@Gina: The HMC sand was nice, but nowhere near as nice as the local beaches here in Clearwater, FL. The water was definitely clearer at HMC, but definitely not warmer, and definitely not calmer. If you grew up on the east side of Florida (Jacksonville, Daytona, Cocoa, Miami, etc.) then yes, those beaches are colder and (generally) not as clean. West Florida beaches are much nicer and a lot warmer; being on the Gulf of Mexico instead of the Atlantic helps.