Arguably the best month of the year to be at the Jersey shore is September. The crowds are gone, the weather is great and the water is the warmest it will be all year. I was able to spend this weekend and a few days during the week at the beach. My seven month old son is enjoying himself here too, but then he seems to always have a good time where ever he is.
The ocean has been quite rough for most of this past week though. There was a hurricane that passed by the coast, way offshore. It definitely had an effect on the tides and the waves here. I enjoyed watching the 8 foot plus waves breaking just offshore. Things have calmed down some today, although the water and sea breeze had a distinctive odor to it. It smelled a little like the bay. The best I could figure was that the storm had churned the water so much that it stirred up a lot stuff that normally does not come up to the surface.
Low tide during a bit of a rough September day. New Jersey beach.
The next time I get to return to the shore here will likely be in the spring. That means a lot of things. The long cold winter is coming. Shorter days and a lot more nighttime, which will mean going to work in the dark. All of these things will make dreaming about returning to the shore, and pining for warmer weather, something that will grow as the next half a year goes by. What will I miss about a warm day at the beach? The birds, the sun, the sand between my toes, the feeling of dried salt water on my skin after a swim, the soothing ocean breeze, and lots, lots more!
