2020 has been a strange, unusual, and downright awful year in so many ways. We have missed holidays and birthdays with our family. In April, we had a drive by (sounds scary doesn’t it?) birthday celebration for our grandson who turned two this year. Celebrations have basically been nonexistent since March.

Part of winter passed, spring passed and most of the summer has now passed. We are already in the second week of August and summer is fading fast. It has begun to get light later in the morning and dark earlier in the evening. Happily, for me and my family, summer has given us some relief from feeling so caged. The most normal outing we have had, since COVID-19 began, has been our weekly visits to the shore. Many people in NJ are abiding by the required mask wearing and abiding by the 6 feet apart social distancing rule, we are basically just trying to be mindful of others. Of course, there are always a few people, who don’t seem to follow the rules, for whatever reason, I don’t understand, they just don’t.

There is something about being at the beach that puts me (and many others it appears) in a good mood. The sound of the waves crashing against the sand, the smell of summer all around me, watching my grandson dig, fill buckets with water to dig more. Watching him run down the beach chasing gulls (with Pap not far behind), basically just being a little boy. Someone who knows nothing bad, just mom, dad, family and good things, only good things. The innocence of being two is so refreshing to watch, as the world basically crumbles around us, he represents hope.

Summer is my favorite time of year, daylight lasts longer, the weather is warm, sunshine most days, and no snow! I thought I would share some of my beach photos, some of what makes me happy, spreading the happiness with you.

The Jersey Shore is basically very flat, some of the beaches (depending on the town) are larger than others, some have boardwalks, some don’t. Whatever the situation, it’s still the Jersey Shore and for as long as I can remember we go “down the shore” not to the beach but, “down the shore”. Those from NJ and the surrounding areas will know exactly what I mean.

With that said, I hope you enjoy my photos, enjoy the remaining summer days, which out of all seasons, seems to go by so much faster than the other seasons, especially winter.

My hope for the remainder of 2020, is that people stop getting sick, that the virus (COVID-19) goes away and does not return. I am being very optimistic, in reality, that most likely will not happen for quite some time. However, we need to do our best to stop the spread, remain safe and follow the guidelines. Even though we may not like the guidelines, it can help save my life and the life of a loved one.

Thanks for following along, until next time . . .