The summer months take me back to Long Island, where the beach was a part of my day to day world of a much simpler time. As kids, we raced from the bottom of the cliff to the top of the cliff and then down to the water and onto “Broadway Rock” where we played until our fingers looked like raisins.
We dug for clams with our feet in the sand washed by the Long Island Sound. My uncle took us fishing nearly every weekend. Whether on the shore or the jetty, we always caught something. We tickled the bellies of the blowfish and watched them puff up before we released them back to the coolness of the water.
The summer sun tanned our skin and warmed our hearts. A day at the beach left us happily exhausted and ushered in awesome sleep. Oh, those days.
Sunshine
Unravels
Memories and
Moments of
Easy
Relaxation
As I think of those summer days and the number of novels I’ve read while basking in the sun, just resting on the sand, I’m drawn back to that place of easy relaxation at the water’s edge. The meditative, almost hypnotic sound of the waves lapping the shore and then retreating, over and over again with the seagulls chattering as they play in the light breeze above the water’s edge brings peace to my soul.
The beauty of the beach is forever etched in my heart. All I have to do is close my eyes, and I’m there with all the sights, sounds, and smells of summer.
Every night, God paints a beautiful sunset. Sometimes you’ll see the sun setting on one side of the sky and the moon rising on the other.
There are no words to rightly express the emotion and the gratitude I feel to be able to see such beauty painted in the evening sky, or the morning sky when I dared to wake up before the sun, and it is just a short walk away from the place I call home.
Though time and nature have eroded some of the sand, and the cliffs have given way to wind and rain; whether in my mind or my car looking out to the water’s edge, I’m once again that young girl who loves the serenity of the beach in summer.
Thank you for taking me on a relaxing walk by the shore. I needed that. Sharing this.
Thank you, Larry, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
And Thank you for sharing! I appreciate that.
Beautifully written and photographed article. You magnificently captured the beauty of Long Island beaches. My wife and I sadly moved away from Long Beach (The City By The Sea) over 10 years ago. The memories of the sun and the moon reflecting over the water are still fresh in our minds.
Thank you for those beautiful encouraging words, Joel.
I moved from Long Island nearly 17 years ago to the mountains of Pennsylvania. My heart keeps calling me home to the beaches. Who knows, maybe the sun and the moon in the evening sky will light up a new place close to the beach for me to call home once again.
Thank you, Teresa, for the memories.