Our Greenport store is for people who love the water, outdoors

Kidsday reporter Nicholas Dowling, from Oysterponds Elementary School, Orient at his parents' shop, One Love Beach in Greenport. Credit: Kidsday reporter Nicholas Dowling, from Oysterponds Elementary School, Orient at his parents’ shop, One Love Beach in Greenport.
My parents own the store One Love Beach, a shop for people who love the outdoors. One Love Beach sells something not very popular in some states: paddleboards.
A paddleboard looks like a surfboard that is powered by a paddle, not waves. We sell clothing, shoes, flip-flops, sandals, hats, water bottles, water shoes, life jackets, dog life jackets, jewelry, paddleboards, skateboards and more. We opened the store about five years ago. We were so excited that the second year, we held a birthday party for it and had a giant cheese platter.
Before we opened One Love Beach, my parents traveled from place to place. They opened it so they could stay in Greenport. If they didn’t, they would be gone most of the time, and it would be harder to take care of me. They wanted our family to be part of the Greenport community. They found a building and decided to go for it. Now they have work right here in Greenport.
I think my parents have done a great job finding products, building displays and working so hard. I am glad they opened the store so that they can stay home with me. The best part of all is that we learned to paddleboard, and we have a lot of water toys. I help out at the store by putting things away and organizing the shelves. But it's not just summer stuff. We have lots of things for the winter such as snow tubes, gloves and more. We also do rentals and give tours around the area.
Info: 211 Main St., Greenport, onelovebeach.com
Brittany Crosser’s fifth- and sixth-grade class, Oysterponds Elementary School, Orient