This weekend marks that start of summer where I come from – not the end of school, just the start of the summer season! It also marks the day that you can begin wearing white again. Now if that doesn’t date me – and if you don’t know what that means, then google it!
I am was raised in a resort area – Long Beach Island, a barrier island about 5 miles off the coast of NJ. The Island (LBI) is about 18 miles long and at its widest point about ½ mile from ocean to bay. There is only one way to access the Island by vehicle – the causeway bridge. There is one main street down the center of the 18 miles – you can drive it from tip to tip basically. The street divides the Island into the ocean side and the bay side. I lived on the ocean side about in the middle of the Island. We moved there for summers and weekends when I was about 8 or 9, and year round when I was about 14. There is a expression in South Jersey that goes something like this: “Be careful you might get sand between your toes” and means that once you spend anytime on the beach, you will never want to willingly leave. As far as I am concerned, this is 110% true. The smells, the sounds, the fresh fish, the atmosphere… is irreplaceable.
But – one thing we hated to see to some extent was Memorial Day Weekend. The population quadrupled overnight! The locals, while needing this surge of people, because most of us made our money from tourists, were very particular about sharing their Island with folks who were just day, weekend or weekly visitors. Even if they were visitors that came once a year for their week of vacation – they were still outsiders. We were locals. We then began the countdown to Labor Day Weekend, when they all went back to their respective cities. Side note here – if you want a stress free vacation, always go to the beach right after Labor Day – everyone is gone, the Atlantic is usually warmest and it is still summer weather. Always my favorite time to hit the beach.
The last time I lived there was my senior year in college – some 35+ years ago and not too long after that, our house was sold and my family moved to the mainland. BUT – I can still smell the salt air, I can still hear the ocean sounds, and I can still remember the experience of the sand between my toes! I have a longing to return there – but it is now a place where multi-millionaires live and I could never even afford to be a tourist there for 2 weeks! So,when I visit my son and his family, we take a drive down the parkway, to exit 63 and stop to see my Aunt on the mainland and then drive over the bridge to the sandy shores of LBI. The last time I was there, I took some pictures of my street and the house I grew up in. A couple of months ago, for fun, I was googling rental properties in the that area just to see how much it was to rent a house for a week. Lo and behold, my old house is a rental these days and there were interior pictures on the internet! Who gets that lucky – to see the inside of a house they lived in over 35 years ago! I have added a few for you to get a sense of the wonder of living at the beach. BTW – it rents for $4000 a week. The house next door – $8000 a week!!
Today, we don’t worry too much about wearing white between Labor Day and Memorial Day anymore – that fashion dictation has pretty much gone by the wayside. But, all over the place, we do recognize that this weekend starts the time period known to signal relaxation, fun and family gatherings – otherwise known as summer. Not sure exactly what my summer holds this year, probably not a vacation due to my circumstances – but I am sure that it will be an adventure! I hope your summer is an adventure as well, and that you enjoy your long weekend wherever you spend it!
And my wish for you is to someday take your white sandals off and get caught with “sand between our toes”.
Picture 1 & 2 are the from the same spot at the beach entrance facing the ocean and then facing the house. Mine is the third house away on the right.
Pictures 3 & 4 are of my house -the double windows above the deck was my bedroom with a full view of the ocean – sigh….
http://www.vrbo.com/469332 here is the link to the rental that my house now is.
