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.
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.
ReplyDeleteAgree! I like sandy beaches, but with cold water. Which means New England and in practical terms, the Cape.
DeleteYep, been to Florida beaches, and ones on the Guffa Mexico (Texas), but it's the Cape for me.
Bingo! You can’t beat “the dunes on the Cape.”
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteMy 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.
ReplyDeleteNew 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.
ReplyDeleteJRC
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.
ReplyDeleteTo 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 .
ReplyDeleteA 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.
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ReplyDeleteI 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.
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.
ReplyDeleteI avoid the pebbly ones and any that have a reputation for quicksand !
ReplyDeleteQuicksand? On a beach?
DeleteMaybe 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?)
New England all the way!
ReplyDeleteSea Island, GA! Enough said.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Jekyll !
DeleteThe 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.
ReplyDeleteThere should be white sand, framing rocks and some focal point. Cape Ann has several good ones, Lighthouse Beach being the ne plus ultra.
ReplyDeleteChoose a beach? It's like choosing my favorite child? Impossible!
ReplyDeleteThe rocky beaches of Sakonnet, RI!
ReplyDeleteWe 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.
ReplyDeleteHaving 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...S...A...N...D...
ReplyDelete... AND, T-o-w-e-r-I-n-g D-u-n-e-s. Thank you.
DeleteI'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.
ReplyDeleteThe beach is already out of the water. That's how it got to be a beach.
DeletePerhaps 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.
DeleteMy 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.
ReplyDeleteCrane Beach in Ipswich, MA
ReplyDeleteI'm lying in bed in Connecticut dreaming about South Carolina's Grand Strand.
ReplyDeleteMy 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!
ReplyDeleteYou can walk on the beach in the residential section of Truro Mass and have no one within 2 miles of you.
ReplyDeleteThe Clothing Option kind.
ReplyDeleteYes.
DeleteYears 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.)
Who was talking about gender ?
DeleteIf I'm not mistaken, it kind of looks like I was. Anyway, have a nice gender day.
DeleteWishing you the ability to grow some new neural pathways.
DeleteThe proliferation of new neural pathways would make of life a beach.
DeleteYes it would. Such a nice thought !
DeleteOh, you witty dog, you.
DeleteYes he/she is.
DeleteNC beaches cannot be beat, especially EI
ReplyDelete