Summer Dreams and Some Are Not

The beaches in Sandy Hook, NJ are well known for a variety of reasons. Family friendly, usually surf-safe and, about mid-June and later, fairly temperate waters in which to swim and splash. My posse has a designated spot on one of the beaches, Gunnison, and any given day we can find each other even if we haven’t planned a particular “event.” We usually arrive at the crack of dawn and then judge by weather, insects or sunburn the time of departure, mostly early afternoon...to try to beat some of the rush hour traffic on the Jersey Turnpike (not always successfully).

This photo was taken a week ago yesterday, a couple of days after the 24-hour deluge that hit the east coast. No beach! According to my friend Bill (who took the pic), our beach is now emerging from being a salty, six-foot deep lake and today the water level is still at least a foot above the sand. We are all reassuring each other that Gunnison will soon be back to normal, hoping that the sand has not eroded into oblivion and that we can soon again gather companionably under our sunblock and colorful umbrellas. You might interpret from the photo that our chosen section of the beach is, well, what it is and discretion on both sides of the sign is a given. Whatever, it’s where I go to hang out with my friends in the summer. Insert smirk here if you can’t help it.