Matt had to go into work for a few hours before we hit the beach, so I went to the Andover Farmer's Market. I ate an entire pint of blueberries by myself! I am addicted to blueberries right now. I consider fresh, local blueberries a highlight of living in Massachusetts.
Walking up to Wingaersheek Beach
Matt was obsessed with getting beach chairs, but we kept forgetting. We finally remembered last weekend, and he was so happy to have a chair.
Yes, I am wearing a dorky beach hat...but my forehead is extremeley sun damaged after spending 2 summers in India. I decided I need to take action...plus, I can totally blend into the New England beach-goer crowd wearing this hat.
It seems like everything I post lately is propaganda for Boston and New England...but it truly is a great place to be in the summer! Last weekend Matt and I went to our favorite beach, Wingaersheek. The sand is relatively clean and white, and it is a smaller beach that doesn't seem to get as crowded as some others we have been to. It is nestled in a little cove with sailboats docked in an adjacent cove, so it is very scenic.
I have to admit, it took me a while to get used to the beaches in Massachussetts. If there is a beach in the US that compares to the beaches we have been to in Asia, I haven't seen it...so I won't even attempt to compare them to Massachusetts beaches. But the beaches here are very different from California beaches. First of all, you have to pay for parking. Most parking rates hover at around 25$. When we first moved here, I was outraged by this....but now I appreciate it. Paying for parking means that the beach is well-maintained and the bathrooms are clean and functional. It also means that there is a cap on the people that are at the beach, because they stop letting people park after a certain number have gone in. On the other hand, paying sort of gives the beaches an elitist feel....you have to have a car and you have to be willing to shell out the money to park. (There are some free beaches, but we found these to be gross and near industrial boats so the water was oily!) If I had a family, I think I would appreciate the parking cost because it means all that the weirdos and perverts aren't at the beach. In San Diego, I had mmen expose themselves to me twice as a child...I don't think it affected me that much but I would hate for it to happen to my kids. On the other hand, without the weirdos, it definitely isn't as exciting or interesting to be at the beach. How exciting can it be to be surrounded by extremely white, preppy New Englanders?
Another difference is the sand...it seems finer here (but also cleaner and more well-maintained). And there are no waves in Massachusetts, at least not that I have seen. It is like swimming in a lake. Also, beaches here often have sand dunes covered with sea grass.
1 comment:
Sounds like the beaches I saw in Maryland and ? that state above M (can't think of name. The government had hauled in eons of sand for preventive measures and it was really lovely.
Dorky hat looks cute.
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