The Dateable Dork

Today I re-discovered a little slice of heaven right here in good old New York – Jones Beach on a random summer Tuesday.  There is not much to say except that I find these rare but coveted beach days to be the most relaxing and most peaceful days of my entire year, days that I look forward to during the long, cold winters, and days that I absolutely cherish when they finally come back around to the present.  I am in such an amazingly good, peaceful mood tonight, and I don’t remember being this relaxed since my last visit to Jones Beach (almost a year ago).  It was absolute heaven.

Highlights of the day included the following:

- If you go to the beach on a random weekday, especially if you get there in the morning, and you walk ALL the way to the far side of the beach, you can pretty much have a huge, quiet spot all to yourself.  Amazing, and so rare in such a crowded part of the country.

- With the absence of chatty neighbors, all you hear is the sound of the waves crashing on the shore and the seagulls flying overhead. 

- Covered from head to toe in SPF55, I baked in the sun for hours, completely guilt-free.

- I picked up some fresh fruit this morning to snack on throughout the day, and I discovered the absolute perfect beach food: a perfectly ripe peach, at the perfect temperature (a little warm from sitting in my bag for a few hours), at the perfect texture (crisp but not hard), with the perfect amount of juiciness (i.e., super juicy) and that amazing natural sweetness.  The first bite of that peach was an out-of-body experience.

- The ocean was the perfect combination of warm and calm, which made for ideal swimming conditions.  Jones Beach can vary from relatively calm (although there are always waves coming off the ocean) to extremely choppy (which is actually pretty scary to swim in).  Today was great – the waves were low and I didn’t get knocked over once.  A rarity.  : )

- And finally, I spent the day alone, and it worked out beautifully.  I’m actually glad that none of my friends could make it, and I’m glad that I decided against inviting my family.  Being alone, in utter silence, was the most relaxing thing I could have ever imagined.  No talking, no worrying about how my hair looked, no nothing.  I definitely got some quality me-time today.

All in all, today was hands down the best day of my entire year so far.  If my work schedule allows it, I would love to do this again a few more times before the summer’s end.

I sincerely hope you all can squeeze in a relaxing beach day this summer, wherever you happen to live.  Believe me when I say that it’ll be well worth it.  : )