Beach not very nice

I’ve now spent the last week a mere 30 miles from the ocean, and haven’t gone to play yet. I figured it was high time to remedy the situation so I dragged out the increasingly tattered-looking map. There are 3 areas marked for swimming within easy driving distance. So I took the map into work and asked people which they thought was best. Disappointingly, I got multiple comments of “beach not very nice” about all three. I got pointed to the one furthest away because it’s the most popular (and I think has some kind of boardwalk a la Coney Island or Santa Cruz).

Despite the depressing commentary, I set off this afternoon – since I started late due to a work emergency, I decided to just hit up the closest one. Afterall, even I have to admit that an over-crowded beach is really not very nice. I managed not to get hopelessly lost and ended up parked on a green, windswept bluff complete with a lighthouse about 45 minutes later. The trick was to figure out how to get down to the beach below. There were people there – there had to be a way down.

Yes, there are steps down the cliff. Elf steps that are too low to take one at a time, but too wide to take two at a time. But there’s also an access road in from the side that didn’t show on my map. Sigh. I’ll console myself with the thought that my first view of the beach from above was nicer than if I’d just driven in.

As for the beach itself - all I have to say is that if a ½ mile of sandy beach surrounded by tree-studded cliffs is “beach not very nice”, I REALLY want to see what they consider nice! The waves were too little to surf, but just right to jump in. No undertow. Granted there was seaweed to step around, but no broken glass, needles, or passed out junkies. The water’s clear but colder even than at home and there’s a distinct lack of eye candy (most of the people were parents with kids), but it’s still a really nice beach. I think the Japanese are just not a beach culture. Either that or they’ve spent too much time in Hawaii or Australia. I can only imagine their faces if you dumped them on Revere Beach!


By the way, I have now stepped foot in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in both the sunrise and sunset directions. I know that’s a totally irrelevant fact, but it amuses me greatly.