches there. Riis Beach is just opening, so I know they're going to have a great band starting, I think, on the 22nd. It's reggae and R&B and stuff, and it's really much better than it should be. It's just great. There's bands at the Beach Bazaar also, which is close to Riis Beach. It's just off the boardwalk. It's like this cool weird Rockaway scene where you get surfers and people from all-- An incredibly diverse crowd. People are dancing and sitting at tables and eating food from the joints around. It's just wild. People dressed up as Spiderman.

Alison Stewart: Nick, you're going to want to stick around for our next segment. It's about a photojournalist who her entire exhibition is about Rockaway and about the diversity of it. Thank you for calling in and setting us up for that. Mighty Hudson has tweeted to us, "Love Riis and Rockaway, especially by ferry from home, World Trade Center area. Was almost born at Rockaway since my Bushwick-born parents had to go every weekend of the summer to meet up with the old gang."

Jesse has tweeted to us, "Don't be part of the problem, be part of the solution. Absolutely do not litter, no matter how trivial. Bring a bag, pick up the trash around you. Don't play the, 'It's not my fault game.' I collect litter every time we go." Well done, Jessie. Thank you for doing all of the pickup.

People will bring their electronics. Hopefully, people, T., will be responsible and aware of people around them. You have a really good suggestion for how to keep our electronics, our phones, our tablets safe because you can mess up a phone on the beach.

T. Espinoza: Yes, you can.

[laughter]

Something as simple as just a waterproof phone case. They make them in a bunch of different sizes and they are definitely waterproof. I've climbed a waterfall over the weekend last week and my phone was safe. If you don't have something like that, a Ziploc bag. It may not be 100% waterproof, but it'll keep the sand out. It'll keep much of the water out. Also, be sure to keep your phones covered because they can overheat and you don't want that either.

Alison Stewart: You know what's a great place for waterproof bags? Some of the marine stores, some of the boating stores.

T. Espinoza: Oh, Yes.

Alison Stewart: Because they have the really hardcore bags, even the ones that might float. [laughs] Oh, my engineer's showing me her waterproof bag right now.

T. Espinoza: She's right.

Alison Stewart: Anything that I haven't touched on that you want to make sure people know about, T., in terms of how to have a good time? Any tip that you think, "Yes, I want to make sure I leave this with our public radio listeners"?

T. Espinoza: A couple of people mentioned not listening to your music loud. Please don't do that. It's so annoying. [laughs] I love that you want to jam out, but it doesn't need to be super loud. We don't all need to hear it. Honestly, just some protection for sure. For sure. I can't stress that enough. Just have a good time. Don't be mean to people.

Alison Stewart: Be part of the solution, not the problem like our listener said.

T. Espinoza: Exactly.

Alison Stewart: Final call. Let's talk to Dennis, calling in from San Francisco. Hey, Dennis, thank you for holding.

Dennis: Sure, Allison. Thanks for taking my call. Well, in another lifetime, I was a special ed teacher at PS 105, which is about a block and a half away from the beach. Whenever it was a beautiful day and we could do it, I'd take my kids to the beach and we'd do our lessons there. There were so many different lessons at the beach. We'd have say shell-finding contest, "Can you find the smallest perfect shell?" It becomes a lesson, what's small, what's big, what's in between? It's an amazing place for kids who are troubled and upset, to be there, to learn, and to grow.

Alison Stewart: Dennis, that is a beautiful call to end on. Thank you so much. It would have been great to be in your class. My guest has been T. Espinoza, the Style Medic. Check out her blog and platform. T., thanks for the advice.

T. Espinoza: Thank you so much for having me.

Alison Stewart: Thanks to all our listeners who called in to help out your fellow public radio fans.

 

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