There’s nothing like a good storm at the beach. Rain, of all things, can actually blanket a seaside afternoon in bliss. Living on the Charleston, SC coast, we experience an average of 209 sunny days a year, and that’s not counting the total number of days it doesn’t rain. Day after day can be spent outside with the wind blowing your hair on a boat ride, you toes wiggling in the sand or your body glistening in the sun after a couple hours of outdoor exercise. The magnetic pull the sea, sand and outdoors has on you is overpowering.
That’s why I’ve been known to wish for a rainy day here and there. I’ve told this to some of my land-locked pals and they think I’m crazy. Most people take the nursery rhyme approach ‘rain, rain, go away come again another day,’ but many beach dwellers think the opposite. A rainy day releases the hold the outdoors has over you and gives you a chance to take it easy. A storm gives you a chance to finally plow through the to-do list you’ve pushed aside to lay in the sand every weekend or gives you a chance to curl up on the couch to read the book you’ve only inched through the last couple of months. Warm weather and clear skies are obvious draws to the beach, but even the rainy days tug at you. We discovered that living at the beach helps us appreciate every day of the year, rain or shine. The sun exposes the beauty and possibilities of the outdoors, while the handful of rainy days allow us to relax and wind down. It’s 365 days of everything you could ask for in a climate, and we’re thankful we get to experience it.
