Monday rolls around again—and I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend!
Come closer. I have something to tell you. Lately, my anxiety has been getting the best of me. Oh…it doesn’t stop me from writing or cleaning the house or taking Chippy out or doing what I have to do. But my anxiety stifles me from doing things I want to do.
Yes. That would be me. It is still very possible to be a positive person, and be pretty laid back, but still suffer from anxiety!
Anxiety makes me not want to leave my comfort zone.
Anxiety leads me to overreact to the simplest little mishaps—like when a hard-boiled egg won’t peel properly and I become ridiculously upset!
If that darn hard-boiled egg doesn’t peel smoothly, my anxiety level rises to the heavens!
It’s just hard for me right now to chillax!
Bonaparte is more than well-aware of this and so, he decided, suggested, insisted that we take a day trip to the Shore on Saturday.
He packed the car the night before. We dropped Chippy off at Doggie Day Camp. I made sure my legs were shaved and we were off to Stone Harbor!
The closer we get, the calmer I become!
I grew up always close to the beach. Before moving to Long Island, we lived in Queens, NY—and were just minutes away from Rockaway Beach. My childhood memories both with my family and my Aunt Terry of the times spent at Rockaway are nothing short of wonderful!
Rockaway Beach, NY., remains one of my favorite beaches of all time!
After the move to Long Island, summers spent at Fire Island, Robert Moses and Jones Beach were nothing short of spectacular. Days spent body surfing and sun tanning and evening concerts at Jones Beach were the makings of summer magic. I would not trade those summers for anything in the world!
Whether by ferry, or by bumming a ride across the bay on a friend’s clam boat, Fire Island was a great place to spend summer days!
I spent many evenings as a teen here. I really miss those summer outdoor concerts at the beach!
Even during my years of life in Manhattan, summer weekends were spent enjoying the sun in Long Beach!
Even as a Manhattanite, the beach–was always within reach! (I’m waxing poetic!)
And as much as I love the beaches on the Cote d’ Azur, the East Coast beaches, with their wide expanse of soft sand and scent of salty sea breeze will always bring me to a state of total relaxation and calm.
The wide soft sandy beaches of the East Coast are the best!
Our “Jersey Shore” beach of choice is and has always been Stone Harbor. Stone Harbor is a cute and quiet little community.
You can’t get lost here–this water tower is a great landmark–and most likely comes in handy for all the single young people who have been spending time at the bars! Even after a night of drinking–you just cannot lose your way home! You will always know where you are!
Check out the ad on the left. The sidewalk sale. It’s epic–prices are slashed to nothing. Except it always seems to rain on the weekend of the sale!
The drive there takes about an hour and a half, but we’ve got our routine down pat. Hit the road by 7:30 AM and were beach side by 9 AM!
Isn’t this great? The road leading into Stone Harbor is empty! That’s my kinda traffic pattern!
Its nice because we get to see the undisturbed wetlands!
Houses across the bay as we drive over the little bridge…
A couple of shops on the downtown strip…
…and we’re parked in our favorite quiet spot!
I love the calm of the beach early in the morning before the crowds arrive.
We’re here!
The narrow path leads to the beach. That’s Bonaparte ahead, carrying our equipment!
The occasional runner will pass by. You can catch a glimpse of the few people who come down where the water meets sand—making the sand sturdier so that those who chose to can exercise at the ocean’s feet.
I love the view of an almost empty beach!
I love standing where the ocean breaks. Especially when the murkiness dissipates and for a few moments the shallow water is clear.
I could spend hours like this–trying to spot the faster-than-light speed of the little guppies…
You become aware of the schools of guppies swimming speedily past your feet only by their needle-thin shadows cast by the sun and the tiny bubbles following them as they disappear into the Atlantic. When we were kids, we would get our sand pails and catch the guppies as they swam into the pails–and YES, we did empty the guppies back into the ocean!
Pictured: Oona (Purple hair) in BUBBLE GUPPIES on Nickelodeon. Photo: Nickelodeon. ©2010 Viacom, International, Inc. All Rights Reserved
I just could NOT resist! My love for guppies may not have created Bubble Guppies, a children’s cartoon show–but look! This Bubble Guppie’s name is Oona!! I had the name first–OK????
The sound and the visions of the ocean breaking into different directions is hypnotizing and mesmerizing. I could, if I didn’t get burnt, stand there for hours just listening to the crashing of the waves and watching the water’s rhythmic movements —as if in a trance!
