Beach Vacation Unexpected Surprises -They Don't Tell You This in the
Brochures!
Pity the poor tourist who ventures on a
California
Beach Vacation! What happens when vacationers arrive at the sunny California
beaches only to find gloomy skies? It happens a few times a year--maybe 50 days.
In a malaise called June Gloom which happens from April through June, the skies
are overcast with sun breaking through late in the afternoon, just as it begins
to set over the Pacific.
The pour tourist who assumed he'd find sunshine on his vacation as the
website or brochure promised, is disappointed and haunted with the thought that
the family would have been better off visiting Florida beaches instead.
Other surprises that await the unsuspecting tourist include cold
water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. "It's freezing," said J. Jackson,
who came with his friends from Florida to check out the California beaches and
surfing. Much to his disappointment, he was greeted with water temps around 58
degrees, and the surf that was mostly flat with one-to-two foot waves.
Do tourism marketing firms oversell the dream? Some say, yes.
The biggest, unexpected surprise that greets travelers to the mecca of
sunshine and land where it "never rains" is the cool air. Californians residing
along the coast prefer some overcast days and cool temperatures with a pay-off
of generally mild weather, no snow and little rain throughout the year. But for
visitors who have saved up and spent $1000 or more on a dream family vacation,
the image conjured up of sunshine, shirt sleeves and smiles, sometimes forces
them to look deeper and ultimately accept that nature is at work.
"I've visited California before and the weather was absolutely top spot,"
said a gent recently visiting Disneyland in Anaheim with his family. To him, the
overcast skies were "a bit disappointing." Will he take his tourism dollars
elsewhere next year? "We'll probably look elsewhere," he said.
On the Huntington Beach Pier recently I was recruited to take a photo of a
family positioned with the sun setting behind them. They came from Pennsylvania
to explore California, and beaches were a major element of their vacation. The
group of four were "freezing" and thought California would be warmer, like where
they came from.
Californians can't guarantee sunny skies and warm temperatures. Notice the
fine print on your dream vacation may mention probabilities and percentages of
opportunity for weather conditions. We also don't compare ourselves with
Florida, known for their sugar sand beaches and aquamarine waters. The water off
our shoreline is a murky brownish-green many days. This isn't Florida, folks! We
don't have many mosquitos on our coast, hardly know a firefly or chigger, and
alligators--well Reggie, the famous alligator that got loose in an L.A. lake was
finally caught!
Be prepared that you may be greeted to:
Overcast skies and foggy mists
Cold ocean temperatures
Cool weather
Rough sand beaches in some spots--and even rocks
But don't let that rare overcast day turn your vacation into a California
bummer. What California and its beaches offer that no other destination are some
of the world's superlatives, such as the tallest trees in the world on the
Redwood Coast, some of the cutest girls on the Southern California beaches, and
a policy that makes the majority of California's coastline accessible to the
public.
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