Making Waves (An Evening At the Beach)

Imagine sitting together on the beach, feeling the warm sand beneath you and watching the waves rushing in and out as the sun sets on the horizon. With a little luck, the colors in the evening sky will be painting a brilliant backdrop for a truly fine date. Bring a bottle of wine or champagne, two glasses and a blanket to snuggle-up under. Or bring some sparkling apple juice and dodge the possibility of a cheap-champagne-hangover. Make a bonfire and roast some marshmallows until they are sticky, warm and drippy. As for other things that are sticky, warm and drippy, remember that sex in public is illegal all fifty states, although you're probably safe with some of it if you aren't terribly obvious and keep it under a blanket.

For those of you who are landlocked, there are plenty of lakes and rivers with banks that will work very well for this date.

COST

A decent bottle of champagne is $12.00 to $20.00, wine is $8.00 to $15.00 unless you get the inexpensive stuff in the box. Sparkling apple cider is $2.50, and a bag of marshmallows won't break the bank. You can get a small bundle of wood at most markets for around $5.00 and an instant firestarting block for $1.75.

PREPARATION

Find a beach that's right for you and make sure it's open in the evening. Your local visitor's bureau, tourist office or chamber of commerce should have a list a beaches, or call the State Parks and Recreation Department. Some beaches have rules and regulations that don't allow alcohol or fires, so call ahead of time and ask.

Leave the crystal champagne flutes at home. Plastic glasses are best for the beach. They even come in the shape of champagne flutes.

Take at least two blankets, although three are preferable. Due to some strange law of sand and surf physics, the amount of sand that ends up in your pants decreases tremendously when you put down two blankets to sit on instead of one. You simply lay one on top of the other. You'll want the third blanket for wrapping around you.

It always helps to have a flashlight for getting back to your car. A few pairs of cool fluorescent necklaces are fun to wear as well.

FIRING UP

Find a beach that allows fires in the evening. Make a reservation if necessary. Buy some wood and matches for the fire. You'll also want to bring kindling and newspaper or better yet, a manufactured firestarter block that you simply put a match to and have instant kindling. If the beach doesn't have fire pits, you'll need a shovel in order to dig one. Get to the beach while it's still light and have at it. The deeper you dig the more protected your fire will be, but dig too deep and you'll have water in your pit. Be sure to layer your wood in a way that allows plenty of air to circulate through it.

BARBECUES and MARSHMALLOWS

A time-honored alternative to building a fire in a pit is to bring a small hibachi or portable barbecue, some hot dogs or burgers, beer, chips or whatever lights your fire.

If you want to roast marshmallows, bring wire coat hangers. Hold the bare hangers over the fire for a few minutes to burn off the plastic coating before you skewer the marshmallows.

BUBBLY BRUSH-UP

There are nearly 50 million bubbles in each bottle of champagne. The champagne with smaller bubbles is thought to be more desirable. While French champagne is the most famous type of sparkling wine, there are sparkling wines from all over the world, and many are quite good. Marilyn Monroe loved champagne so much that she once took a bath in 350 bottles of it.

Champagne is made to be enjoyed now, without further aging. If you need to cool it quickly, put it in a bucket of ice water rather than in the freezer. It will be perfect in twenty minutes.