New York State of Mind: Life's a Beach

Brian being a trooper (as always) and dealing with all of my stuff.

The final countdown has begun. On Monday, I head back to work for another school year. I will admit, I am extremely excited to see my co-workers and my new kids. But I also have this urge to hold on to summer for as long as possible, and make the most of it in these final days. What better way to it than spend the day at the beach. Brian and I set out on our first NYC beach adventure together this morning. Several times throughout the am hours, he questioned my extreme need to pack anything and everything we might need for our day at Fort Tilden Beach. I reassured him that every towel, chair, blanket, sandwich, Skittle, and lotion was necessary. And thankfully, it was. When I think back to the times I have been to the beach, I always remember what a pain it was to unpack everything from the trunk of the car, haul it to the perfect location, and then repack it and carry it back to the car after a long day in the sun. That situation does not seem quite as bad after hauling the same amount of stuff on the Q train, transferring at Times Square to the 2 train, taking that to the last stop in Brooklyn, and then transferring to the Q35 bus. Luckily, it was a lot easier with Brian by my side, carrying the heavier of the load and keeping me company the whole way there.

Once we got off the bus, literally on the side of the highway, we trekked across a field and followed a quiet dirt road in hopes of finding the water. It definitely did not feel like we were in Queens anymore! I was in heaven the second I saw the water, felt the soft sand beneath my feet, and heard the crashing waves.

We found a spot, set up, and ate lunch before heading into the water. I was excited to try out my new Salt Water sandals. Not only are they comfortable and available in a ton of cute colors, but they are made to be worn in the ocean! So much better than those water shoes we wore when we were little. Unfortunately, I am not much of a swimmer when it comes to the ocean and waves. Even the little ones today made me nervous and kept me in shallow water. Luckily, Brian enjoyed swimming enough for the both of us, and I had even more fun watching him.

From start to finish, today was a perfect summer day in NYC. 79 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, dry air, sand in between my toes, sitting next to my favorite person... what more could I ask for? It was definitely an amazing way to spend one of my final summer days of 2010. And yet another good date day.