As I make this journey along the sea today, this my second walk on the southern half of Sandy Hook, I reflect deeply on how life gives so much inspiration and beauty and hope to us, and yet it can take away also, from dashed hopes and dreams to people loved and lost. But life is a gift to be cherished, and we must remember that we arrive each day with open hands,
awaiting to see what the day holds. This is how I approach my journey along the sea, with open mind and open heart, awaiting to discover the treasures God reveals along each beach I walk, both literally and metaphorically.

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The Jersey Shore has so much history. It would take volumes of books to even begin to put it all in print. This book is in no way an attempt to be a history book. This book is simply a photographer's trek along the entire coast of the Jersey Shore to see what the shoreline and its Creator has to reveal to him.

The photographer being me. The revelations already delightful.

One of the things I have realized already is how undeveloped, desolate, and wild the shoreline of Sandy Hook is just two weeks after Labor Day. This is incredibly welcome by me. Not a soul around for the next several miles, trees and dunes to my right, sand before and after me, and the ocean roaring to my left. And yet, just mere miles behind me, is the view of one of the greatest metropolises in the history of humankind, New York City.

It’s all so fascinating, the contrast. You could walk Sandy Hook Beach on foggy days as I did and have no idea that there is a major city just a few miles across the bight. But not today. The buildings and structures are in plain sight to the naked eye.

It is not nearly as hot today as my first, northern walk in Sandy Hook was last week. A strong cool wind blows from the northeast, chopping up the waves as it races across the sea. The waves are relentless, loud, and inspiring. If the ocean was waveless in its existence, it would be quite boring, frankly. Like bejeweled crowns adorning a queen’s head, it is the waves that give the ocean its majesty and have created its lore and mystique. As I walk along, I feel as though the ocean is flexing its muscles today. The waves are swift and strong curling towards the beach like giant white-capped fists battering against the sand.

Sandy Hook really is a treasure trove for photographers. There are so many picturesque scenes up and down its coast, and that’s just on the Atlantic side. Inland and all the way across to the bay, there is so much to see and write about and photograph—from the history of the former Fort Hancock barracks, to the chapel, seals, crags and coves along the shoreline of the bay, there is so much to see and take in. But I have already determined that for the vast majority of this journey, I will be vigilant to keep my walk (and photographs) to the Jersey Shore coastline along the Atlantic. This steadfast focus will help me to stay focused and not be pulled in many directions all over the place with the bays and rivers and other artifacts of the Jersey Shore, as it will all be too much for a single book. So instead, I keep my walk to the Atlantic shoreline, though there will at times be exceptions, like my visit to the lighthouse last weekend, which is further inland. This book is called A Walk Along the Jersey Shore for a reason: I am walking the shoreline of New Jersey, and the shore alone.

I stop at a large driftwood trunk laying on its side at a maritime forrest to rest and write. The waves... I just can’t stop staring at them today, taking their ferocious beauty in as I drink my water and eat my protein bar. I finish off my snack and take a sip of my drink, put in a new roll of film, and shove off. I pick up my walk once again continuing south, with the gate entrance to Sandy Hook a few miles away- my final destination. It’s a long, strenuous walk, and an isolating one, as there is not a sole to be found this Friday afternoon. And it is wonderful. After bearing with the mobs of people all summer, it is such a refreshing delight to have an entire beach to myself for as far as the eye can see.

Oh and let me tell you another rare, welcome respite for the weary shore local. For about two miles of the walk there is zero development anywhere the eye can see. Just ocean, beach grass, dunes, and maritime forrest. It is intriguing to imagine the entire Jersey Shore once being like this even a hundred years ago, before we developed the shore within an inch of its life. Let me tell you, the beach left in its natural surroundings with no buildings or parking lots is an incredible sight to behold. It may make some people feel uneasy with what seems like no civilization around. But for others, like me, it is a symphony for the senses. I truly wish we had the foresight to restrain ourselves and leave more of nature to exist along our coastline. Our lives are so much more enrich when there is nature to share it with.

I continue on, and start seeing people up ahead on the beach, as there is apparently a pathway that leads to a parking lot. I need to get my bearings, so I ask a husband and wife fishing duo, Ben and Katie, what parking lot letter I was at. Hoping to hear "B”, which would be close to Lot A which is next to the the entrance, it turned out I was still only at D. Still a ways to go! Thank you so much for helping me out though, Ben and Katie! With high tide coming in, I’m forced to retreat back from the ocean and more onto the softer sand. Typically I try to avoid the softer sand because the sand away from the ocean shifts more under my feet as I trod along. This is making travel more difficult, and I have bad knees. This is also why I always try to time my walks with low tides, as the sand is firmest where the ocean had just been before receding with the tide. But I am delighted to discover that due to the strong winds, the sand is packed firmer than usual. And let me tell you how sensational the windswept sand looks! As the wind from the north barrels down on the beach, the sand is caught up in its embrace and races along with it, in an exhilarating dance of freedom.

I finally arrive at Lot A. I sit down to catch a breather, drink some water, and rest my legs. After a four mile hike on the beach with my twenty-five pound backpack, my calves and knees are screaming. Now I have a four mile bike ride back into the headwinds racing to my car against the setting sun. I do stop a couple more times to take a few photos of the gorgeous sunsetting sky over the bay, but quickly get back on my bike to race against the oncoming darkness. Just as the sun dips behind the horizon, I arrive at my car, and get my bike onto the bike rack on my Subaru. I turn the ignition, point my car west, and head to the Mule Tavern in Sandy Hook for supper. Unfortunately for me, it is packed and they are not taking any more people for the waiting list. I am honestly very happy for them. I love to see local mom and pop establishments succeed.

I am famished after the long day though, and still need to find a place to eat. I get back in my car, point it south and go all the way down Sandy Hook into Sea Bright to find supper. It is completely dark out at this point, but the streets of Sea Bright are alive with cars and pedestrians. I park my car, make my way to a less crowded pub, and settle in for an hour of eating solo and reflecting on the day. I am having a fantastic cod fish sandwich at Rory’s Pub, while hosting a live Ask Me Anything on my phone with the followers of my Portraits of the Jersey Shore Facebook page. I highly recommend the restaurant. The AMA goes splendidly well. When I finally arrive at home, I spend time with my family and dogs before tucking in for an outstanding night’s sleep. There is no rest better than the slumber of a soul that has spent the day at the beach. I can still hear the waves from the day as they lull me to sleep.

Next week, I walk the beach of Sea Bright.