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August 06, 1992 - Our Overnighter on an Ocean Beach (2)6A • The Suffolk Times • August 6, 1992 Our Overnighter on an Ocean Beach By Paul Stoutenburah Because the weather forecasters pre- dicted a northwest wind and a cloudless day, we decided to take the camper over to the ocean, stay overnight and come back the next day. Our trip would be a short one and no one would miss us — not even our 14- year -old golden re- Focus on Mature triever who spends most of his time sleeping his day away. Twenty minutes and the camper was on the pickup and all was secure. We headed for the William Floyd Parkway, where we went south. One would never realize that just down the road ties one of America's finest beaches, one that runs practically the whole length of Long Island's south shore. Its beautiful sandy beaches just go on and on. The only trick is to find a place to get to them. Thank goodness someone years ago had the courage to look ahead and see the demand for pub- lic beaches and then acted so we have places that stretch from Montauk to Jones Beach for the public to enjoy to- day. We paid our fee and were told No. 10 was vacant and away from the crowd. Sure enough, when we got there we were the only ones in that sector. It overlooked the bay and we would have the sunset at our back door where we ate. The cool northwest breeze never let up all day and it almost reminded one of fall but this was still midsummer. The clear air gave us a yellow -orange sunset without a cloud in the sky that lingered way past eight in the evening. Clams and More Clams We brought along some small, hard clams we had dug the day before and had them on the half -shell to celebrate our night stay at Smith Point Park. Back home Barbara had made a pot of clam chowder for our evening meal from the bigger clams we had dug and so we had only to heat that up and dinner was Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh STINGLESS JELLYFISH —We often see these firm jellies washed up along our ocean beach. They live on tiny food organisms and do not require the long, stinging tentacles most other jellyfish use in capturing food. ready. Sourdough biscuits rounded out the evening meal. No day at the ocean would be com- plete without an after - dinner walk on the beach. We cut through the dunes at a specified crossing as walking on the dunes is strictly forbidden. Break down nature's dune grass and the dune will soon blow away. I had my moccasins on and Barbara her sneakers but as soon as we hit the beach we realized they were not for us. Off came the shoes and we tucked them in the tall grass to be picked up when we returned. Barefoot was the way we'd be from then on. How wonderful the sand felt and how invigo- rating it was to the feet. I'm sure there's something to be said for the therapeutic value of walking in sand. At least that's the way we felt about it as our toes gripped the soft sand with every step. As we cut through the pass in the dune a song sparrow sang its evening 111_0%69. i M M1M nom. I= 78 Years Ago Aug. 8, 1914 Southold Beats Sag Harbor: In a fast and excit- ing game on Wednesday afternoon Southold defeated Sag Harbor, 2 to 0. It was a rattling game and those who went to see it were well paid for the journey. Cochran pitched a great game for Southold, allowing only three hits. Shakespeare on Shelter Island: On the grounds of the Manhanset Country Club, Saturday evening, Aug. 22, Clifford Devereaux and his company, supported by Miss Grace Fisher, will play Shakespeare's comedy "Twelfth Night" in an open air theatre, the stage being designed somewhat after the Greek. Its stately columns of white standing out against Nature's background make a most ideal setting for the rendering of this immortal classic. The characters never seem more made of flesh and blood than in this at fresco setting, and there seems to be a delightful intimacy between actor and audience. The light- ing is arranged by throwing floods of light from electric spot lamps upon the stage from different angles, giving a soft, beautiful effect. 