I love the different patterns the water makes as it breaks into the wet sand!
My feet are so happy–so’s the rest of me!
These days I have to spend more time under the umbrella to protect my skin. (I don’t want any more skin cancer!) But it’s all cool. The umbrella offers me respite in the intense heat. It’s also easier to read under the umbrella.
I will allow myself those few minutes, covered in sunscreen, to lay out in the sun. It just feels so good! And BTW, I don’t care HOW old I am, I’m STILL wearing a bikini..it’s more comfortable!
Bonaparte’s favorite position at the beach. It’s his nap time. Actually, I think he just pretends to be napping so he doesn’t have to listen to my constant ramblings!!!
You just KNOW I can’t go ANYWHERE with out SOMETHING by J. Crew! We’ve had this beach towel for years–but check out the cushion under the towel. Bonaparte carries this cushion to every beach and every pool. Seriously. He can’t just throw a towel down on the sand–and he doesn’t like a chaise either. He needs his cushion!
See this madras tote? J. Crew! I ordered it about 8 years ago. They had me at “madras”! It’s the best beach bag of all time. Holds a ton of stuff! I got the chair on a “end-of-summer clearance at Target. I think it was around ten bucks!” Remember–ALWAYS buy beach essentials at the end of the summer–you will save a fortune!
Beach passes!
Speaking of reading….the beach is the one place where I completely enjoy escaping to and getting lost in the pages of a great book. As I sat under my umbrella, I finished “Me Before You”, a tearjerker supreme—of love, devotion and heart-breaking devastation. JoJo Moyes really knows how to tell a story!
Jojo Moyes is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! She tells a story in it’s simplest form–not being overly descriptive. I love that!!! No BS–she gets to the point. Lancaster’s a great writer–but so much better when she writes about herself. Her novel was just not interesting. Sorry!
I also brought another book with me to read. Jen Lancaster’s “Here I Go Again”. I’m a huge Jen Lancaster fan. And I love the books she writes about herself. The books about her are laugh out loud funny and something we can all relate to. However, this novel of hers was just so …. chock full of cliché’s, predictable—even from the first few pages, and downright boring. I could not get past the first two chapters.
No big deal.
Instead, I sprayed an entire can of sunscreen on my body, took my chair and headed down to the Ocean’s edge, joining Bonaparte watching the activity in this small section of the vast Atlantic.
Bonaparte–just like Napoleon, he stands as regal as an emperor! Is he waiting for his ship to come in? No. He’s looking for dolphins. Hey–he is? OK? He doesn’t have to look at women in bikinis when he has ME! Right?? Hahahahahaha! Soon he will sit at water’s edge to get a closer look at the dolphins he so adores!
We dragged these chairs down to the Ocean’s edge.
We spotted Dolphins playing around. Small boats daring to come as close to the swimmers as possible as though to tease! Jet skiers were showing off their water sport savoir faire! Sea planes flying low enough to allow us to squint an eye and cover our forehead with hand-as-visor in order to read the advertisements for restaurants, bars, and automobile insurance floating in the air!
Bringing the chairs down to the water is also quite refreshing on a hot day!
Observing families with young children brought back memories of Jake, Roman and Oona at Long Beach—and those first summers of learning to love the sand and sea!
The simple act of sitting down on a chair, feet inching their way into the coolness of the wet sand, catching a breeze and enjoying the fresh ocean air had an incredibly calming effect on me. I could feel the anxiety lifting and in its place I had a feeling of contentment and happiness!
My umbrella says it all!
I was as happy as a little clam! The beach is a great cure-all when you are feeling down or anxious or stressed!
I was so relaxed, calm and content that the traffic on the way home didn’t bother me.
We stopped at a produce stand on the way home and picked up some Jersey tomatoes to enjoy with dinner.
Nothin’ like a Jersey tomato cut up, heavily salted and dipped in Mayo!
This is total produce porn! Look at those eggplants!
I may be anxious—but I’m one lucky woman—thanks Bonaparte for a most enjoyable day!
From the top of my empty head to the tip of my pedicured toes–I had a great day!
XOXOXOXO-One of my favorite summer AND Beach Boy Songs.” All Summer Long!!!” So beachy!
<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/the-best-day-ever/”>The Best Day Ever</a>