Quick, pick an ocean setting for next summer's national park vacation. Are you heading to the Northeast, the Northwest, or looking South or somewhere else for your destination?
Although I grew up in New Jersey and spent many summer vacations on Long Beach Island, I'm really not a lie-in-the-sand kinda guy. I'd much rather head to Acadia National Park and scramble amid the boulders that make up the coastline, or pedal down the Carriage Roads with the ocean within easy reach, or hike through the pine and hardwood forests to the top of Cadillac Mountain and enjoy the north-to-south panorama of Frenchman Bay and the Gulf of Maine. And, I must admit, I have a weakness for an occasional fresh lobster dinner.
And yet, roaming the cobbled beaches of Olympic National Park with their sea stacks and powerful Pacific rollers, followed by a dinner that features fresh oysters for an appetizer, well, that's not too shabby either. Nor is snorkeling in the warm waters of Virgin Islands National Park, though those colorful reefs are sadly losing their color.
It has been decades since I was to Cape Hatteras National Seashore, but the memory of sand storms still won't fade away. And the fishing wasn't much good, but then, that was no doubt due to operator error, not the location.
Which brings us to this week's Reader Participation Day: If cost were not an issue, which ocean setting is for you and why?
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Comments
There's gotta be one vote for Gulf Islands National Seashore, and specifically the Ft. Pickens area of Santa Rosa Island, across from Pensacola Florida. These are beautiful beaches!
There's nothing quite like seeing the sun set over the western horizon. I saw an incredible sunset at the beach next to Kalaoch Campground at Olympic NP. I've also seen a similar sunset at Limantour Beach at Point Reyes NS.
For a full day I think Point Reyes would be my favorite. One could start off at the visitor center, take a hike with sweeping vistas of the Pacific coast, visit the Point Reyes Lighthouse (maybe a little whale watching), and then get a few dozen oysters at Drakes Bay Oyster Farm and polish them off at a picnic table. If it were a multi-day trip, it could be combined with various trips to Tomales Point for some Tule elk viewing, the Marin Headlands (possibly Rodeo Beach), and some urban exploration at Chrissy Field at the Presidio of San Francisco.
I'd choose the Virgin Islands because I've never been there and I prefer to scuba dive in WARM water.
Since I live in V.I. National Park, that's where I'm headed on my next beach day. But, like Kurt, I grew up going to New Jersey's Long Beach Island, so I know you can't beat that salty tang in the air.
Island Paddler, Surf City, or Beach Haven?
Beach Haven. I did spend some of my younger years farther north in Seaside Park because my aunt had a house there, but once I could drive, Beach Haven it was. I'm from Middlesex County. And you?
Heck, we're practically neighbors. I spent my formative years in Somerset County, just north of Princeton.
Kurt,
I know the area well. I lived in East Windsor for a number of years before setting off in a round about way to move here. I used to ride my bike on the towpath up there and spent considerable amount of time in Princeton going to the movies and what not.
It really is a small world and getting smaller thanks to the Internet.