Overhead, the sky was awash in confusion. A thick haze of gray stretched across the horizon. Seagulls and pigeons flew in graceful loops, the seagulls dipping every so often into the water.
In the sand, children built sandcastles, played with shovels and buckets, and set to work burying dads. Groups of hipsters with fedoras and novels huddled under umbrellas, groups of girlfriends in bikinis chatted lazily beneath the haze. The waves lapped at the sand with mediocre force as the wind created a perfect warm clear day. It was, despite the haze and threat of rain, a perfect Labor Day beach day.
This Labor Day, I went to the brand new and improved Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York. I hadn't been in years, and not since hurricane Sandy devestated the beach front. There were definite reminders of what had been. Sand bags lined the base of the boardwalk, a few houses along Ocean Drive remained boarded up and damaged, but it's not what wasn't but what was.
Rockaway Beach is a great beach. With a section for surfing and a section for swimming and miles of sandy beach, it is the perfect waterfront getaway. Here you can swim, you can relax and when you're done you can visit the delicious food kiosk which offers a great selection of healthy food from veggie burgers to fresh squeezed juice. Yes, they've got your standard hot dogs, fries and frozen yogurt as well.
Pushing my stroller along the wooden boardwalk, I am struck by something. This is not the beach I remember, it's so much better.
It's hard to believe that summer is being replaced by fall already. Where did the time go?