My one year old dislikes Sand and Grass?

Granted we are raising this kid in a concrete jungle, but I figured once we exposed him to the beach and grassy parks this summer he would dive right in.  Don't all kids like to build sandcastles and put their hands and feet in wet sand?  I guess not.  At the beach our son sticks right to the sheet we put down and doesn't attempt to play with his cousin with her pail and shovel.  He also had some fear of the ocean this time and when we would stand him in the wet sand he would cry or try to keep his feet up as we hold him, anything he could do to avoid contact. 
At a grassy park with some other kids his age or younger all the other kids are off and running around barefoot exploring the grass and everything in it, while our son prefers to sit on the blanket and play with some cups and a fake picnic basket.  When I try to put him on the grass he doesn't seem comfortable and just stands there for a moment and then quickly makes his way back to the blanket area.  He is fine walking on hardwood floors, linoleum, carpet, on concrete or rubber in the playgrounds, but apparently not sand or grass.  I'm guessing he wouldn't like dirt or mud either.  In some ways I don't try to force this because it will keep him clean but in other ways I wonder if this is normal or if he will have some weird OCD against the playing like other kids do in the natural outdoors.