Too cool to burn? Wrong.

by guest blogger: Cassandra Lobo

Summer is finally here! … Well at least on some days it is! The weather here in Connecticut has been extremely random the last few months. It is constantly jumping from 85 degrees one day and, without warning, 65 degrees the next. Saturday’s weather was warm enough for the beach (or so we thought!) therefore my mom, aunt, four year old cousin, and I headed down the street to the beach. The constant wind at the beach made it a bit chilly and not desirable beach weather. After debating if we should go back home where it was much warmer or stay at the not so pleasant beach, the stubbornness of three women struck and leaving the beach was not an option. Occupying my time and trying to take my mind off my goose bumps, I adventured to the shore of the water to build sand castles with my cousin.

The majority of the shore was lined with breeding horseshoe crabs. The pesky kids next to us were throwing rocks at the ancient creatures (did you know horse shoe crabs predate the dinosaurs!?) which really troubled me. These harmless creatures were helpless for they could not defend themselves against the problematic children. Not long after, the lifeguard on duty came to the horseshoe crab’s rescue and put an end to the children’s uncaring behavior. I sat and chatted with the lifeguard and learned that horseshoe crabs are endangered species and the beach is doing all they can to prevent any harm to the creatures.

I learned some other very interesting facts about horseshoe crabs. A horseshoe crab actually can see UV light with its ten eyes. The horseshoe crabs you see resting on the shore of the beach are all adults. Younger horseshoe crabs live on the intertidal flats and spend most of their day buried underneath the sand. The horse crab education session and sand building fiasco turned into a two hour ordeal and by that time it was time to head back home. While walking home, I noticed that my face and shoulders felt a tad taut, but I did not think much of it.

I arrived home only to look in the mirror to see my upper body a dazzling shade of fire engine red…except it was definitely not dazzling. In fact, it was quite unpleasant, painful, and extremely sore. I spent the next couple of hours applying foul smelling aloe hoping the shade of red would tone down. Unfortunately I still resembled a lobster and wished I would have applied sun block. Who thinks of sunscreen when the temperature barely broke 70 degrees? I guess I under estimated the power of the sun!

The ninja sun hat mentioned in “Born to Explore” would have been the perfect solution to this awful sunburn. The ninja sun hat is extremely easy to create but makes all the difference when out in the sun. It is created by strategically placing a basic t-shirt on your head to protect your face and neck from the blistering sun. The way the t-shirt is placed on your head resembles a ninja hat which is not only a great way to protect yourself from the sun but also a great costume idea. Oh what an adventurous day at the beach! After experiencing this horrible sunburn, I will never again forget my sunscreen or ninja sunhat!