Self-isolation? Some in Georgia choose beach instead

After being locked down for weeks, many residents in Georgia are thumbing their noses at the deadly coronavirus and seeking sanctuary in the sun, sand and waves of the southern state's beaches.

Under a cloudless blue sky with balmy temperatures and soft breezes rolling off the water, Tybee Island proved a powerful weekend lure Saturday for Georgians desperate for any return to normalcy -- and an escape from self-imposed isolation.

"How long are we supposed to imprison ourselves?" a bikini-clad Mackenzie Scharf, 30, said to AFP as her five-year-old son flew a Spider Man kite.

"This is much safer than going grocery shopping."

One day after Georgia's governor allowed a limited reopening of thousands of businesses, several hundred people were enjoying Tybee Island's sprawling South Beach.

It feels great -- like it's supposed to feel," said 39-year-old mother and housewife Rachel Lilly, barely lifting her head from a watermelon-themed towel as she enjoyed her first beach trip of the year.

"I'm not concerned" about catching coronavirus, "as long as it's not packed," she said. "But if everyone does what we're doing, that's a problem."

Locals said Saturday was the busiest beach day of the year so far for Tybee Island, a laid-back tourist destination on Georgia's Atlantic coast.

Several hundred people were on the sand strolling, jogging, throwing footballs or wading in the mild waves.

Social distancing was generally in effect. But masks or other protective gear? Forget about it.

"It's just nice to, you know, come up for a little air," silver-haired attorney Brian Monroe, 49, said after throwing a Frisbee with his daughter.

"When the beach is sparsely populated like this it's not too hard to social distance."

Tybee Island authorities nevertheless were patrolling the sand on all-wheel drive vehicles, cautioning people about distancing.

One block off the sand, sun-splashed youths wearing sandals and long swim trunks scanned their phones and held red plastic cups as they rode cruiser bikes through quiet streets.

The smell of sunblock lingered. A motorcycle group rumbled down the main drag, Butler Avenue. Restaurants and smoothie shops were providing take-out for beachgoers.

- 'Get it on' -

This was not the scene that Tybee Island's Mayor Shirley Sessions envisioned.


She shut the community's beaches several weeks ago as a measure to contain viral spread. But this month Georgia Governor Brian Kemp overruled her with an order of his own.

Neighbors South Carolina and Florida have both opened some of their beaches.

But Georgia has gone further. On Friday, Kemp gave permission for some small businesses to re-open statewide, including barber shops, bowling alleys and nail salons, provided protective health measures were in place.

Restaurants and social clubs can open come Monday.

Realtor and 40-year Tybee Island resident Harold Heyman said he's all for Georgia and other states throwing the doors of their businesses wide open, health concerns be damned.

"Get it on," the bronzed and shirtless 75-year-old grinned as he walked toward his beachside home.

Heyman scoffed about the concern someone his age might have about contracting a virus which has already infected more than 925,000 people in the United States, 53,000 of whom have died.

As for defying a crisis to hang out at the beach, swim, and soak up the sun, "this is my way of being healthy," he added.

Eighteen miles (29 kilometers) inland in Savannah, Georgia's historic city that draws some 14 million visitors per year, conditions were more gloomy.

Many of Savannah's hotels and restaurants are temporarily closed, and its famed haunted tours have also been halted.

Locals rode through town on bicycles but few tourists were walking the historic streets or snapping photographs in Chippewa Square.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said he believes it is "absolutely premature" to open, given the city has yet to meet White House guidelines for opening up business, including 14 straight days of declining infections.

Johnson has also urged faith leaders not to hold church services Sunday.

Agence France-Presse

Holiday reads: Beachgoers check out French seaside libraries

Going to the beach can be tough work, but if you need a break from all the grueling swimming and sunbathing this summer, a trip to one of France’s pop-up seaside libraries could be just the thing.

Lulled by the gentle cries of seagulls in the distance, flocks of readers have been heading to the book-filled beach huts that authorities have opened along the coast of Normandy in northern France and elsewhere.

“It’s a perfect break for reading and relaxing between two dips in the sea,” said 52-year-old hairdresser Isabelle from her deckchair at the library in Etretat, a Normandy resort famed for its dramatic white cliffs.


“Since I’m not going away on holiday, this is my treat every afternoon,” she said, before diving back into a detective novel.

Etretat is one of 12 local resorts where authorities have set up library beach-huts this summer. Open from July 7 until August 26, each of the wooden huts has been filled with 1,000 books.

Normandy launched its “Read At The Beach” scheme in 2005 with three huts and by last year was welcoming more than 38,000 bookworms along this stretch of the coast.

The idea has since taken off elsewhere in France, with the Herault region in the south attracting 21,000 readers to its own beach huts last year.

Similar schemes have also been launched in other countries including Australia, Bulgaria, Israel and Spain.

Poetry and gentleman-thieves

In Normandy, anyone is welcome to dip into a book, with no registration needed — but readers must stay in the deck chairs provided, rather than taking them down to the sea to get sand between the pages.

This year 400 chairs are up for grabs around the region at the beach huts, which are open every day between 2 pm and 7 pm, with some books in English, German and Italian provided for foreign readers.


On a recent sunny afternoon in Etretat, a dozen readers — aged between nine months and 70 — come to transport themselves to other worlds from the hut, overlooking the sea.

