In my article, Live in Hawaii? Nope, Never Again, I talked about how I disliked Hawaii because of the attitudes of the people that lived there, as well as educational concerns. What I didn't mention is that I really miss the beaches. The beaches here in the Philippines pale in comparison.

On Kauai, the island I lived on, much of the shoreline consists of beaches and I spent more of my weekends on them than any other place. I went swimming frequently and by the time I left the islands in 1977, I was as dark-skinned as most of the locals.

When I had a biking accident, as I described in my article, Why Am I Still Alive?, I was in fantastic shape. That might explain why my injuries were not as severe as they could have been. I was strong and I was limber, which I attribute to the previous years spent swimming on a regular basis. I was able to enter Marine Corps basic training almost exactly three months after being released from the hospital because my recovery was faster than the doctor anticipated.

The Marine Corps emphasized running during most of my career, which ended when I retired in 1998. Eight years later, I realized that although I had stopped running and was walking more, my ankles and knees were bothering me. Within the last year, I've been going to beaches as part of our family get-togethers. The time between the last two trips was about two months, so it hasn't been frequent at all.

Prior to this last trip, I started waking up with cramps in my toes, a sure sign of bad circulation. While at the beach this time, I spent more time in the water than I realized because I really enjoyed swimming and the horseplay with my brothers-in-law and my nephews. Guess what? The cramps have not returned since then.

I plan to head back to the beach with just my wife and son next weekend. I'm trying to make a habit of going every other weekend, unless something comes up to prevent me from doing so. My knees, ankles, and even my toes will thank me.

I encourage readers to spend more time swimming, if you can. It doesn't have to be at a beach, but you need a lot of room to move around in. A play pool just won't do.