Our first visit was to Long Beach, Long Island, NY. A one hour train journey from Penn Station and 10 min walk later and we were on the boardwalk that is 2 and 1/4 mile long. It was a busy weekend and there were people everywhere. It costs $12 to leave the boardwalk and enter the sand and another $15 if you want to hire an umbrella. This was actually a saving grace for us and we wouldn't have lasted long without one as it was a really hot day! Total cost for the 2 of us, including train was about $80. The beach was packed, I think more than a million people is not exaggerating, and we were entertained as they all were fighting with the tumultuous surf on the day that was being affected by hurricanes off the coast. The waves were crashing on the shore, not unlike Tamarama, and going in the water was not a calming experience. Another favourite game, for Ash at least, was count the fake boobs!!!
Our second beach experience was to Sandy Hook Beach, in New Jersey, only a 45 min ferry ride from Wall St, Manhattan. It was a $45 round trip each, we were learning there is no free beaches here in NY :) It was another warm sunny day and we couldn't wait for a swim but when we both looked at the water we had the same thought - "Do I really want to put my head under that?" It had a lovely brown tinge and some small things floating that you couldn't quite discern where they came from. We didn't stay on the sand for long but headed back to explore the area as there was some cool military history there, including a battery for weapons testing in WW1 and the oldest lighthouse in USA dating back to 1764.
For our third beach, we decided to head further afield and chose Fire Island which many people had recommended. It took nearly 3 hours each way, by subway, train, bus and ferry, but it was worth the trip. (~$30 each). Fire Island is off Long Island in NY and is a real summer retreat and has a small holiday town vibe. Most of the island is holiday houses ranging from the old beach shack to the modern day mansion and the mode of transport is by golf cart. The beach itself is lovely (except for the random very old guy who is hanging out at the open beach shower) and the water was the best we had experienced so far. This is the beach and lighthouse that is often used in movies - remember Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher at the end of "What happens in Vegas"? I think there is even a Village People Song - see Wiki.
We had a fun time watching everyone shift back because of the incoming tide and then - oops - I got caught too! Everything we had was soaked by a huge wave and I was in a slight compromising position, sans bikini top, as I was currently wrapped in my sarong cleaning out the sand from a recent dumping in the waves!
We finished the afternoon with a drink over the harbour before taking our sunset ferry home.
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