This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

What’s In Your Beach Bag?

A while back, I got into a conversation with my friend Laura Jackson about what we pack when we go to the beach. She had mentioned that, among other items, she often packs a Phony Negroni mocktail drink along with a mason jar full of ice. Bags of chips, individually sized, with enough extras to offer to friends who might pop by her beach blanket, are also a staple. She also packs a big squirt gun in her beach bag, loaded, to ward off hungry or curious gulls who might otherwise insist upon sharing her snacks.

Brilliant, I thought.

That made me wonder what was in other people’s beach bags. So I asked. Sunglasses. Beach towels, of course. Hats of all kinds, as you might expect. And then there were some suggestions that were particularly delightful or somewhat surprising. Chilled rosé wine and sandwiches de jambon. Truffle fries. Cornstarch (a must-have if you have kids). And one of my friends, a college buddy, insisted she didn’t need a squirt gun.

“Seagulls? My attitude fends them off,” says Laurie Cagnetti of North Haven.

My other friends and I? We like her attitude. She’s funny and fun to talk with. Just exactly the kind of person you want to bring to the beach. So, you can add that to the list of things to take to the beach: a friend.

We have so many wonderful beaches nearby. Of course, there is Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison. Many of our towns have beaches. Some of our neighborhoods have little beaches at the end of the street. There are lakes nearby as well. And, sometimes, it’s simply enough to pull out a lawn chair, fill up that wading pool, and stick your feet in. Regardless of where you go to get your summer on with your friends and family, or maybe just by yourself, we want you to be prepared. And so here are some ideas. And if you want to share yours with your fellow readers, I’d love to hear from you! Email me at p.mcnerney@shorepublishing.com and put “Beach bag” in the subject line.

A Beach Go-Bag (And Don’t Forget The Corkscrew)

Jackson, a writer who lives in Madison and is also one of my co-workers at R.J. Julia Booksellers, says she plans her beach “go-bags” early in the season. Visiting at the beach with her friends is one of her favorite ways to socialize during the summer. She loads up her picnic bags with cocktails, mocktails, food, and more, and she’s ready to roll.

“You can pass along a casual invitation and accommodate as many people as are available to join you [at the beach], which is why I lean towards drinks and snacks in smaller portions, so it is easy to be flexible,” she says. “I keep two beach chairs in my car once the weather warms up. They fold and have a zip pocket, shoulder straps, and a pocket for a drink.”

She has two different picnic bags. One is tall; one is wide. She loves both of them. “The tall one is great for a bottle of wine and came with a corkscrew, a knife, and a little cutting board. The wide one is particularly good for transporting food,” she says. “Did I mention a corkscrew? Two are better than none, including one that can open beer bottles as well as wine bottles.”

Made by St. Agrestis, the Phony Negroni is piney, citrusy, with a touch of floral, and balanced by a bit of bitterness and just enough carbonation to mimic the real thing.

In addition to the Phony Negroni, which can be sourced at local wine stores, she also sometimes opts for an Aperol with grapefruit seltzer. Small box wines and mini proseccos are great choices for the beach as well. And, of course, because it’s the beach, she serves these in acrylic cups. She has stemless wine “glasses” and flutes. She throws in a few individual packs of chips. “I started this during the pandemic. Now I like to have some around when you don’t know how many people may join you.”

As for her squirt gun, she finds she usually has to break it out when the gulls spot the chips. Some particularly persistent gulls “have stolen full-size bags of chips.” She’s considering upgrading to a Super Soaker. In addition to packing Mason jars with ice, they are also great for pistachios and other small snacks. She also packs a pretty sheet or tablecloth. “It’s classy and really useful for keeping the sand out of your snacks,” she says. A study tablecloth also can double as a blanket if the temperature drops.

Homemade hummus is another go-to. “This is one of the easiest things to make at home if you have a food processor, and goes with chips and veggies, depending on how virtuous you’re feeling,” she says. She uses a flexible recipe: One can chickpeas, a scoop of tahini, some combination of olive oil and/or the liquid from the chickpeas (aquafaba), and salt. Optional add-ins: garlic, preserved lemon, cumin, a can of drained artichoke hearts, jarred red peppers, and chile flakes (Urfa or Aleppo are really good). Blitz in your food processor.

As for books, she recommends both “the one you should read and the one you’re really going to read.” Her current list includes Anna Karenina and The Ministry of Time. Her favorite beach read from last year is now in paperback, Summer Stage. “Also in paperback is Little Monsters, which is even better with ocean sounds in the background,” she says.

If it’s the weekend, she’s likely also toting the Sunday newspaper. And, to round it off, her favorite sun hat (a loose weave Stetson with sun protection), a small cooler that can double as a table. She loves the folding grocery boxes available at Stop & Shop for organizing her supplies both in the car and on the beach. Finally, she says, bring a small trash bag. “It makes cleaning up so much easier at the end and makes you a good neighbor,” she says.

