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Reader Participation Day: Are You An East Coast, West Coast, or Gulf Coast National Seashore Person?

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Published Date

September 16, 2009

What's it gonna be, warm waters and white sands, boulders and cold spray, or something else? Top photo by NPT file photo, bottom photo NPS.

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

Submitted by admin on September 16, 2009 - 8:47pm.

Surf up Dudes!!! Living in the central valley of California, its just a couple of hours to hit all of the beaches up and down the California coast. You've got to love all of the variety that is offered. San Francisco Bays sights, Montereys history and fishing, L.A.'s sunbathers and muscle beach at Malibu and Venice. Did I mention Highway 1 and the 17-mile drive along Pebble Beach, the most scenic drives in the world? Also, we've got the sunsets.....


Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on September 16, 2009 - 9:16pm.

Bruce, dude, it's gotta be in a national park! Can you zoom in on one?


Submitted by admin on September 16, 2009 - 9:38pm.

Kurt,
I'm so sorry man....
I forgot to turn around to look at Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks. All just minutes away. The world never looks better than when your on top of Half Dome.


Submitted by admin on September 16, 2009 - 10:47pm.

My vote is Cape Hatteras; especially at night. I don't go for the tan and cheap beer - I go for the wild scenery, critter spotting, and stargazing. You can't beat a Perseid meteor shower viewed from these beaches. And to be among the first to beachcomb just after the tide goes out - I've found some real treasures!

P.S. My captcha for tonight: "12 infrared". Now that's hot!


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