SURF SITY BEACH REPLISHMENT

We have been back in the Colorado mountains for a week and a half enjoying the cool mountain air and the incredible array of wildflower. But before I get into that I decided to post a bit of what was happening at the New Jersey Shore. Beach replenishment seems the be the buzz word along the Eastern coast. The Corps of Engineers did it about 3 years ago on our beach during the winter, and in doing so they tapped into a dump of WWI and WWII arsenal several miles off our shore. They managed to deposit over a thousand pieces on our beach, and then spent a year digging them up and disposing of them. This time it was done a bit differently. The source of new sand was the "Harvey Cedars Lump". a great fishing spot about 2 miles off our shore. For a while it had been renamed by the locals as the "Harvey Cedars Canyon".


This barge traveled to the site about every 2 hours, filled up with sand and then brought it in and pumped it through large pipes laid under water and along our beach,

The sand was sifted through a "hopper" which strained it of potentially dangerous materials.

As the tractors moved the sand, gulls arrived by the hundreds to get another free meal from anything edible that was arriving with the sand.

When the Hopper showed clean water, the pumps on the barge were turned off, and the real work began on the beach.

The Hopper was turned over and inspected as the barge returned to sea for another load.

JULY 4TH ON OUR BLOCK IN SURF CITY

Our block in Surf City has been celebrating our National Holiday for at least 40 years with a parade followed by games on the beach for children or all ages. Over the years the attendance and participation has grown enormously,

The colors are Red, White and Blue, and costumes are encouraged.

And sometimes little 4 legged creatures join in the fun.

And of course whole families.

The beach activities begin with the singing of our National Anthem and the pledge of allegiance to our flag, things too often overlooked in our present day society.

The games on our new wide beach are for kids of all ages, but some of us are now content to just cheer on the contestants.

The barrel race is always a highlight,

As is the Tug-A-War, boys against the girls.

Of course, the girls always seem to win, sometimes with a bit of help from the larger, stronger males.

The games always culminate with a pie eating contest for the children.

And hopefully with a swim afterwards.

To add to the spirit someone even decorated the old shack on the causeway for the July 4th Holidays.