Seeking Inspiration On The Horizon

While many of us go to the beach to relax, others go to tap into their inspiration. Christopher Jennings Penders of Madison, an author who also works at Scranton Memorial Library, likes to hang under the East Wharf Gazebo on Middle Beach Road in Madison with his laptop, his iPad, or his iPhone, “writing there when I want to get out. East Wharf Gazebo and Beach is my favorite place to visit in Madison. Not a lot of people, and I still get out to enjoy the summer.”

Denise Keyes Page of Madison, the founder of story artists corps Ubuntu Storytellers and co-founder of Women Tell by the Decades, also likes to tap into her creative side when out of doors. She said to Chris, “I’ll see you there. I won’t interrupt. My fav place to sneak to, too, when I want to journal or write with the expanse of the horizon to spur me on.”

Lesia Day, who lives in Old Saybrook, likes to walk or bike to Cornfield Point Beach in Old Saybrook. “My bag is always from a collection of old teardrop bags from schools and nonprofits I can strap over my shoulders and be hands-free. In it will be a bottle of water, something SPF 50+, sunglasses, and a book I hope I love.”

Stephanie Bartus Lesnik, the proprietor and manager of Field House Farm in Madison says: “No bag. A Sand Cloud beach blanket to share with my fav beach goer and that is all. No interruptions. No book. No sunglasses. Zinc lip [stuff] put in in the car. Done. See you in the fall.”

Sue Whitten, one of my college friends, likewise is wise about the sun. She got a Shibumi, a protective sun cover, recently and plans to take that to the beach, along with tons of 50+ SPF. “Always a book. No music as I love the sound of nature.” She is currently reading Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky and says it’s “truly awesome.” “Oh, and sunglasses!”

Marika Kuzma, a musician, conductor, and soon-to-be author who lives down the avenue from me in Madison, can often be seen striding purposefully towards our little beach at the end of the street, wearing her bathing suit, a towel slung over her shoulder, sometimes with a phone to her ear. When she gets to the beach, it’s all about taking a swim. And, when she’s going to the beach to hang out, she keeps the contents of her beach bag simple, “Sudoku,” she says.

The Perfect Beach Bag Sandwich

Alex Province of Madison favors Rosé and something absolutely delicious to eat when he’s packing his beach bag. “It depends on which beach and local regs but Plage de la Saline deserves real glass and an insulated backpack in which to keep the wine icy cold, the sandwiches de jambon cool, and the bag of kettle chips uncrushed. Local beaches here are more puritanical, of course,” he says.

He’s right.

Around here, we are generally asked to keep glass off the beach. But we can definitely pack a sandwich de jambon, which is the perfect beach bag sandwich. Get yourself a fresh baguette, or maybe even a ficelle, which is like a baguette but slimmer and sometimes with a touch of sweetness in it. Cut it into 12-inch lengths, and slather the sections with a tablespoon or two of high-quality European butter, maybe Beurre de Baratte, Fleur de Sel (which you can get at both Madison Cheese Shop on Samson Rock Drive in Madison and Centerbrook Cheese Shop on Main Street in Centerbrook), then follow that with about 4 ounces of Jambon de Paris or another high-quality ham, sliced paper thin. Wrap it in butcher paper, tie it with a bit of twine, and pack it up so that you can keep it cool in your beach bag. You don’t want the butter to melt all over everything, as lovely as it is. For the ham, check the deli counter at Stop & Shop, Big Y, Robert’s Food Center in North Madison, or your local market to see what they recommend. Madison Cheese Shop in Madison and Liuzzi Gourmet Food Market on State Street in North Haven also have a great selection of delicious hams and meats.

Don’t Forget The Truffle Salt

Jillian Simms, our Apron Strings food columnist who lives in Old Saybrook, favors a cold Polar seltzer and packs an almond butter and jam sandwich. And then, when she gets to the beach she says she “inevitably abandons that in favor of fries from the food truck/concession stand.” She does remember to bring some truffle salt for the friends and Sofia Blanc de Blancs canned sparkling wine to pair with the truffle fries. Other essentials include Japanese Nivea water gel sunscreen, which she purchases on Amazon. She says it’s the only sunscreen she and her son can use without irritation. She packs cornstarch to remove sand from her small children, Puddle Jumper life jackets for her toddlers, sand toys, nets, hats, grapes, bottles of water, and “an enormous canvas wagon for hauling the whole circus onto and off the beach.”

Barbara Hentschel, an actor and teaching artist who lives in Madison, says the content of her beach bag depends on whether she’s walking to the beach. If so, it’s simple. “Sunscreen before I leave, a Turkish bath towel, a Yeti (insulates and keeps the water cold), a hat, sunglasses, lip balm, a book.” If she drives to East Wharf Beach, she makes an afternoon of it. Sunscreen. Umbrella (“a MUST!” so she doesn’t fry to a crisp). Towel. Chair. Yeti. A cooler with veggies, tortilla chips, nuts, an apple. A tote bag (New York Public Library or New Yorker) and “an actual book,” preferably a paperback, but she’ll bring a hardcover if that’s what she’s reading.

Want some recommendations for books? Read our next story, “Books, Books, Books For The Beach,” about choices for the perfect beach read. We also have a story about “The Precious Gift of Reading on the Beach.”