Friday, August 10, 2018

I'm Going With A "10" For Today's Beach Day!

Mornin'!  It's 77° in Wildwood NJ.  It's sunny with hardly a breeze.  It's less humid as the Humidity's 82% with a dewpoint of 73°.  It's still sticky and pleasantly smelly with that ol' briny, fishy aroma on the island.  It looks like we're about to have a near perfect summer day down the shore with plenty of sunshine, temps in the mid-upper 80s and Southerly breezes at 6-8mph.  Tonight...the weekend clouds begin to roll in as it'll be mostly cloudy with temps in the mid-upper 70s, 30% chance of showers and breezes still out of the South at 7-10mph.  The weekend's looking "eh" with Saturday having a 20-40% chance of rain showers and/or thunderstorms and Sunday 40-70% chance. Monday's a repeat of today.  The "New Moon" is tomorrow.  The tides are higher with the Full and New moons.  I noticed last evening on "high tide" that the waters were way up and much higher than they normally are.  Don't drive through tidewater (it's like driving in the salty, corrosive ocean and not good for the undercarriage of your vehicle).  And, the back bay water has a high tide that's one hour later than the ocean's high tide...just an fyi.
High tide:7:39a.m. and 7:56p.m.
Low tide:1:26p.m.
Ocean temp:77°
Sunset:8:02p.m.
UV Index: 9 (very high)
Rip Currents:moderate
And, it's Friday so the Beach Tips are up next but so far this summer I'm not seeing a lot of courtesy on the beach.
Friday Beach Tips and Beach Etiquette~
~Remember to pack water, hat, footwear, towel, sunblock, insect repellent, and shade (umbrella or sand chair with a canopy). If packing an umbrella be aware of wind speed as you may have to take extra steps to secure it such as sand (screw) grabber or bungee cord.  It's pretty amazing how not secure some umbrellas can be as the wind launches them directly toward you.
~Never leave trash on the beach and even better yet...pick up any that you see whether it's yours or not.   Note trash and recycle containers are situated everywhere.
~Don't forget those cigarette butts...collect and trash them.  Or just don't smoke and pollute the lovely sea air. Never stick them in the sand and leave them...that'll be tomorrow's find for the little kid digging in the sand.  Plus, cigarette filters take years to decompose and could be taken to the ocean by the tides giving sea life harmful/toxic cigarette filter tidbits to swallow. Smoking is banned on the Boardwalk in all the towns by the way.
~Remember to pack headphones for your music device or at least keep the volume down to a minimum (believe it or not no one wants to hear your music not to mention your beach neighbor might be quietly trying to listen to their own music).  
~Kindly give your beach neighbors space when selecting your beach campsite. Courtesy is key. Careful not to plop only inches from others' blankets/umbrellas.
~Teach children some beach etiquette. Running (basically "kicking") and dispensing sand nearby others as well as throwing sand is a no-brainer but sometimes you'd never know it.  
~Feeding the seagulls is a big no-no. Eat and snack smartly. Using hands to express emotion when holding your sandwich up or out is a magnet for swooping gulls. Dropping one potato chip thoughtlessly will create seagull havoc. Eat under your umbrella or hooded sand chair as the seagulls are much like vultures and are endlessly eyeing beachgoers eating habits.  They're relentless trying to find the right opportune moment to swoop down and pluck your lunch right out of your hand or mouth (seen it happen many times).  If successful, seagull havoc begins as 40 other gulls come in for a food fight of your scattered lunch.  By the way, seagulls know "chip bags" and if they see one sticking out of your unsupervised beach bag, they will think nothing of helping themselves and remove the bag of chips from your bag as well as share their newly acquired snacks with their gull friends while you're taking a walk or a dip (seen it happen many times).
~Playing ball, frisbee, horseshoes, corn hole, or kite-flying etc is a no-no at the beach.  I mean on the back side of the beach (dune side) or other designated areas is more appropriate for active beach games.  Stay away from those camped out that are simply trying to enjoy their quiet, relaxing beach day.  The beach patrol will probably stop you if playing in the wrong area anyway.  
~Shake towels and blankets away from others noting the wind direction.
~Observe and follow posted beach warnings (closed beaches, no alcohol, strong rip currents, surfboard/boogie board area etc) and always pay attention to lifeguards.  If in doubt...ask the lifeguard (they're terrific people).

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