Rockaway, Queens, NY
When you think of New York City, you probably don't immediately think of wide, sandy beaches. But in fact, there are any number of beaches here in the city and on Saturday we had the pleasure of venturing out to Jacob Riis Park Beach in Queens on one of the most incredibly perfect beach days we've has to date this summer. We are indeed lucky to have two car-owning friends, both of whom live in Queens just across the East River from us, and we were fortunate enough to get invited along on this weekend beach excursion!
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| Jacob Riis Park Beach in Rockaway, Queens, NY. Photo by Brian Gist |
Our friend, Steve, had planned to go on this particular day because there were a couple of bands scheduled to play on a stage set up near the boardwalk/concession area as part of the Riis Park Beach Bazaar that he wanted to see. The rest of us decided to tag along just to enjoy a day out of the city lounging in the sand and maybe getting our feet wet.
I was initially skeptical about what we might find upon our arrival at the park, especially after a recent visit to Coney Island in Brooklyn, where the sandy was so dark, rough and pebbly that we weren't even tempted to walk on it, instead sticking the the wooden boardwalk. I'll admit, growing up on the idyllic, soft, white sand beaches of Lake Michigan has made me into a bit of a beach snob, but as it turned out I was pleasantly surprised. The sand was relatively soft and clean and we were even able to rent large, colorful beach umbrellas to protect us from the scorching July rays. The waves were just the right size (for someone who is not an ocean-swimmer like me) and the water seemed safe and clean enough. We all thoroughly enjoyed splashing in the highly salty, yet cool and refreshing waves (it made me think of swimming in a liquid pretzel!) after racing down to the water's edge on the hot, hot sand.
It was a wonderful day out with friends that we hope to be able to repeat before the summer wanes and eventually fades into autumn!
Photos:
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| Brian and Scott showed up in matching outfits... |
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| ...And Caroline and Richelle were both sporting basic black bikinis! |
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| "Really??? There's sand in my cup already???" |
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| Loving the beach! |
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| A jumbo bag of Pirate's Booty and bootleg fruit punch Nutcrackers in Greek paper coffee cups is what NYC beachgoing is all about! |
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| Richelle, the Queen of Selfies... |
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| ...Strikes again! |
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| I'm anxiously awaiting my knitted hat from Michael for Christmas |
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| Beach bunnies |
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| The boardwalk. Photo by Steve Rink |
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| Trying on Richelle's sunglasses for size |
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| Longtime pals, Steve and Brian. Photo by Steve Rink |
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| Lounging with Richelle and Steve. Photo by Richelle Gist. |
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| Post-swim selfie! Photo by Richelle Gist. |
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| Watching the band "Beverly" up on the boardwalk. Photo by Steve Rink. |
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| Michael enjoyed the snow from the hammock he managed to snag. Photo by Steve Rink. |
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| Who doesn't love a summer beach day?! Photo by Steve Rink. |
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