Rockaway Beach

Even though I'm not a true new yorker, a brooklynite, or a born and bred "jersey girl" I really feel as if I'm beginning to feel like a true "east coaster" and have become extremely comfortable around my surroundings. My family and I have developed such a strong love for New York for the mere fact that this state has gone through so much heartache throughout the years. From the World Trade Center bombing in '93, to the 9/11attacks in the year 2001, and the devastation of Hurricane Sandy that occurred at one of New Yorks most popular beaches...Rockaway Beach.

I had never been here and have always wanted to check it out, and if I had the time to help the community of Long Island by cleaning up the mess that Sandy left behind I would have, but Sandy also left a huge mess to clean up in South Jersey. 

It felt surreal being at this beach. I never had the opportunity to go before Sandy destroyed it, and it would have been interesting to see how the boardwalk looked like before Sandy took it apart. Luckily our friend google provided us with a ton of pics to peek at to see how it once looked like before. 

This winter has been a little rough in our neck of the woods, and because of it we have been going through major beach withdrawal. Since the weather was gloriously beautifully this past Saturday we decided to go to the beach, and all that was needed was a hoodie. 

We are so fortunate to live in an area where we are an hour away to south and north jersey beaches. We have always gone to Ocean City or Spring Lake, but we heard Rockaway Beach calling our name. 

There were a few people, but not as many as we thought. I could see that they are still trying to rebuild. This area suffered more, and the destruction was brutal. 

I was amazed at how big the parking lot was. Then again I can see why they have such a big parking lot to accommodate millions of people that live in the new york area! Apparently it was filled up with mountains of trash while cleaning up after the storm. Here is a photo from my friend google, and my oh my I can't believe all the debris... it literally looks like the trash in the movie Wall-e. 

^^^ can't believe this is the Jacob Riis parking lot where we were at
Picture via google. ^^^

The kids had a blast and as soon as we got out of the car Noah & Chelsea ran straight to the playground to release some much needed energy form the 75 minute car ride!

^^^ apparently water comes out of the holes not the rings. Perfect for the kids on a hot summer day. ^^^

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They didn't last too long as they wanted to dig for sea shells, and we all just enjoyed walking down the beach and having fun as a family. Captured this moment when everyone is running away from the tide.

^^^ amazed at all the baby swings they have! ^^^

This day was so much fun, and these kids are looking forward to going to the beach more this summer. 

*****

As I was deleting some of the photos on my iPhone I decided to keep this one. It's dark, blurry and grainy but it truly is one my favorites. It reminds me of the good times I had when my mother used to take my sister and I to the park until it way past our bedtime! Swinging in the swings and catching fireflies in between. Running around from the merry go round to the monkey bars & back to the swings. Because that was our favorite thing to do when it was just the three of us. 

Seeing my family as a whole swinging away warmed my heart...too bad I couldn't get in the photo with them!

It was an old school kind of day, and it is going to be documented as one of my most memorable moments in this blog's history.