#6 - go to the beach

labor day on long beach, ny

number six on the list was to go to the beach.  i grew up on a lovely, lovely lake in the midwest and also not too far away from some great sand dunes on lake michigan.  i only ever went to the beach on occasional family trips to florida or south carolina.  as much as i love the lake, i do love walking in the sand, the smell of the salty air and the soothing sounds of the waves crashing.

i've lived on the east coast for almost five years, and aside from a wonderful destination wedding on captiva island and a couple of non-beachy trips to coney island, i still haven't been to the beach.  if you look on the map, you will see that new york city is very, very close to the ocean.  however, this does not mean that it is easy to get to the ocean.  or so one would think.  most options involve taking a 2 hour subway ride, renting a car and sitting in traffic, or taking a train and then hailing a taxi.  but i came across the perfect beach getaway from the city.  long beach.

a direct express train from penn station had us at the long beach train station in just under an hour.  after that, it was a few short blocks from the station to the beach.  you do have to pay for a beach pass here, but i think it is totally worth it. the beach is clean and wonderful, and there isn't a touristy boardwalk.  it is very, very relaxing (if you can block out the sound of some of the louder new yorkers in the mix).  i can hardly wait to go back next summer!

p.s.  in an attempt to work on #15 on the list (shoot more film), i took an underwater disposble camera to long beach.  haven't quite finished the roll yet, though.  luckily, i took a snap with the iPhone!!

+++++++

soaking up the last bits of summer in maine

less than a week later, i found myself enjoying the final days of summer in old orchard beach, maine.  it was so wonderful!!  a bit of a trek to get up there, but it was so great to hang out with kristin and her family and visit their fantastic beach.  there were lots of great "fair food" type places (fried dough, candy apples . . . even a dairy queen!), but i was on a no-sugar diet (great timing, i know) and didn't get to enjoy any tasty treats.  i did however, get to play skeeball there!

so, after a long drought of no beach time, i had a double dose this summer!

here's hoping to a long weekend at the jersey shore next summer, more trips to maine and lots of visits to long beach!

protecting a sand fort from the entire ocean