Wicked New England – Favorite Beach

New England has some of the most beautiful beaches in the country, from Maine to Cape Cod. We all have our favorites, whether they are childhood memories or places we frequent today. So Wickeds, what’s your favorite beach in our neck of the woods? What is it about that beach that keeps you coming back for more?

Liz: I live in CT, but never go to the beach here. Instead, we make the hour or so trek to Rhode Island and camp out at Second Beach, right down the street from Newport and the main beach. It’s a little less crowded, the water is beautiful, the sand is perfect, and I feel fabulous when I’m there. The only drawback – I always think I’m going to get some writing done, but something about the beach air makes me want to

just sit and read! Shaggy’s even gone to visit a few times….

Edith: I love Crane Beach in Ipswich. When I lived there I had a resident parking sticker for a slim $20/year – and it costs more than that to park for a single weekend day in summer! You can walk forever – well, almost to Gloucester – and the waves are gentle and not as frigid as other New England beaches. I set several scenes of my (Tace Baker’s) second Lauren Rousseau mystery there, with the murder taking place on the bluff right above, so I have a special fondness for it

Julie: I don’t have one favorite. I just couldn’t. I grew up in Duxbury MA, until I was 14. That beach owns a piece of my heart. Singing Beach is accessible by train, and was my go to when I was in college. There is a very tiny beach down the Cape near a family home, and we have lots of family memories there–four generations worth. These are three of the beaches that mean something to me. There are dozens of others that I’ve visited, and been stunned by their beauty. Don’t even get me started on the lakes…

Jessie: My absolute favorite is Old Orchard Beach. Not only are there miles of sugar fine sand and human-built amusements, there is history here that delights me and sparks my imagination. The roster of musicians, aviators and merely wealthy that have gathered here for decades simply boggles the mind. I love to walk the beach and see in my mind’s eye women with parasols strolling beside me or early pilots using Grand Beach as a runway for their attempts to fly across the Atlantic. I love to imagine the looks of delight on the faces of children during the Great Depression as they caught their first glimpse of the Jack Rabbit Roller Coaster. Magical!

Sherry: We’ve lived near numerous beaches over the years. My first New England beach experience was at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. We ran over scorching hot sands into the water…freezing cold water. I only went in ankle deep and then hop, hop, hopped back over the very hot sand. After than experience I contented myself with finding places to view the ocean in places like York, Maine or Rockport, Massachusetts. And I leave the going to the beach for southern climes.

Readers, what’s your favorite beach?