Leaving The City Behind - On the way to Sandy Hook
I think the word Staycation is a bit awkward, and in fact I’m not one person to have a “Staycation” because the way I live my life when I’m at home I’m exploring the city. I’m always looking for new things to do, and see, but on holiday weekends I always get anxious if I’m in the city when the rest of the population has left town. Since I just spent close to three weeks in Scotland I wasn’t really able to get up and leave this labor day weekend, but I wanted to improve on my tan base. Also being in Scotland made this the whitest August in my life, but I think I’ve made up for lost time.
I was given Friday off of work and wanted to take the opportunity to go to the beach but I wasn’t sure which one. I wanted a clean beach, one far away from waffle fries, margarita drinking, and trash floating around in the sky. In a small word I wanted to get away from Coney Island, didn’t want to go to Long Beach, and already went to Montauk once. I remembered hearing something about a ferry to Sandy Hook Beach in Jersey. I have a very clear memory of going to Sandy Hook as a girl scout, and our troop leader had led us astray to the nude beach. I was ten, and I sat watching in awe of a team of naked old men playing volleyball. That was my memory of Sandy Hook, but I wanted to give it a second chance.
I google information on Sandy Hook and saw that you could take a ferry from Pier 11 and in a half hour, after breathtaking views of the Verrazano bridge you were dropped off at Fort Hancock to explore the land of Sandy Hook. To say I was hooked would be an inappropriate attempt at a joke, but I was, and I was determined to go on Friday. To my happy surprise I was able to find a coupon for the boat trip. Round trip fare (including entrance to the beach) is normally $43 round trip, and extra five dollars will allow you to bring your bike on board, but with the coupon I payed only $30! Amazing really. I was siked. I got down to Pier eleven with seven minutes to spare. Everything I had read said you must buy your ticket from the agent at Pier 11. So I got there with my backpack and silly morning grin and asked for a round trip to Sandy Hook. The woman behind the counter must have been having a bad day she said in a mono tone voice, “Must Buy Your Ticket on the boat.” ”Do they take cards?” ”No.” I had five minutes to spare and she told me that the closest cash machine was two blocks away. I had woken up early for this trip, earlier than I do on most days for work, and I was not going to miss the boat. I ran. I ran to Duane Reade and even let it go that I would have to pay a fee to use the cash machine. First attempt, failed. I had about two minutes. I took a deep breath and tried again. Cash in hand I ran to the boat as they were boarding the last two people. The man was happily surprised to see my coupon saying I was the only one to use one in a month. Super exciting. The problem with the ferry on the weekdays is there are two ferrys to the island, at 9am and 1130am but only one ferry back at 4:15pm. I didn’t think it would be worth getting on the island at noon only to have to turn around four hours later, so I was very happy when I made the 9am ferry.
View From The Ferry
The ride over was very peaceful. I felt almost like how I felt when I took the ferry from Sydney to Manly in Australia. I was excited, and watched the city disappear before my eyes. We went past Governors Island, Brooklyn, Staten. There were small enchanted lighthouses bobbing in the water, the sky was blue and crisp. September air had arrived being a bit chilly in the morning and heating up mid-afternoon. Once we made it to the island a school bus was waiting to take us to the public beach areas. The nude beach was closed due to the hurricane, so I would not be reliving my Girl Scout memories.
This is Where The Ferry Drops You Off. Seems a bit dodgy at first.
I got off at Section E with about ten other people, and decided to rent a chair. I had some work to do, I always combine work with pleasure since I don’t really understand how to relax, and moved down the beach a bit. For the first two hours the beach was desolate. Calm, clean, and the air blue with the sun beating down. It was the perfect day. Sometime around 1230pm the beach started to fill up so I decided to take a long walk down the beach. A truck driver named Al started talking to me as I walked. The one thing I can’t stand is when I’m in my own zone and someone comes in to pop that bubble. I didn’t want to be rude because he was just trying to be nice, but the Columbian truck driver would not stop talking. His main topic of conversation was how sad he was that Garrison Beach (The Nude Beach) was closed due to weather conditions. Apparently he was a regular at this beach and was determined to walk there. After a bit of small talk, and the offer for dinner in Jersey City, I was finally able to shake Al the innocent, yet doesn’t get a hint, truck driver, I turned around and made my way back to Section E.
This is Where the School Bus Takes You. Beautiful!
The Ocean was friendly, the waves a bit strong, I swam for a minute, and the best part was I felt so far removed from the city. For only $30 I was able to have a cruise, stay on a beach, and have a full day removed from the city. I’m not sure why in the eight years I’ve lived here I have never taken this Ferry out to Sandy Hook. It’s open until September 30th so I think I might have to venture out again. On the way back we went past all the bridges and the ferry dropped us off at 34th street. I just had a short fifteen minute walk to the seven train and was back in Sunnyside by dinner.
What a magical day. I now understand what a Staycation means, because I really felt like I was on vacation. I didn’t want the feeling to end, and knowing that today I have five-hour Webisode Meeting in Brooklyn (You’re doing work on a holiday weekend? - That was said to me by a shocked co-worker.) I decided that I needed to continue to work on my tan. In Long Island City there is a park called Gantry Plaza state park. I discovered it right about the time I started writing this blog. On Monday I had walked down there just to check it out and it has expanded to include a little Snack Shack, Hammocks, Seats beneath weeping willow trees, and peach and quite. I decided to continue this Staycation yesterday, and walked down to Gantry Plaza with my bathing suit on, and I scored a hammock. For the first two hours I just layed in that hammock listening to Neil Diamond and forgetting I was only a forty minute walk from my apartment. I moved from hammock to lounge chair, getting some work done, but also just realizing how much I do love this city.
I went for a walk along the board walk and made the decision to stay until the sunset. I ate ice cream, stopped at a cafe for two hours, and went back out to Gantry to watch the sunset over the city. It’s been a magical two days, and now I have to drag myself to a work meeting. I would rather continue my adventures and go to the beach today with my friends, but I know that great things are happening in my career so I need to keep moving forward. Below are some pictures from my Staycation. I hope wherever you are reading this you’re enjoying your Labor Day weekend. I also think you should keep the feeling of this weekend throughout the year. We often immediately snap back into serious work mode come the first week after Labor Day. But why be serious when every weekend can be a Staycation. Enjoy the second half of this Labor Day. Thanks for reading! Amye!!