50 Years Ago Aug. 6, 1942 Chapel Dedicated: Thronged to capacity by visit- ing dignitaries and members of the post, the new chapel at lament. What a wonderful cheery bird it is. Many of our song sparrows stay with us year round and many of you, I'm sure, have them come to your feeder during the winter. They're ground feed- I was on the beach walking barefoot and content with the world.' ers and so prefer that you sprinkle a lit- tle of your birdseed on the ground for them. And they, like the juncos, will be there each day to get their share of the spoils. Seeing it was after dinner the beach was practically vacant. To the west, a Fort Terry on Plum Island was formally dedicated on July 30. Situated on a gentle slope just east of the Station Hospi- tal, the chapel follows the usual pattern of Army posts all over the country. The slender steeple, however, has two lou- vres instead of the usual one to accommodate a beautifully toned bronze bell donated by friends of the regiment. Tower Nearly Complete: The observation tower on the brick wing of the Shelter Island public school is nearly completed. The tower is spacious, 10 by 10 feet, with a 22 -step stairway with a strong railing leading up from the cloak room on the floor below. Visibility is esti- mated to be six times as great as the present tower on the Walter King place. 25 Years Ago Aug. 11, 1967 Suffolk Hits Million Mark: Suffolk County's pop- ulation on Aug. 7 reached the one million mark, according to the special estimate conducted by Long Island Lighting Company. The LILCO calculation is based on new electric meter installations. The up -to -date count totaled 1,000,034. Greenport Girl on World Tour: The Harvard Glee Club and Radcliffe Choral Society left Boston on June 16 for an Asian "Round the World" concert tour. Miss Car- lotta Wilsen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Wilsen of Greenport, is with this group as soloist and coach. quarter of a mile away, the day trippers were still in groups playing and swim- ming but here at the camp area there were just three or four people taking ad- vantage of the entire beach. Schooner Passes By We waded at the water's edge. Our feet were bathed over and over as the low surf swept up and dissipated into the sand around us. How cool it felt. Way offshore a two - masted schooner headed eastward. How I envied that sail with the wind in the northwest quarter. They'd sail all night with the gentle off- shore wind and the maze of stars hang- ing above them, the ship gently rolling in the endless pulse of the sea. But, I wasn't there. I was on the beach walk- ing barefoot and content with the world. We walked for half a mile on the firm, wet sand 'til we came to a group of tiny shorebirds that ran up and down with the surf. Barbara's description of them fitted perfectly. She said they re- minded her of tiny windup toys. Their little legs moved so fast they made your eyes do a double -take to make sure you were seeing right. We sat at the edge of the beach as they busily worked their way toward us. Many still had summer's "dating coat" on. Soon that plumage will fade into winter's drab coat that will take over and be more recognized by us here on the East End. They were so busy prob- ing the sand they didn't see us until they were right up to us. Then, by some sig- nal, they all became alarmed and put their little legs into high gear and could- n't get past us fast enough. A few flew but the majority remained probing and running. They had just arrived from the far north tundra where they had raised their young and were now heading south to spend their winter in the Caribbean or even farther south somewhere along the Americas. We wished them well for their migration will be a perilous one with high winds, storms, predators and an ever - changing habitat facing them. We sat for 15 or 20 minutes contemplat- ing the wonders around us and then headed back to our camper. The following day we'd head to the west where the National Seashore has provided a raised wooden walk for the handicapped. It rambles up and down through the back dune country and gives you a glimpse of this little -known area. Here we saw the birds of the un- derstory: the thrasher, catbird, towhee, mockingbird, redwing and grackle. From the loose sand with its sparse cov- ering of Hudsonia where a pair of horned larks lived, we entered the bay- berry- shadbush thickets that mingle with grapevine, Virginia creeper and poison ivy. This type of growth can only survive because of the protection of the primary dunes from the salt and wind of the ever - moving ocean. We saw no deer but their footprints were every- where. We'd have to get up earlier than we did if we wanted to see these shy creatures. We walked out on the beach and dis- covered others had found it a place to get away from the crowds. Some were sun worshipers while others were fish- ermen or just walkers. We traveled back along the beach picking up some of the jellyfish that looked for all the world like the bottom of some old glass milk bottle, clear and Jell-0-like with no stingers at all. Our walk would complete our overnight at the ocean.