Photo by My Father
Muffy Aldrich's SALT WATER NEW ENGLAND

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Favorite kind of Beach?


A reader question:

I have a question.  Do the readers have a preference for the beaches on the New England coast or the Southern coast?

I always like the rocky beaches in the New England area to the beaches when I went to Florida.  Sorry if I offended anyone.

I have a feeling what is going to win out.  Just wondering what people think.

Thank you.

43 comments:

  1. The solution to your dilemma is the Cape Cod National Seashore. From Nauset Beach in Orleans just outside the Seashore, to Race Point Beach at the tip of the Cape, you have New England Atlantic Ocean beaches that are sandy, but are not Southern. The Labrador Current keeps the waters cold.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree! I like sandy beaches, but with cold water. Which means New England and in practical terms, the Cape.

      Yep, been to Florida beaches, and ones on the Guffa Mexico (Texas), but it's the Cape for me.

      Delete
    2. Bingo! You can’t beat “the dunes on the Cape.”

      Delete
  2. I grew up in Connecticut and now live on Isle of Palms (SC). I vist my Dad at his permanent home in Sarasota and his summer place on Martha's Vineyard. The beaches in the SE are much better than in New England. Not even close.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My short answer is that I love being at the beach, no matter what it looks like. You can find beaches with rocks and shells anywhere - Maine, the Vineyard, Delaware, Sanibel. Likewise, there are great sandy beaches in parts of Maine, Cape Cod, most of southern New Jersey, and Florida’s east coast.

    ReplyDelete
  4. New England beaches are nice to look at but the beaches from south Jersey and below are better for swimming and sunning. I suspect this is a minority opinion but I like walking along a boardwalk/promenade. Great for looking out into the sea as well as people watching (not to mention having soft serve ice cream and other tasty treats). I have been going to Cape May, New Jersey all my life so I am a bit biased.

    JRC

    ReplyDelete
  5. North of, and along the limit of continental glaciation the beaches will consist mostly of sand, pebbles, and stones, punctuated by the occasional boulder. South of the limit of glaciation, just about all of the beaches are plain sand, however they vary in mineral composition.

    ReplyDelete
  6. To think of Florida as the “south” is not correct. Florida is a state unto itself. North Carolina especially has the most desirable beaches, as it is situated the farthest east and thus closest to the Gulf Stream. This lends itself to world class fishing and seafood. I too grew up in Connecticut, and Long Island Sound is generally dirty and not good for beach combing .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A friend was from Florida at the University of Alabama. She was never allowed to claim to be a southerner. Her sorority sisters called her Yankee. Kind of like how, as far as I can tell, you have to be third generation to call yourself a Mainer.

      Delete

  7. I think it depends on what you like. If you just want sunning and swimming, North Carolina and South Carolina beaches are great. They are large and sandy and right on the Atlantic. For the most part, there is plenty of room to spread out, especially at the Outer Banks.

    But they're so - well - flat.

    I am a Southerner, and I much prefer the beaches in New England. Since I'm not an ocean swimmer, I don't need big sandy beaches.

    I prefer the visual aspect of the rocky shoreline and the hills and interesting terrain. I swoon when I see rocky cliffs. So I vote for the beaches up north because they are much more picturesque. To me, anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Growing up on New York's Long Islands south shore I thought all of our nations beaches had water this cold. It wasn't until much later when during a visit to north Florida that I realized there was warmer water.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I avoid the pebbly ones and any that have a reputation for quicksand !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quicksand? On a beach?

      Maybe I was just lucky, but I don't recall ever having suddenly sunk up to my eyebrows on any New England beach.

      Anyway - All Beaches Matter (with that slogan could I start a scam so I can buy a six million dollar house?)

      Delete
  10. New England all the way!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sea Island, GA! Enough said.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The Red Neck Rivera from Pensacola to Panama City has the prettiest beaches in the country but I also like the beaches from Cape Ann through Maine and LaJolla beaches will always be special.

    ReplyDelete
  13. There should be white sand, framing rocks and some focal point. Cape Ann has several good ones, Lighthouse Beach being the ne plus ultra.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Choose a beach? It's like choosing my favorite child? Impossible!

    ReplyDelete
  15. The rocky beaches of Sakonnet, RI!

    ReplyDelete
  16. We love the rocky,cobble beaches of offshore Maine islands and make a point of cruising there each summer. But I grew up on the Cape so the outer dunes and kettle ponds have a special place in memory. Next week I'm driving to Virginia and back all along the coast so will stop in at many favorite beaches from Maryland to the Cape. We also lived in Charleston and Savannah for twenty plus years and were amazed how few took their boats out to the barrier island beaches in late fall, winter and early spring. It seemed like Labor Day signaled the beginning of 'football, bourbon and basketball season'. No one went out anymore until Memorial Day. I remember taking our children and bikes out to ride Wassaw beaches on New Year's day. No boats or people in sight anywhere.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Having lived in New England as well as down south for awhile, I prefer the long stretches of sandy beaches in North Carolina. Many types of beaches are beautiful, though.

    ReplyDelete
  18. ...S...A...N...D...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ... AND, T-o-w-e-r-I-n-g D-u-n-e-s. Thank you.

      Delete
  19. I'm from Charleston, SC. Have lived in New England for the past 13 years. The beaches in the southeast blow any beach NE can offer out of the water.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The beach is already out of the water. That's how it got to be a beach.

      Delete
    2. Perhaps the sand is better. And maybe the water is warmer, but they are not New England beaches. Even so it is New England which to some makes it much better.

      Delete
  20. My favorite beach of all? The Great Beach on Roque Island in Maine. A mile of soft white sand. Unfortunately it has been "discovered." I loved it as a kid in the sixties and took friends there a few years ago. It wasn't the deserted paradise it used to be, but is still loved by those who cruise the Maine coast; and before GPS reaching it entitled the captain to brag about navigating there in the fog.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Crane Beach in Ipswich, MA

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'm lying in bed in Connecticut dreaming about South Carolina's Grand Strand.

    ReplyDelete
  23. My favorite type of beach is a quiet beach. In the residential sections of Palm Beach, FL you can take a walk in the evening along the ocean and have no one within 200 yards of you. Such a treat!

    ReplyDelete
  24. You can walk on the beach in the residential section of Truro Mass and have no one within 2 miles of you.

    ReplyDelete
  25. The Clothing Option kind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes.

      Years ago, my wife and I visited the Club Med at Buccaneer's Creek in Martinique where we ran into such a bare beach. And let me tell you, unlike today's controversies, there was definitely no confusion as to which gender each person belonged to. (Since there were only two categories on plain display it was easy.)

      Delete
    2. Who was talking about gender ?

      Delete
    3. If I'm not mistaken, it kind of looks like I was. Anyway, have a nice gender day.

      Delete
    4. Wishing you the ability to grow some new neural pathways.

      Delete
    5. The proliferation of new neural pathways would make of life a beach.

      Delete
    6. Yes it would. Such a nice thought !

      Delete
    7. Oh, you witty dog, you.

      Delete
    8. Yes he/she is.

      Delete
  26. NC beaches cannot be beat, especially EI

    ReplyDelete

Comments are moderated.