Being the beach lover that I am, I find it hard to say goodbye to summer. Living as I do in the Northeast, my days of beach-going usually last just past Labor Day or the middle of September. I paid the ocean one last visit a couple of weekends ago when I went to visit a friend in Sag Harbor on the eastern end of Long Island. After kayaking in the bay in the morning, we drove to our favorite beach in Amagansett – Atlantic Ave Beach. The sky was bright blue and crystal clear and even though it was late in the day and there had been a chill in the air by the bay earlier, the sun on the beach felt warm against my skin. The colors of the water, the sky and the beach were vivid and vibrant – much more so than in the middle of summer when the humidity often casts a gauzy haze over the seascape. But on that day, everything was super focused, sharp and clear, making sure that picture would remain with me throughout the rest of the year.
It must have known that this was my final visit for the year because the ocean put on the most spectacular show! Huge waves, curling perfectly and then crashing down in perfectly timed sets performed a magnificent dance. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I must have taken over 200 photos in the hour and a half that I was there! And way too soon it was time to leave the beach and that glorious ocean and head back to the city and towards a new season. But the ocean remains. It will continue to dance throughout the year, and while I may not be there for each performance, I will remember this last one until I return next summer.