Long Beach Has it All

While I might sometimes prefer the waves at Gilgo and Tobay, Long Beach remains my favorite surf "place."


Long Beach has it all, and then some

It's where I first re-learned to surf 30 years after my first time on a board in England. And if you spend much time there, it'll grow on you

But it's the easy-going mood, ambience, vibrant beach life, and the escape from long islands urban density, as you drive through the wetlands around the Loop Parkway, with the vistas of water and wildlife in every direction, that warms my heart each time I go back to LB for a session.
if you are a dog, you might like to experience Long Beach from an open roadster. This smart pooch knows the drill--no jumping out, but he's old and chillaxed.
Winter, Spring or Fall, and occasional dawn patrol in summer weekend mornings or late summer evenings.
Getting there is half the beauty


And yesterday was one of the latter — hootin' and hollerin' surf till every lumen of nautical twilight had expired, and there was just no more light on the water to see the "incoming".

That's how good Hurricane Danielle's perfect-sized 3.3 foot swell was. Shouldering jetty-to-jetty overhead rides for the good guys, some fun smaller waves mixed in for those with less developed skills, like myself.
Point Lookout eastwards...
SCHMOOZE
Met Mustang Steve on the boardwalk, with his delightful family, Chuck who had just emerged dripping from the ocean, Lella, Shane and the new addition to the Mustang clan, Grace. There was papa John H. and Mama Barbara H., — a big post-session evening boardwalk schmooze.

Then on to Swingbelly's in the West End for a bit of barbecue, or so we thought.

Strike that -- no parking spots to be had, anywhere. Period. So circled back into town for dinner at Sutton Place. End to a perfect day.

BLACK SUMMER RAIN

Almost perfect, except Gordo made it "perfect-er." He was on a quest to track down one of his favorite Clapton songs — he couldn't remember its name, so we listened to my iTunes collection for 3.5 albums-worth until we came to "Black Summer Rain." That was it.

One of my faves too. Gordon was honed in on the keyboard playing in particular. That album (No Reason To Cry) is off the hook with Hammond organ and Fender Rhodes electric piano brilliance from the likes of Billy Preston, Dick Sims, Ahlby Galuten and divine inspiration making for a perfect mix of instrumentation and arrangement.

• Black Summer Rain by Eric Clapton

More Eric Clapton music on iLike

Recorded at the The Band's Shangri-La studio.
No Reason to Cry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Reason_to_Cry