By Lauren Catanese

What can you do when are wishing to be at the beach, but not allowed to travel? How about taking a virtual beach vacation? Life gets tough and anxiety builds, it’s easy to find yourself feeling stressed. Escaping on a vacation or giving yourself a time out is a necessity. Laying on the beach and listening to the waves crash can ease worries away for sure. So, in times when you can’t actually get to the beach, follow these steps to see if it helps you to relax and brings you back to your happy place.

1. Take the Day Off

Give yourself permission to put the “to-do” list away. Turn off the phone and TV, and disconnect from social media. Pretend you are vacationing on 30A! Let yourself take a break from the rest of the world… and give yourself a day to play.

2. Set Up Your Beach

Grab your cooler, some snacks, and some beach chairs and set up in your living room or outside. Grab your beach blanket or towels and lay down. Tune in to 30A’s live beach cams that allow you to watch the waves! Water can promote calmness and clarity. Just being able to watch and connect to the ocean will have stress-reducing effects. There are also webcams all over the world that you can access with one simple click! Wherever you are, close your eyes and imagine feeling the sun on your face, listen to the sounds of waves, and just breathe.

3. Turn on 30A Radio

Create the perfect go-to beach jams for your perfect beach day. You know when you hear that song and it takes you back to where you heard it first? Let these familiar beach sounds bring you back to beach days on 30A.

4. Dream Away…

Take out a journal or a piece of paper and write down all the things you want to experience next time you are vacationing on 30A. What’s the first thing you are going to do when your feet touch the sand? Which restaurants are you going to eat at? How far will you ride your bike? Maybe you’ll try something new such as paddle boarding or beach yoga? Don’t think too much about what you write, just let yourself go and write with abandon! And if you’re not sure what you would do, then write out some of your favorite memories on 30A. We would love to hear them too, so share away!

5. Simply Enjoy!

You got the day off and you got the beach set up… so the last step is to soak it all in. And if the kiddos or you are feeling creative, embrace your imagination and just like building sandcastles in the sand, why not try and create something? Maybe paint a picture of the beach to hang on the wall? Read a book or two. Or just sit back and let the waves waste the time away.

Make it a weekly ritual – celebrate a day vacationing on 30A, virtually. Turn on your beach, play games, get outside, take an afternoon nap, get dressed up for a stay at home dinner. Whatever works for your family. No obligations or responsibilities to tend to. Your objective for the day is that there is no objective. Just time to be with the people you love and being grateful to have the day off.

It’s hard when we can’t physically be at the beach but taking a virtual beach break might just be the next best thing. Here’s to you having a fabulous day at the beach, minus the sunburn!

For more cool stuff on how to stay productive during the lockdown, follow us on 30A.com, Facebook and Instagram. 

LAUREN CATANESE is a graduate from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is a local realtor, yoga teacher, and writer for 30A.com. She is passionate about creating and living a healthy, balanced lifestyle which includes lots of time in nature. As a mother with a 9-year-old son, she stays active in the community – from recreational sports teams, school PTA, attending fundraisers, and enjoying the beach.