One of my favorite places in New Jersey is Sandy Hook. Sandy Hook is a little peninsula (a hook?) at the top of the Jersey Shore. On one side there are ocean beaches with places for parking and restrooms. On the other side are little cove beaches. At the far end are a lighthouse and historical buildings.
We first went to the ocean side – it was crowded, and the waves were strong. We then decided to drive closer to the lighthouse, parked the car, and discovered the little cove beach at the top of this post. We swam, had lunch and discovered various beach items.
I wanted to climb to the top of the lighthouse, but my daughter did not. This is a lesson in patience – I make lists in my head of stuff to do when I have the opportunity. We did watch a movie in the little house next to the lighthouse all about piping plovers, and how they on the threat of extinction list. I suppose I would have to wake up early in the morning and go with another bird lover if I wanted to watch the plovers on the beach myself.
Four species of horseshoe crabs exist today. Only one species, Limulus polyphemus, is found in North America along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Maine to Mexico… Horseshoe crabs are not true crabs at all. Horseshoe crabs are more closely related to arachnids (a group that includes spiders and scorpions) than to crustaceans (a group that includes true crabs, lobsters, and shrimp). Horseshoe crabs are often called “living fossils” because fossils of their ancestors date back almost 450 million years–that’s 200 million years before dinosaurs existed.
I would greatly enjoying reading which of these images strikes your fancy. Thank you!
Upcoming on Thursday: A Selection of Nature Notes Posts from around the Nature-Loving
Blogosphere. Nature Notes is a meme brought to us by Rambling Woods. Here are some of her favorite images of 2009.
Last Sunday we went to Sandy Hook, a lovely beach with dunes at the top of the New Jersey Shore. There is a bay side and an ocean side to Sandy Hook.
Ocean, beach, and sky at Sandy Hook, New Jersey
In contrast to the golden sunset above, the sky was blue at the beach a few hours earlier.
Sky Watch Friday is a photo meme with photos of sunrises, sunsets, blue skies, gray skies, pink skies, dark skies and any other kind of sky posted by bloggers all over the planet.
Playing in the April water at Sandy Hook, New Jersey
We had exceptionally warm weather on Sunday, and so we traveled with the traffic to the top of the New Jersey shore to a wonderful beach called Sandy Hook. More Sandy Hook photos coming on Thursday, as part of Sky Watch.
Have you ever been to the Jersey Shore? Where did you go?
Three kids. One day trip. Where do you want go?
Eldest: Nowhere.
Middle: NOT to a zoo.
Youngest: To a zoo! Someplace with animals.
In the end, we went to Sandy Hook, at the top of the Jersey Shore. Sandy Hook has beautiful beaches, dunes, rocks, waves. Eldest Son stayed home, as he preferred, and tended to the homestead (he’s a teenager, he’s allowed).
We took one of my son’s friends.
The sky was a lovely blue, and the weather warm enough, considering it was mid-April.
The kids had a great time, climbing the rocks and playing in the sand.
I tried to get a little artsy with my photos.
There’s a lighthouse at the end of Sandy Hook, and there’s another lighthouse called Twin Lights that’s on the road on the way home from Sandy Hook. My kids opted out of going to the lighthouses today, but in the past we’ve gone to both. The Twin Lights Historic Site is a good place to visit if you were planning to go to the beach, but it ends up raining.
What do you do when your kids disagree? Do you just take them where you want to go?
