Desperately Seeking Beach (almost, but not quite, a Secret Space)

There could be any number of legitimate, responsible, grown-up reasons behind why I moved from upstate New York to New England. The right grad school for me, better professional opportunities, a reasonably big city not too far away from home... I can rationalize it all.

But the real reason for my eastward moves?

The beach.

It just touches something in me, smooths out the rough edges. I've been able to measure the intensity of a crisis in my life by how long it took me to walk it off. I've also taken myself to the beach to celebrate birthdays, positive pregnancy tests, and New Years Days. It's a Zen thing.

And, for me, it's the beach, specifically. Not the ocean; I love the sounds and the smells and the beach glass and the ambiance, but I don't actually need a bathing suit. I'm not an immersion kind of gal. I'm far, far too conscious of that enormous, face-sucking crustacean just past my field of vision, about to brush up against my leg and cause instant heart failure.

I've spent a fair amount of time weighing the pros and cons of the beaches within my reach. My all-time favorites are those along the North Shore of Massachusetts: Wingaersheek, Crane, Good Harbor. Gorgeous, flat beaches, clean water, reasonably accessible facilities. But those are all enough of a drive from home now (which I optimistically refer to as "the Seacoast area" of New Hampshire, though that's like calling Connecticut "just outside New York City"... it's a stretch) that I've been frequenting more of the New Hampshire and Maine beaches.

New Hampshire has roughly four feet of public beach space, so the pickings are necessarily slim. Hampton Beach is very accessible, mere steps from parking to road and more "facilities" (read: occasionally clean bathrooms and a plethora of overpriced shovel-and-pail sets) than you can shake a sandy toddler at, though make sure you bring a full roll of quarters for the parking meters. Wallis Sands and Rye Beach are OK, a bit rocky and small for my taste but good kid-beaches.

As for Maine, many of the beaches feel very similar to me: a long, flat coastline, with tides that come in an awful lot farther than you'd expect, interrupted by expanses of rocks and private properties. But there's one that we do like, enough that we'll probably drive back up once in a while even after we've bought my dream house within walking distance of the ocean back on the North Shore and it will be quiet and beachlike and... what?

Sorry. I distract myself, sometimes.

Anyway, my favorite less-than-an-hour beach? It's not a secret, though if you all converge upon it at once then the twelve available parking spots will be taken up, and I will be forced to glare menacingly in your general direction. When I go, it's most often on Mondays, since I have every Monday off from work and traffic is considerably less tourist-infested during the week. (Seriously, folks; if you're a tourist, how's about you park first and then sight-see, instead of multitasking?)

It's called Cape Neddick. You'll use your powers of Google if you really want to find it. It's a small beach, so any serious problems would have to be walked off elsewhere. And there are no facilities close by, though the campground staff will let you use the bathroom if you speak softly and carry a desperate toddler. But it has gentle waves, rocks to climb on, neat critters, excellent beach glass, and noticeably different personalities between low and high tides.

To be cross-posted, tomorrow, at One More Thing.

Comments

Cape Neddick is gorgeous! Just amazing. I think it's one of the best examples of Maine's bucolic coastline that is accesible (so many of the beaches are private) to the public. Just so scenic.

Coming from Cape Elizabeth as we do, we have been fortunate to have lived on the water for the first four years here in Maine. We moved 30 miles north last summer and hate it. The house goes on the market as soon as the kitchen is remodeled and we head back to Cape.

Posted by: Auds | July 22, 2008 at 10:54 PM