We'd drop everything, pull our shirts off, and run, zigzagging through the maze of beach blankets, umbrellas, and fat, brown, leathery bellies until our scorched feet reached the cool froth of the Atlantic. We bounded forward until the water was almost waist-deep, and then leaped, twisting and splashing on our backs, sinking, letting our feet hit bottom and then shooting up through the surface with a triumphant shout before we were caught by a bigger wave and sent tumbling back to the shoreline.