By the Seashore

In honour of it being summer (at least in some hemispheres), and the fact that I spent all yesterday at the beach... another series of people enjoying themselves in the sand (first here). There's an endless supply of great beach pics, and more to come (although searching 'beach' in the LIFE photo archives can be disconcerting... you're looking at pictures of people sunbathing and playing, and then bang, there's crashed planes and dead bodies on the beach at Normandy!).

The moral of these photos is-- people really get up to all kinds of stuff at the beach!

Making a sandman on the beach, Florida, 1964. Source

A day at the beach, Australia, c. 1930s. Source

Playing in the water, 1897, NYC. Source

An American sailor and a native sorting seashells on the beach, apparently a popular pastime. Gilbert Islands, 1944. Source

Winner of men's novelty bathing suit contest at a beach party, California, 1947. I'm pretty sure he's supposed to look that stupid, from everyone's faces. Source

Hanging out at the beach with the dog, c. 1935, Australia. Source

Playing leapfrog, 1937, Australia. Source

Push-ups in a barrel. What, don't you do this? 1897, US. Source

A broken leg can't keep a real surfer from surfing. 1950.  Source

Part Two. Source

And he's off. Sadly the series ends here. No part of this seems like a good idea to me, but what do I know? Source

Dancing on the beach. In France, 1942, for some reason. Source

A couple waiting for the photographer to stop shining the light on them, Copacabana Beach, Rio, Brazil, 1941. Source

A butler at the beach, serving a hot dog to an actress (Buff Cobb (?) ), 1946. Source

Beach bonfires, California, 1948. Source

Beach umbrellas, Cliffside Beach, Nantucket, 1950s. Source