Sea isle City 2015

For once, I think procrastination actually paid.  A grey November afternoon makes those beach days all the sweeter.   So slightly insincere apologies for taking so long to post these photos!

This year I was learning to use my new camera and managed to take 558 photos -- I honestly don't really know how that happened.  Luckily for you, I will be even more ruthless than usual and edit relentlessly.

Sea Isle, as I've said before, always manages to have something new.  This year we were there a week later than usual and beach reclamation was well underway.  This meant giant sand piles, construction equipment, pipes, fencing, and sand rigs on the horizon.

It was very windy again this year, and you can see the sand blowing in the first two photos.  

 A nasty side effect of beach reclamation is that the sand the rigs suck up from the seabed is full of crushed -- and very sharp -- shell shards.  Not fun for strolling on.

I had a lot of fun trying out the sport setting on my new camera.  Mostly on birds.  I took a LOT of bird photos:

Serene birds:

Angry birds:

Running birds:

 Small birds:

 Illuminated birds:

 And lots of birds in flight:

And fear not -- I photographed several sunrises.

Cloudy serene sunrises:

Reflected sunrises:

Sunrises with sand rig:

Pink sunrises with boardwalk lights:

Sunrises with blue water:

Sunrises with blue sky:

Peach coloured sunrises:

And luridly coloured sunrises with beach grass:

I think I mentioned earlier that it was windy this year.  This led to some rough surf.

The wind also made some lovely drifts and ripples n the sand.

Our holiday coincided with the Papal visit to Philadelphia and Pope Francis seemed to be everywhere.  We all enjoyed our papal pizza, Steve most of all.

And finally, the little shack that provides all your beach-related needs.  I know I've sent photos of this before, but as you can see from the hole and the patches, Hurricane Sandy hit it hard.

Another great week in Sea Isle City -  a place that can make even construction scenic!

Jan

SEA ISLE CITY 2014

Every year, my siblings and I return to Sea Isle City, always staying within the same few blocks around 61^st Street.  You’d think that after a while there wouldn’t be much left that I hadn’t already photographed.  Amazingly, every year there’s something new.

This year it was very high winds – which whipped up amazing piles of fluffy sea foam and for a while seriously changed the topography of the beach – and cloudy mornings – which made for some spectacular sunrises.  As well, we had a full moon and a spectacular sunset. 

Just so you know, I took 449 photos.  Please appreciate my restraint in not inflicting them on you! 

I’ll start with the sunrises, because, really, is there anything better than a sunrise?

Most mornings, I take a long, usually solitary (because what sane person wants to get up before sunrise on their vacation?) walks along the beach.  And every morning, the sun obligingly rises and shows me something different.  Soft, blue grey sunrises,

shading to grey and gold.

Gentle pink,

dramatic orange,

leading to the bright morning sky.

Next, the sea foam, which I became fascinated with, both up close and at a distance.

The long view, with the thigh-high piles…

…and the iridescent, cloud-like close up.

I discovered that sea foam has the capacity to make almost anything beautiful.  Like random seaweed…

…or an abandoned shovel.

Sea foam almost, but not quite, turned my crocs into bunny slippers!

As I mentioned, the wind that whipped up the sea foam, also did astonishing things to the sand.  It made dizzying patterns…

…and even cut a river into the beach.

I had great fun playing with the camera function that lets me take shots of moving objects – like gulls.  This year the birds seemed unusually cooperative.

Flying…

…floating…

…and visiting friends.  This is the first time I managed to get a group of the little ones (which thanks to Steve’s bird book, I now know are sanderlings) more or less in focus.

And here, as promised, is a spectacular sunset…

…and a spectacular moonrise.

Despite the wind, there was relatively little washed up on the beach.  But I did find a few conch shells for Sheila…

…and a horseshoe crab, which always seems like a prehistoric visitor to me.

For the curious among you, here’s what it looks like upside down. 

   

And finally, the place to go for all your beach-related needs!