NORTHAMPTON — Taking advantage of sunny weather on a weekday, people from all over the area found a way to beat the Monday blues by spending the afternoon at Musante Beach in Leeds.

Young children played in the water while their parents tried their best to relax on the beach, away from the splashing and sandcastle-building.

Audra McGee, 39, and Kate Pruner, 38, both of Easthampton, stretched out on their stomachs on the sand, but couldn’t stop themselves from glancing over every few seconds to where their children were playing.

“I’m not quite at the read-on-the-beach stage yet,” McGee said. “I’ll have to give it another few years.”

Sure enough, moments later, Pruner’s son Avery soon ran over, complaining of a horsefly bite.

“It’ll be fine in a minute or two,” Pruner told him.

Emmy Paris, 36, of Northampton, opted to walk right into the water with her daughters Dahlia and Sasha.

“Mom. Mom. Mom, do you want to watch me do a handstand?” Sasha asked.

“I would love to watch you do a handstand,” Paris said, holding Dahlia on her hip.

Rachel Currie-Rubin, 34, was visiting Musante Beach for one of the first times after moving to Easthampton.

“I used to come here all the time when I was a kid,” Currie-Rubin said, holding her daughter Molly on her lap. “I just moved back after some time away, and it’s nice to be visiting again.”

In the water, other children flung mud at each other and tried to dive under the rope at the edge of the swimming area. At the back of the beach, men and women sat in the shade of their umbrellas.

Temperatures topped out in the mid-80s Monday, and are expected to hit the same mark or higher all week, with plenty of sunshine.

Only one person seemed more interested in something besides a day at the beach Monday. An off-duty lifeguard sitting at a picnic table didn’t even look up from his copy of “Lord of the Rings” as beachgoers waved goodbye.

Musante Beach is open every day through Labor Day from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. There is an admission fee.

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