Beach, Baby

July 8....time to dredge up some favorite girlhood beach memories.

1. "The Barnacle," Far Rockaway, NY. Sis was a young teen in a two-piece and my family, always good with nicknames, joked among ourselves that the cute little raven-haired boy who met her that day and kept clinging to her in the water should have a name. Hence, the Barnacle.

2. Delta Dawn, Ship Bottom, NJ. I don't know the year, but I'll never forget the feeling of driving in my Uncle Jack's and Aunt Mary's big, boaty car, while Delta Dawn was on the radio, and my cousins Theresa and Loretta were singing along.

3. Jellyfish stings, Beach Haven, NJ. My whole body from the neck down felt prickly, even after I took an outdoor shower. Yet have always considered it a blessing that I did not know I was getting stung at the time. Don't remember if my Mom had any ointment to soothe me.

4. Pool hopping, Beach Haven. My friend Carole and her family went for the whole summer to their house there, and Carole took me pool-hopping. This involved leaving the beach and taking dips in the hotel pools near the ocean. Probably among the most daring things I've ever done. I know, I've led a dull life. But no regrets on that count.

5. High school bus trips, Seaside, NJ. I think they were sponsored by the CYO [Catholic Youth Organization]. I don't remember the beach, but I do remember the introduction to Jersey Shore boardwalk cuisine: Kohr's orange cream custard, in a perfect frosty twist [pictured above*]; giant triangles of pizza; sausage and peppers.

6. Week with the girls, Seaside. We had just graduated from high school, and our mothers actually let us rent a room at a motel for a week. It was Moey, me, Tish, Clare, Susan and Debbie. We took turns making dinner, ate out once, went on the rides, baked in the sun, met boys who were cute. They weren't noticing me, but they were still cute.

7. Wave wipeouts, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. My Rutgers friend John's family has a shore home there, and one summer day, I met John and his friend Marcus on the beach. We went in the water, and it was rough--as in, you barely got up off your knees before you got knocked back down. We were joking that love can be that way, too--knocking you over ruthlessly and then you have to pick yourself up and face forward again.

*I consider the photo above a true work of art. Here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32719556@N00/2768561086. The photo is credited to mintyfreshflavor and was taken in August 2008. Go, Minty.