“We need more of this kind of place,” said Romain Mace, an engineer on vacation from the city of Rouen, enjoying a volume of poetry as his baby slept beside him — a rare pleasure for sleep-deprived young parents.

Since the books cannot be taken off-site, the hut’s two librarians will happily put aside a novel you’ve started so that you can pick up the story where you left off the next day.

Corinne Ait Amar, 47, had returned to delve back into the thrilling exploits of gentleman-thief Arsene Lupin while her daughter was engrossed in a Japanese manga comic.

“It’s perfect,” said the nurse, on vacation with her family from the eastern city of St Etienne.

“My daughter and I have been saying to ourselves that we might meet up with the rest of the family a little later than planned…” NVG

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

LOOK: Taylor Swift, Calvin Harris mark 1st anniv with romantic getaway

Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris recently celebrated their first year as a couple with a beach trip.

Swift flaunted her toned body in a bikini.

There was also a photo of Swift and Harris kissing on the beach which has since received more than 1.4 million likes on Instagram.

The photos were posted on Swift’s Facebook page a week after the couple celebrated their anniversary last March 6.

The “Bad Blood” singer also posted a photo of her initials and Calvin’s in the sand. A.W. stands for Adam Wiles, Harris’ real name.

The love story between the singer and the DJ reportedly began backstage during the Brit Awards. Before Harris, Swift had a two-month relationship with “One Direction” member Harry Styles. AJH/RAM

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

3 PHL beaches on CNN's top 100 list

Puka Beach in Boracay, El Nido in Palawan, and Palaui Island in Cagayan Valley are among the world's top 100 best beaches, according to CNN.


“We’ve scoured the planet, demanded answers from our most well-traveled friends, colleagues and cohorts, absorbed passionate pleas from readers, researched, investigated and examined the evidence then finally tipped the sand from our shoes, washed the brine from our eyes and put together a pretty good guide to the best beaches on the planet,” said CNN on how it came up with the list.

With over 7,000 islands, it’s not surprising that beaches are big tourist attractions in the Philippines.  “Whatever your mood, there’s something to suit: from kilometers of fine white sand with not a soul in sight, to party strands, to specialist water-sports beaches, to tiny, sandy isthmuses in the lee of tropical islets,” wrote Lindsay Bennett in her globetrotter island guide, “Philippines.”




However, CNN handpicked only three beaches. Puka Beach – named for its puka shell, which means “the sand here is coarse” – is ranked 84th on the list.  Among Puka's amenities Puka has are “powdery beaches, water sports and spas.”

On what makes Puka Beach special, CNN notes: “Puka is the second-longest beach on Boracay Island and relatively empty most times, with no resorts and a limited number of restaurants.”

Number 14 on the list was El Nido, which was featured in the Hollywood movie “The Bourne Legacy.” CNN said it has “powder-fine beaches and gin-clear waters,” which “complement the stunning views of karst limestone formations, empty lagoons, marble cliffs, prehistoric caves and waterfalls.”

“Surrounding waters contain more than 50 species of coral and attract whales, whale sharks, sea cows, manta rays, dolphins and endangered turtles,” CNN noted.

On another list of “The Philippines’ best beaches and islands,” CNN’s Candice Lopez-Quimpo wrote: “If Palawan is indeed ‘the last frontier’ of the Philippines, as it’s been dubbed, the coastal town of El Nido is the gateway to wild adventure.”

Ranked No. 10 was Palaui Island, which is noted for its “glorious white sands (that) meet volcanic rocks and blue-green waters topside.”  Likewise, its “coral gardens and a rich marine reserve meet divers under the surface.”

“Palaui is all about raw beauty,” CNN said, but cautioned, “Treks to get there require battling thorny grass, muddy ground and a mangrove forest.”

For those who want to be far from the madding crowd, CNN has good news: “With no resorts or hotels, Palaui has only two real options: camping under the stars or home stays.” — LBG/HS, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Taylor Swift Hangs with Patrick Schwarzenegger on Independence Day

Has Taylor Swift found a new Romeo in Patrick Schwarzenegger – or are they just happy to be celebrating Independence Day?

On the Fourth of July, the Grammy winner, 22, was spotted hugging Schwarzenegger – the son of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger – after spending time with him and much of the Kennedy clan at the Kennedys's Cape Cod compound the day before. The two were also seen laughing and walking along the beach together.








 "Had such an amazing day," Schwarzenegger, 18, Tweeted. "Best 4th of July I could ask for. Hope everyone had a great day!"

On Monday, Swift performed a duet with James Taylor at the Tanglewood Music Festival, in Lenox, Mass. The "Love Story" singer has previously been linked to Joe Jonas, John Mayer, and Jake Gyllenhaal.

But this isn't the first time the singer has been spotted hanging out with the Kennedy family: In January, ABC News reported that Swift was spotted at the Sundance Film Festival premiere of the documentary Ethel (about Ethel Kennedy), where she was spotted alongside the film's director Rory Kennedy. And Swift told Vogue at the time, "The only time in my life I have ever been starstruck was meeting Caroline and Ethel Kennedy."

Schwarzenegger, a male model, owns a philanthropic clothing line called Project360.

 source: people.com