AFTER 10:00 P.M. AT THE JERSEY SHORE—BELMAR, AUGUST 1, 2026

I’m so lucky that my husband Arnee and I love the same things. We both enjoy taking a ride down the shore on a summer evening and walking along the Belmar Boardwalk. Without traffic, that’s about an 80-minute drive from our house.

On a beautiful weather day, there’s nothing like waiting for the sun to set, with the daytime crowds off the beach, and watching the sunset and/or the moon shine.

A walk up and down the boardwalk, with or without an ice cream cone, is so refreshing. Sitting on one of the many benches facing the ocean, and enjoying the feel of the air, the sight of the sand edging into the water, and seeing the night sky are all mesmerizing.

Turning our backs to the ocean and sitting on one of the alternating benches facing the boardwalk, we also enjoy people-watching. It reminds us of days at the Newark Airport terminals when we were dating. We would hang out, people-watching, and study who was boarding or deplaning. We saw several celebrities. Fun.

After an hour or so of rehashing our favorite Belmar memories, we’re both ready to walk to the car and start our ride home on the Garden State Parkway. It’s our summer ritual.

Next, the Catskills. Whenever we get there, we’ll stay for a few days on a mini-vacation. Those memories will take longer to list and savor.

I found the perfect frame for that photo I captured at Belmar; too bad I couldn’t keep my iPhone’s reflection out of the print when I snapped a shot of it in the frame to post here