Getaway Guide: Fantasy Beaches
Coney Island in the 1940s. Now there was a beach. You and a million of your closest friends could park a picnic on the sand and find someone else's hand in the basket -- it was that crowded.
Later, I found real beaches where you could walk a football field all alone; there was solitude, tropical breezes and sheer pleasure to be had in the isolated sound of the rolling surf.
But beaches are many things to many people. Some enjoy the "in-town" beach where fine restaurants and great bars reside, or the quiet beach with its own surfside eatery, or a pleasant beach to ride a horse. Here are a few of my favorites for both those staying near home or traveling abroad this summer. – Jay Lloyd
CAPE MAY POINT STATE PARK
Cape May Point, NJ 08212
www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/capemay.html
Close to home, the long, gently curving beach at Cape May Point has been my favorite shore spot for over 50 years. The ocean may have encroached on the sand, but little else has changed. For all its expanse, it remains a quiet, passive recreation oasis. There's little for children to do here -- no arcades, rides or min-golf. It attracts fishermen, birders, artists and sun-seeking adults. It is also one of the rare shore beaches that are free, and it offers well-tended public restrooms.
SITGES, SPAIN
If you're vacationing in Barcelona, Spain this summer, you'll find wonderful beaches both in town and within a short bus ride. But to get the full flavor of a Spanish town with beach attitude that's a world apart from a metropolitan environment, take a short trip by rail. The Mediterranean coastal town of Sitges is a 45 minute train ride from central Barcelona. Here, you'll find a broad, not overcrowded beach, a palm-lined shoreside walkway, boat rentals and a walkable town that holds a solid variety of restaurants and bars.
PLEASANT BAY, NOVA SCOTIA
Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island, NS
www.pleasantbay.cabottrail.com
It may seem odd to head this far north to find a beach, but when you reach Pleasant Bay on a clockwise drive around Cape Breton Island and scan the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the heights of the Cabot Trail, you may not want to leave. Everyone in this fishing and lobstering village seems to have the same last names, and your dinner is rarely more than a few hours out of the water. The beach may have a few more surf burnished pebbles than the sandy carpets at the Jersey shore, but you'll find enjoyment in strolling or just gulf gazing as lobster boats head for shore and whales break the distant surface of the water.
ELBOW BEACH SURF CLUB
Bermuda
www.elbowbeachbermuda.com
When my apartment in Hamilton, Bermuda would get too warm for sleep, I'd head for a cave on an isolated beach and snooze there with a cooling ocean breeze. Not many secluded Bermuda beaches are left these days, but if you want to enjoy the breeze and a memorable lunch right at surfside, Elbow Beach is the place. A short cab or moped ride from Hamilton and you're sitting at Mickey's, a casual yet elegant beach eatery with a view of green water and pink sand. After lunch, take a stroll.
CANEEL BAY
St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
www.caneelbay.com
Caneel Bay is one of the most enjoyable beaches under the American flag. It is largely a resort established over 60 years ago by the Rockefeller family. Much of the land is a national park with incomparable scuba diving, a picture postcard beach and a resort restaurant that serves up one of the best buffets in the Caribbean. If you're sailing in, there's a spot at the dock for your dinghy, or you can swim ashore. You can also reach Caneel Bay by ferry from nearby St. Thomas. Spring and summertime prices are considered off-season, but the weather is ideal.
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TEXAS
Few area vacationers think of South Padre Island, located near Brownsville, Texas. Most of the folks you'll meet here, especially in winter, seem to be from Canada and Wisconsin. But the southern part of the island is a unique blend of Texas and nearby Mexico. It's broad beaches are ideal for horseback riding and you can even rent dune buggies for a cruise along the surf. Eateries at this gulf coast hideaway focus on fin food. There's at least one restaurant where you can fish off the back deck and they cook up whatever you catch -- for a pan fee, of course. Happy hour starts and noon and then migrates from bar to bar.
It's definitely flip-flop time!
