Having grown up in California, the beach was often part of my summer adventures. I come from a family that is part fish (I swear) and one of the things I wanted to make sure I did this summer was make it to the beach.

My adventures in New York last summer only got me to Coney Island, which is not a place I really want to go swimming (for my NorCal friends, think Santa Cruz Boardwalk in the 90s on steroids). So, when AnnMarie invited me to join her and her friends for a day at the beach a couple of weeks ago, I of course jumped at the chance.

I met the group at Penn Station (I seriously thought I was going to miss the train) and we took the 40 minute ride to the oceanside town. What I didn’t realize before buying my train ticket is that the beaches in New York cost money…and it would have cost less had I purchased a “package” ticket. I didn’t, though, so thankfully I had the $12 entrance fee. The nice thing about the fee is it keeps the beaches pretty clean.

I had so much fun. The water was a little cold, but not when you compare it to NorCal. And there’s no kelp…which means no bugs. It was amazing! Had I only though to reapply sunblock multiple times, I could have gone again the next weekend, but I forgot how different the sun is when you are playing in the ocean. I just finished peeling. Just.