The Beach in the Wintertime

I love the beach. I love it in all seasons of the year--although sometimes even the beach is too hot in the summertime. And too crowded.

Since the temperature hovered near forty degrees on Saturday. I went to the beach. The photo above is on the bay side of Sandy Hook, looking toward what's known as Skeleton Hill Island. I wanted to see the harbor seals who spend the winter on that sandbar. There's no way to get close to the seals. They are protected by law, but they are also rather smart and stay on their little sandbar while people stand on the shore and use binoculars to gawk at the seals.

However, I also needed a nice walk. I signed up for JeRoWriMo, the New Jersey Romance Writers' writing challenge this month. I've finished the first week of the challenge with a respectable amount of words toward the goal of 30,000 for the month.

But I needed to clear my head, get some fresh air, and exercise. So I did--at the beach. It was beautiful!

Beating the Heat

Here's how I used to beat the heat when I was a youngster. I got wet and stayed in a wet bathing suit for the rest of the day. There's my brother on the left, then me with the scrunched up face, then my sister, and on the right, my beautiful mother. :-)

It's been very hot in NJ this week, rather brutal in fact. I am staying inside in air conditioned comfort. It is too hot for the beach.

It was never too hot for the beach when I was young.

We lived by the bay, where there was almost always a breeze. (In the wintertime, that breeze turned into a strong wind that rattled the windows.) I don't remember being hot when I was a child--except when we went out to visit my grandparents in western Pennsylvania. They did not have a bay, a beach, or any large body of water nearby--except for a town pool.

It was too hot to move.

How do you beat the heat?

It's All in the Details

Hubby and I went to the beach on Sunday. It was mild for February even though the sand had plenty of snow on it as did the boardwalk. We watched one woman hand breadcrumbs to her children so they could feed the seagulls. The birds squabbled with each other over every piece. Of course, people really should not feed them, but it was interesting to watch the birds--up close. They weren't afraid of us. I think they figured we might be giving them a handout, too. They watched us rather expectantly.

Even if I didn't have a camera in my hand, I'm sure I could recall many of the details if I needed to use a similar scene in one of my books. Since I grew up at the shore, it's easy for me to create an accurate picture. I know the vocabulary of the beach, the color of the sand, the things that drift in on the tide, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves, and the cry of the gulls. Then there's that peaceful feeling that settles on everyone when they stare out at the vast expanse of water.

The beach has a special ambiance all its own, but no two days are alike at the beach. There's the beach in the fog (which is really awesome), on a windy day, and on a sweltering day in July. Same scene--different atmosphere, which is great for mirroring the mood in the story. It's all in the details.

A Walk on the Beach

It was exceptionally warm today. Hubby, Daughter #1, and I decided it was perfect for a walk on the beach. We picked up a few shells, skipped stones, and watched the ferry come in. The sky was a deep shade of blue violet.
















Here's Daughter #1. She's doing well after her gallbladder surgery. She's eating all her favorite foods again and feeling much better.





















Hubby was happy sitting on the pier.
















We might get sleet on Sunday, but today was truly a beautiful day.