OUT TRIP TO BEACH HAVEN AT THE SOUTH END OF LBI

I thought I had written enough about Hurricane Sandy but this was a new day and new experiences, so I am back.

Early on this beautiful day, a week after Sandy's arrival, I went back to the beach. Tractors were already at work moving sand up from the ocean edge to back up the damaged dunes. Another storm, a strong nor'easter was predicted for later in the week. We have to be prepared. The gulls were accumulating in hopes of some food.

Looking down the beach, the same activity was going on as far as I could see.

Back in our yard our Robin was also out looking for food. Somehow he had weathered the storm, and seemed to be happy living in our large holly tree along with a couple of friends. Nature is amazing in its ability to survive. I have seen birds everywhere.

Since this was the first day residents were allowed back to check on their property we were busy all morning greeting friends. In the afternoon we decided to try to get to the southern end of Long Beach Island, where my husband kept his boat. We passed police check points several places, and when we got down to the Acme Market in Spray Beach this is what the parking lot looked like. It has now become a temporary dump.

Everywhere people were dragging out wet belonging from garages and homes either to dry, or to be added to the piles of debris.

Because Chuck knew the policeman in Beach Haven - a fellow fisherman - he allowed us to go on to Morrison's Marine. We had heard that it was a mess, am accurate assessment. As we drove up we were greeted by this accumulation of boats on the side of the street.

Thought a lot of the boats had been moved this beauty was still where it has been deposited by the receding water.

Snowgoose, we were told had fared very well until some other boats floated into it and knocked it off the blocks.

However many of the boats in the yard had done worse.

These ended up together in the end of the street.

The "Dotty G", Chuck's neighbor ended up on the dock, next to another boat with it's stern underwater.

Everywhere we went there were rolls of carpet, mattresses, furniture at the curb side.

We drove up to the ocean so see the "Sea Shell", a nice restaurant and Tiki Bar near the beach. It was now on the beach, because the beach had moved back to nearly inundate it.

The streets leading up to the ocean had been covered with sand where there were not well established dunes. They were now plowed, stranding parked cars behind a berm of sand.

On the beach a concerted effort was being made to create new dunes where there were none, but there is little chance that the loose sand will offer much protection in the next storm.

Ocean Road, where we have often biked, though plowed was a mess - not the well kept street it had been earlier.

Looking up another street we could see where the ocean had relocated a house that had dared build too near.