This past weekend, I hopped in my jeep and made the 540 mile trip from North Carolina to Long Island, NY. There is still something indescribable- almost majestic about driving over the Verrazano and seeing the outline of Manhattan to your left…But I digress.
One of the things I love to do when I’m home in New York and so close to the ocean is go to the beach. A few nights ago, I asked my Dad if he would mind digging my bike out of the shed. I had it set in my mind that I would ride my bike from my house down to Jones Beach and back- and that’s exactly what I did.
Up With the Sun
I chose to take my bike ride around 5:30 in the morning on Memorial Day. The streets were quiet as a pedaled the 9.5 miles from my house to the bike rack at Jones beach. On my way there, I crossed over a few bridges and was fortunate enough to see the sun rising over the water. It was absolutely beautiful, and several times on my trip, I wished that I had brought my camera. Once I ended at the bike rack, rather than turn around right away and head back, I locked it up and began jogging across Field 5 down to the ocean shore.
I wound up running for a short 30 minute run along the beach where I saw gentlemen with their metal detectors looking for hidden treasures below the sand. As I kept running, I encountered other people fishing off the shore. There was a photographer with a gigantic camera who had paused for a moment to have a conversation with someone on his cell phone, and other older couples walked silently on bare feet by the water occasionally stopping to pick up seashells.
I wished to myself that I could enjoy more runs like these- more days filled with peace and tranquility…where you don’t have to deal with the hustle and bustle of cars crowding streets and impatient people rushing through department stores…I think all of us need to make an appointment with the ocean- even if it’s just to feel the gentle crush of sand beneath our toes 🙂
Who heeds the waste abyss of possibility? The ocean is everywhere the same, but it has no character until seen with the shore or the ship. -Ralph Waldo Emerson