You know that at this particular time for the past ten years, we’ve been on the ever-sunny and every-pleasant Côte d’Azur. Our favorite pastimes there are relaxing at the pool and spending time at both the beaches in Cannes and L’Estagnol.
Some go on vacation to get in touch with nature by hiking and doing that nature stuff. This is my idea of getting back to nature–relaxing and doing nothing by the pool in Theoule!
We ain’t there this year and that’s ok. It gives us time and opportunity to revisit the great expanse of beach here in the Northeast.
And YES! New York City is home to some great beaches like Coney Island and The Rockaways. (My dad was a cop at Rockaway Beach–the place I was born!)
If you grew up near a beach or any large body of water, then you are well-aware of the summer pleasure you enjoyed while younger. If you still dwell within a decent drive to the beach, then you are also aware of the pleasure the ocean brings.
Photo taken by Anthony22 at Wikipedia
This photo brings back so many memories of Robert Moses Beach. I grew up ten minutes away and spent many a summer day here from my grade school days all through high school. Sometimes my friends and I would skip school in the spring just to spend an hour or two here. My favorite beach of all time!
I can tell you this—as one who suffers from extreme anxiety, when I’m at the shore or any beach in particular, it’s the only non-medication that sooths my soul and calms my nerves.
Is it the scent of fresh clean air with a hint of saltiness to it? Is it that salty, cool spray the touches your face like a feather as you bring your chair down to the ocean’s edge? Is it the sounds of waves crashing or the seagulls doing that bird noise that they make? Or perhaps you enjoy watching a child experiencing either delight or fear at their first trip to the huge sea. For me—it’s all of these reasons.
Yesterday, Bonaparte woke up early to a gorgeous blue sky devoid of any clouds. The sun was out and bright and I swear I could hear the sun saying. “I’m baaaaack”—after weekends of lousy weather.
Yo Momma! Daddy Cool is back in action and he’s hot!!
I was assured that all the necessary items such as towels, chairs and sunscreen were packed in the car. Bless my Frenchman’s heart. But I still threw some essentials into my straw bag such as my sunglasses, water, and intellectual stimulation in the form of a book and trashy tabloid magazines (Don’t judge).
Yeah. Yeah. If I was royalty, I would have looked great after giving birth too! But the REAL dish is Jennifer Anniston’s tool of an ex-husband Justin Theroux. What a creep. And the Star never lies *cough*!
After You. The sequel to the most tear-jerker book of all time, Me Before You. This book is making me cry too. I’ll be reading the NEXT sequel, Still Me after I finish this. I’m telling you, I need to get to the beach every weekend just so I can read!
My cheap $7.00 Walmart watch never stops ticking. The perfect beach watch because the band is rubber. Take it off before swimming though.
Cheap two-buck hoops also from Walmart give a nice beach vibe to my ears!
I opted for a bikini instead of a one-piece because I wanted to get a bit of sun all over. I shaved my thighed burns so I could sit any way I wanted too!
On my feet I wore my first-ever pair of Rondini sandals. They are about ten years old now!!
And I wore a sleeveless coverup with pockets to finish the look off!
We dropped Chippy off at Doggie Day Camp and at a little after Seven in the morning, we were on our way from the Philly suburbs to the beautiful Jersey Shore town of Stone Harbor.
You’ll be happy once you are with your posse there Chippy!
And away we go!!!!!! I’m the classiest passenger on earth. Feet on the dashboard, the Frenchman mumbling in his native tongue that I’m dirtying up the car…it’s heavenly!
It was such an enjoyable day that I never got around to taking any photos after we unpacked. But the umbrella was up, the beach chairs were unfolded, towels placed gingerly over the sand and it was time to bask in the rays and the warmth of the sun.
We arrived a little after 9 AM. Look. At. That. Sky. I wish every weekend day during the summer was like this.
The little trail to the beach…
Who’s that man and WHAT is he carrying?
Why…it’s BONAPARTE and he’s the only person I know who brings his own personal chaise cushion to the beach to place UNDER his beach towel due to the comfort level.
I, on the other hand, am more of a beach bum. This and a towel are all I need!
We also noticed that nobody was tanned yet—I mean everyone at the beach had the last of the pasty hue. And we blamed it on the extreme lack of gorgeous summer weather. Usually by mid-June you can spot that one person who’s been working on their tan since mid-April; those who attended the George Hamilton school of tanning. Or should I say George Hamiltan?
Ahhh..George HamilTAN! My husband could give him a run for his tanning.
And FYI, this is the only sunscreen that was packed. I believed my tanning god of a husband when he said ALL the sunscreen was packed. It wasn’t. This was purchased in France and even though it works very well, I still want my Coppertone spray!
What also struck both of us was that the Atlantic was very calm yesterday. Almost glassine. A bit like the Mediterranean Sea.
This is the view from my umbrella taken a couple of years ago. The water yesterday was even more calm than this. Oh my God. I love the Atlantic so much!
We talked about the difference between the Atlantic beaches we are so familiar with and the Mediterranean Sea.
The Atlantic has much wider beaches, where the Mediterranean’s sandy coast isn’t as wide. The areas of France that we beach at have rocky surf. You have to walk over the bumpy bed of rocks before hitting the soft sea sand. But once you get to that point, you can swim and float and let the sea take you out what seems like miles before you get into the deep waters.
The beach at L’Estagnol. It’s calm and I kinda like swimming in it more due to lack of waves!
Not as wide a beach area but still very relaxing and swim-friendly!
The Atlantic isn’t as gentle nor is she as friendly. She can be fierce with her undertows and her waves full of rage can knock you out and roll you around to the point of danger.
Getting caught in waves like this can be a bit frightening and challenging!
Still, growing up on Long Island and spending time at Fire Island beaches and The Rockaways, you learn to respect the ocean. You become aware of how you can handle both you and the sea.
You can spend the day stress-free with a good book. There’s something special about bringing a book—an actual paperback book with pages that you turn and dog-ear. It’s so much better than reading from a tablet. The book may get splashed with the sea but it really doesn’t matter because the heat of the air will dry the pages in minutes. The humidity can make the book expand—just like hair that gets puffy from the sea’s humidity. But that’s part of summer!
I’m in the 25th percentile. I’ll only dog-ear MY books! But it’s cheaper than a book mark!
And when you tire of reading, you can take your chair down even farther to where the waves break and can be mesmerized by the tide greeting you and then leaving you just as quickly. It’s a very relaxing feeling.
We had the best time—just the two of us. It was one of those days that just made me happy to be with my husband because wherever we go, we make a great team.
BTW, I wore a wig to the beach yesterday. Last time I was at Stone Harbor was the summer before last. I still had enough hair that I was able to put it up in a topper with a messy bun. Those days may be over, but I have to tell you, the wig I wore was beach perfect. It’s Lacey by Envy Wigs and the color is Toasted Sesame. She got sprayed with salt water, got sand in her, and remained in fine shape. She even protected my head. And I never felt uncomfortable!
Me enjoying the sun under the umbrella and under my wig!
The seabreeze threw her around quite a bit….
And she remained beautiful–even upon leaving to go home! I got a lotta freckles yesterday too! A lot!
Amazon has accepted me as an influencer and I’m thrilled to be working with them. And so, I’ve begun to create “Idea Lists”. Today’s list is in connection with this blog post— Have a looksee on my Amazon store: “Life’s a Beach”. I ordered thesleeveless dress with pockets because it’ll make a great beach coverup—it’ll also be cute as all get-out! Thank you and happy beaching!!!
One of my favorite Beach Boys songs (I have so many). I don’t quite know what it is but the beach boys just go along with summer!
