Technology at the Beach

While on spring break last week, I did a little bit of thinking about technology at the beach (just a little bit- mostly I was relaxing!). I went to the beach with a few friends, and we spent most of our time either laying on the beach or swimming in the ocean. And I read a book! It was so great for me to be able to read a novel for pleasure; it's something I never can find the time to do while school is in session, and even if I had the time, I do so much reading for class that it might not be quite as enjoyable.
While I was reading my novel, I considered the Kindle. I've done some reading up on it at Amazon's website, and one of the advantages they mention is the fact that if you go on vacation, you don't have to pack twelve books in your suitcase. You can carry them all, nice and compact, in your Kindle. But I started thinking that if I had spent $350 on a portable reading device, I would certainly NOT want to take it to the beach. As it was, the paperback I brought with me was a wonderful read, but I was not terribly concerned about preserving it- it got a bit sandy and quite damp from traveling in my beach bag. If it had been stolen while I left it beside my towel and took a dip in the ocean, I would have been disappointed, but not heartbroken. If I had taken a Kindle, I would have been nervous the whole time! I would not have wanted it to sit unguarded, or get sandy or damp, and so I probably would have left it in my condo and not brought it to the beach at all. So why bring it? The paperback was much more practical (for this vacation, at least) and it did survive the trip in one piece.
In the same vein, when I got home I realized that I had not taken a single picture on the actual beach. I never wanted to bring my digital camera because it might get wet or stolen. I did see one person on the beach carrying one in a ziploc bag... too much hassle for me.
Another thing about technology and vacation- I really appreciated having a break from the computer. The hotel we stayed at did offer computers with internet access, and I went in there once to see if midterm grades had been posted. I actually logged onto Facebook, and when it arrived at my homepage I decided I didn't really want to deal with it after all. It just didn't seem like the right thing to do on vacation. I didn't even check my email, I just went out to the beach. So my spring break was very relaxing, I think partly because it also included a break from technology.