For the feet people

(My feet at the Jersey shore.  September 2008.)

Why isn’t there a special name for the tops of your feet?

~ Lily Tomlin

Well, you know, I had to do it.  I can’t go to the beach without including a post with my feet when I return.  Besides, it’s good for the hit count.  Heh.

I think I need a new pose, though.  This one is getting old.  It’s hard to tell one beach-feet photo from another.  I thought about trying to capture my feet in the water, but there are far too many good reasons to keep my camera away from the water.  (My natural klutziness is the #1 reason.)

For those not familiar with my feet, it all started here.

M and I did manage to have a nice time at the Jersey shore.  The weather was mostly great.  We even had some hot days which made swimming in the Atlantic Ocean refreshing and more enjoyable.  The ocean temperature wasn’t too bad.  It was in the lower 70’s.  That’s downright hot compared to the Pacific.  Quite a few people commented on how the water was warmer in September then it had been all summer.

Tropical storm Hanna (which we experienced — in force — on our way there) left the sea choppy with some rip currents during our first few days.  Around the middle of our second week the ocean was very calm, with waves too small to even body surf in.  I enjoyed it both ways, swimming no matter what.  I did get thrown to the bottom by a big wave once, but that’s part of the thrill of swimming in the ocean.

(It should be noted that we were swimming at a guarded beach, meaning there was a lifeguard present.  It should also be noted that I’m a good swimmer, and I know what to do if dragged out by a rip current.  Been there, done that.  The main thing is:  Don’t Panic.)

After Labor Day is the second season at the Jersey shore.  Not all of the businesses were open, but a good many of them were.  Lifeguards, as noted above, are present in some spots until the end of September.  We were fortunate that one of those spots was close to where we were staying.  They’re pretty widely spaced out during the second season.

M and I did a little hiking around the marshes and dunes (on marked trails), enjoyed a couple of sunrises, sat on the beach to watch the full moon rise, collected a few shells, and went to the boardwalk a couple of times.  We rode on the big ferris wheel.  I took a turn on the bumper boats with a friend (fun, but would have been more fun if we hadn’t been the only two people out there). We bought a big bucket of Johnson’s Carmel Popcorn and had frozen custard at Kohr Bros’s.

We missed out on Mack & Manco’s Pizza and boardwalk fries (there are numerous places on the boardwalk for fries, Curly Fries being one of the more popular).  It’s not that we didn’t want to have pizza and/or fries.  It’s just that we went to the boardwalk at night, usually after a good dinner.

I like Ocean City, New Jersey, especially during the second season when it’s not crowded yet the weather and water are still fine.  I’d like to go again someday.  Hopefully we won’t wait another 10 years before our next visit.