I was at Wrightsville Beach last weekend. We were having a good time, hanging under an umbrella, when I was awoken from a nap by a gaggle of middle aged d-bags who camped out next to us with a boom box that was playing the shittiest music ever. Like, a playlist of Shania Twain and a bunch of other women pop Top-40 singers. After tolerating it for about an hour (mostly by angling my body so that the wind would rush past my ears so that I could barely hear it), we finally broke down and moved all of our shit further down the beach where they were out of earshot.
The moral of the story is that if you're going to roll out on the beach with music, for the love of God, man, either keep it turned low or make sure you are coming strong with good stuff, preferrably the former.
To the original poster, I could read on the beach all day if I have an umbrella to hide under. I can do the sunscreen thing, but that's tough after a few hours. I have to reapply constantly to avoid a burn. I have no idea how Rubbins and I survived at the beach all summer without an umbrella. When I have skin cancer down the road, we will know why.