October 19, 2020 --
October 6 brought bright sunshine, deserving, in LPR's view, of another visit to Rockaway Beach for basking purposes. This time, though, the Beach Channel station, where one gets on the shuttle to Rockaway Park, was missing the beach-going crowds of summer. LPR could not be surprised, once he got to Rockaway, to find the sand barren of colorful umbrellas beneath which lie many people in beach-going attire.
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Old Glory, with MIA flag, and flags of New York City and the Parks Department at the entrance to the concrete boardwalk at Beach 108th Street, Rockaway Beach |
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A beautiful day at the beach, but where are the people? |
As the accompanying images indicate, there were very few souls on the beach enjoying this clear, bright day typical of October. Maybe two or three people some distance up the beach, to the east, could be seen in the surf, but in the vicinity of Beach 105th Street, LPR could spot just one or two beachgoers, none in the surf. More people could be spotted at the western part of the beach, but hardly many. (Some of these people appear as silhouettes in the image showing the lights of two beach patrol vehicles heading in LPR's direction.)
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LPR and his shadow ... |
The temperature was about 70 degrees, warm enough to go into the surf, but there were no lifeguards to stand watch and, thus, not only would it be a violation to go into the water, deeper than the ankles, it would be foolhardy.
Still, a day like October 6, 2020 deserved to be enjoyed by much larger numbers of beachgoers, wouldn't you agree? One word about the accompanying images. posted by Terri Fassio, of Skullco, LPR's enormously talented webmaster. Please click on all the images. You will find one showing a seagull "racing" a plane that just took off from JFK airport, which is not far from Rockaway.
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A plane is in this image ... |
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Gull Racing Plane ... |
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LPR's chair and beach towel at the beach devoid of people |
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LPR's chair and beach towel at the beach devoid of people |
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Seagulls enjoying the sun at the beach without people |
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The Rockaway surf without people |
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A seagull checking the Rockaway surf |
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Four lights of the beach patrol |
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The sun as it starts to set at Rockaway Beach |
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A better sunset... |
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