The Eldest had a vacation week around the time of her birthday the second week of July. She asked if I wanted to go with her to the beach. It used to be if you wanted to go to the beach, you packed a bag, towel, and chair and drove to the beach. Now you have to make reservations. It seems local residents complained about the Summer people getting all the parking spaces. Reservations come in the form of day passes which get scooped up quickly or 2 hour passes. Nice if you live close to the beach but not practical if you have to take an hour and a half ride to get to the beach.
The week the Eldest chose also happened to be prime vacation time. I told her about the reservations, but she had no difficulties securing a day pass to Crane Beach in Ipswich, Massachusetts. We left early on a Monday morning, and had a little hassle with commuter traffic. When we got to the beach, we were one of the first visitors and hardly anyone was there.
A seagull
claimed his spot on the beach
We took a selfie to remember the day
The Life Guard crew were holding contests to see who could paddle out to the buoy
and back to shore first.
It was a perfect beach day. Though the weather was hot and humid at home, it was quite breezy at the beach. We set up our chairs and I made a little cabana to try to keep us out of the sun.
It had been decades since I had been at this beach with Teague. One thing I forgot about was this beach was notorious for Green Heads, a type of Horse Fly. They have emerald green heads and giant teeth! Apparently, the Green Heads decided to return a few weeks earlier than normal to correspond to our visit.
By the time we left, I was covered with so many bites I looked like I had chicken pox.
I found a beautiful snail shell
There's a snack shack along with a clean beach house so we decided we didn't need to drag along a cooler for lunch. We did bring water.
The Eldest was going to treat me to lobster sandwiches for lunch, but they were out of lobster. I opted for a veggie and hummus wrap with a peach ice tea. The wrap was delicious, but I'm not a fan of peach flavored things though I do like peaches. All that could be said about the tea was it was wet and cold. We had a nice lunch underneath the pergola.
While the Eldest was swimming, I met a young woman a few years older than the Eldest. Her name as Tanya and she had also brought her mother for an outing. We had a nice chat.
How many seas must a white gull sail
before she sleeps in the sand? (apologies to Bob Dylan)
Despite the Greenheads and the sunburns, we had a nice day at the beach.
See ya later!
Only if the Greenheads are gone!
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Greenheads sound like unpleasant little beasts. The beach looks lovely - so nice to see one that isn't rammed with visitors.
ReplyDeleteApparently lots of people go to work on Monday. We picked a perfect day - CJ
DeleteOther than the greenheads (I believe Crane's Beach is notoriously bad when they come out), it looks and sounds like a great day. and spending the day with one of your daughters is probably worth the bites. Yes? Nice post CJ. Have a happy T day.
ReplyDeleteI could have done without the bites, but it was nice spending time with the Eldest - CJ
DeleteI'm not 'beyond' going to the beach in the Summer...But i LOVE going to the beach in the Fall and Winter... no crowds, or bugs... Man i know what horse flies are! Sounds like a lovely trip ... what a nice treat from the Eldest. :) Outa Lobster!!! Nooooo! Hugs! deb
ReplyDeleteThat was my thought. How could a beachtown on the East coast, be out of lobster? - CJ
DeleteUGH! Green flies are the WORST!
ReplyDelete.How can something small have such giant teeth - CJ
DeleteYou need to reserve a spot on the beach? Wow, that sounds bad. I'm glad we don't have that problem here. If the parking lot is full, you just go on to the next beach. Your beach looks very nice and it's great that you can actually swim there. I remember some wonderful sandy beaches on the East Coast. We can't swim in the ocean here (way too dangerous and cold) and often the coast is shrouded in fog and it can be chilly. I like it this way because it's never crowded, and the only people in the water are the surfers and it's fun to watch them. Apart from that, there's lots of wildlife (which I prefer to people anyway). Happy T day.
ReplyDeleteMany of the beaches are privately owned. Locals at the public beaches were complaining that beach goers were taking up parking or parking in front of driveways. So a reservation systems was set up. You can reserve and all day pass (which go quickly) or a two hour pass. You pay through an app unless you have a parking permit. The water at the North shore beaches was chilly. Mid to high 60s. but we were having a heatwave (3+ days of 90 oF) so the water temp was refreshing.
DeleteI've never heard of those kind of flies. They sound really nasty. No wonder the beach was empty.
ReplyDeleteI smiled at your selfie...
And I sang 'How many seas must a white gull fly' to the tune of Bob Dylan's song before I even saw his name.
I'm glad you had such a lovely day with Eldest.
Happy T-Day,
Lisca
The Greenheads are horrible. We'll skip Crane Beach during the season next time. Other beaches that don't have the problem
DeleteIt looks like you had such a fun time! I love your selfie, it's something we did when we went to Anne Hathaway's cottage as it was where William Shakespeare would have walked 😊. Happy T Day! Hugs, Jo x
ReplyDeleteThe foot photo is a fun thing especially when people don't want to have their face in the picture
DeleteSorry about the bites but it looked a very enjoyable day.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Teague talks about things coming in pairs: a curse and a blessing. The curse, the Greenheads. Spending time with the Eldest, a blessing
DeleteI was going to say what a lovely day on the beach, then read about the bugs with giant teeth! Still fun times with your daughter. Love your selfie. Happy T Day.
ReplyDeleteIt turned out to be a good day despite the Greenheads.
Deletesounds like good time. I love that fifth photo down which is my favorite but they are all good to see. Love sea gulls. It use to be in So Cal forget getting a parking place easy..That's still an issue...however, the central coast, Shell Beach, Pismo, Grover Beach, Morro Bay, etc. Except for Avila Beach it's fairly easy to find parking. Getting harder though with all the social medial posts about the 10 best places to go. Even our little town and lake gets listed and the crowds come up. Our Labor Day weekend - I'm staying home starting tomorrow through Monday. The lake is only a few blocks away and the noise yikes...not even counting the bands in the bars...and the Air B&B partying. Really enjoyed reading about your day.
ReplyDeleteThe good thing is everyone goes back to work on Tuesday. Enjoy your weekend.
DeleteI had planned to start at the beginning of the month when I first got sick, but it soon became overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteSorry to read about the Green Heads. They sound nasty. However, it was great you got to spend time with the Eldest. It was nice to read she got to swim in the ocean, too.
Love the selfies and your makeshift cabana. Your wrap looks good, but no lobster?? Thanks for sharing your time at the beach, your wrap, and peach tea with us for T this past week, dear CJ.
Got a Failed to Publish, so this will be even later than I anticipated.
I was surprised the snack shack ran out of lobster and that no one went to the fish pier early in the morning to buy more. Oh, well.
Delete