A family vacation at The Beach seems like an ideal knitting
situation – until one is actually at The Beach with the family! 

I have worked many rows on Gwen’s blankets – which is the
simplest knitting I brought.  Good for
car trips into town, manageable in a fairly small living room with everyone
talking at once, easy to toss aside when 2-year-old Max discovers some novel
danger, welcome after 2 beers and a rousing game of “Taboo."  I have worked on my lace knitting, too
(somehow!  I think everyone else had gone
swimming or something). 

But even without the family influence, my powers of
concentration are undermined by flights of pelicans, sunlight burnishing the
surface of the ocean, the conversational roar and rush of the ocean
itself.  The lure of crunchy beach walks,
of starry skies and meteor showers, of rowdy pool games and long soaks in the
hot tub.  I find myself watching for
whales or osprey while my knitting lies idle in my lap.  And sometimes I just drowse.  I suppose that is the “vacation” part kicking
in.