Beachgoers thankful Earl passed LI by
The first two days of Labor Day weekend found beachgoers at Robert Moses State Park and Long Beach thankful for a shoreline and boardwalk unspoiled by Hurricane Earl.
On Saturday, Samuel Cabrera, 36, of Bayside, Queens, and his son, Sammy, 4, spent more than two hours at Robert Moses Field 5, where Sammy enjoyed playing in the sand and on a nearby playground. "I almost feel like there was no hurricane," said Cabrera, who works in vending services. "The weather alone made it a pleasant day for everyone. This is a picture-perfect day."
He said he, his wife and son would spend the rest of the weekend barbecuing with family.
Melanie Brasor, and Krista Sinacore, both 24, and both of Rocky Point and students at Dowling College, and Brittany Ennover, 24, of Farmingville, a teacher, spent the day stretched out on the sand.
Brasor said she postponed plans to go kayaking Friday because of the winds Hurricane Earl was expected to bring. "We just moved it to another day," she said, and expected to get out in the kayak Sunday. Ennover said she plans to go bowling and Sinacore said she will be hanging out with friends.
"It's the last weekend to mellow out before summer ends," Ennover said.
John Dole, 54, of Huntington was one of the few people who braved the large waves to go swimming.
"I was glad to come over here and be able to swim," said Dole, who owns a heating oil business. He said he planned to spend the rest of the weekend enjoying the outdoors on his boat - including at Sunday's music festival at the Huntington Lighthouse.
At Long Beach Sunday, Liga Dekmeijere, 27, visited the beach for the first time to check out a beach tennis tournament - for fun. Dekmeijere, a native of Latvia, is a professional tennis player who competed in the U.S. Open, where she and her doubles partner were eliminated in the first round.
"I'm trying something new," she said, a beach tennis racket in hand.
She said the trip to Long Beach had to rank among the highlights of her summer. "It's beautiful here," she said. "If I would have known about it before, I would be out here more."
The 10-year tennis pro acknowledged she was disappointed about her loss at the Open, but said she has something to look forward to: She will be participating in an art project in the Hamptons this week - an experience combining tennis, photography and body paint.
Bill Lorde, 44, and Phyllis Jay, 45, of Queens invited Ed and Shawnee Harris, 51, of Freeport to join them in a low-key day at one of their favorite spots.
"This is like home for us," said Jay, who wore a windbreaker to protect herself from the chill. "We're enjoying it because it's not crowded."
For Shawnee Harris, 51, who is grieving the death of her son last month, the warmth of the late summer sun was welcome. "After he let the umbrella down and the sun started radiating on my body, I started to unwind," she said.
Five-month-old William Bremer III of Garden City appeared to enjoy his first visit to the beach. His parents, William and Debra, had avoided taking him to the beach in the earlier summer heat. "It's been a very hot summer, it's been way too much to put him into that," said his dad. For sisters Kalei, 7, and Kami, 5, it was their last weekend of summer before school - second grade for Kalei, kindergarten for Kami.
Suman and Mandabi Upadhyay moved to New Jersey from India in May and found Sunday's crisp weather enjoyable - and a stark contrast to the searing summers they're accustomed to. "We enjoy the climate," said Mandabi. "To us, this isn't summer. For us, it's like spring or fall."
Pritam Mukherjee, 22, Mandabi's brother who is studying for a doctorate at the University of Maryland, and was visiting, said this "is my first trip here and it's a nice one. Hurricane Earl has passed and it's so sunny. It turns out Labor Day weekend has been a perfect weekend."
