Are you a pool person, or do you prefer the beach? In my opinion, this is an important question – it reveals a lot about someone.
I tend to associate “beach people” with sand. They love the feeling of it between their toes, the wildness (or calm, depending on the day) of the sea or ocean waves. They’re drawn to that return-to-nature element of the beach trip. There’s a childlike wonder to it all; a nostalgia for our younger selves, maybe even for another time entirely, when people lived by the water, on the water, because of the water – that ancient, instinctive pull of the sea and waterways that shaped civilization as we know it.
There are memories of building sandcastles, leaping into the surf as it crashes against the shore.
Any afternoon spent near water – chlorinated, salty, or the icy-fresh Great Lakes kind “up north” in Michigan – is a recipe for the perfect day.
The excitement of finding a smooth rock or an unbroken shell; of digging in the sand for “treasure” or lying still while your older brother buries you from the shoulders down – only to claim there are sand crabs nipping at your toes so you jump up, squealing, and run for the water.
There are rocky beaches too, the kind blanketed in smooth stones that demand you wear those special (and usually hideous) water shoes just to make it to the water’s edge. It feels like the beach in its early stages, not yet broken down into sugary grains of sand – like we’re a few thousand years too early for that beach to reach its final form.
Beaches are romantic: made for long walks, coolers full of drinks, and the warm sun of the Great Lakes, the Mediterranean, the Gulf. But they also carry an innocence – those sweet childhood memories of wearing blow-up armbands and bags full of plastic beach toys.
And yet … the pool. That mix of chlorine and coconut-scented tanning lotion with varying SPFs, the scent of inflatable pool floats. There’s a certain luxury at a pool – especially a hotel pool – the kind where drinks and snacks are brought straight to your lounger. A rooftop pool in a faraway place, overlooking a cityscape, with no sand in your shoes, your swimsuit, or your kid’s swim trunks. Less worry about rogue waves or sharp shells or broken glass; just calm: a breeze, some music playing quietly from the speakers, people cooling off with a quick dip before returning to their sun-soaked chairs.
For me? I think the rooftop pool beside the beach is ideal. You get the scent and sounds of the sea without the grit of sand in everything. No hauling chairs or coolers, no beach toy bags or excessive SPF gear. All the feeling of the beach, but with poolside service.
The best of both worlds, honestly.
That said, most of us probably aren’t too picky. Give me a beach, take me to a pool, slather me in sunscreen and let me bake in the sun. Any afternoon spent near water – chlorinated, salty, or the icy-fresh Great Lakes kind “up north” in Michigan – is a recipe for the perfect day. Sand, stones, tiles, or even the inflatable kiddie pool in the backyard.
Beach or pool? Both. Either. I’ll take what I can get.
