LBI

So much for bright blue winter skies. Today is cloudy and gray.
In looking up information about Long BeachIsland I found that the climate is called humid subtropical.
Wikipedia defines it as :

Humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and chilly to mild winters.

It is that. The sand in summer, sugar white sand, can be so hot you can hardly walk on it. Winters are mild. Mild is relative though since by the water in winter is always bitter when the wind blows and its rare that the wind isn't blowing off the sea. Still, the temperature just off the water are milder than in north Jersey for sure.
The Island is not very wide. It has a bay side and a sea side and a road inbetween.
The beaches are huge though with sand dunes that can reach upwards of more than 40 feet and are a challenge to climb to get to the water on the other side in places.

Barnegat Light is at the very tip of the northern end and stands over 200 feet tall, one of the tallest in the world if not the tallest.
It overlooks the pennisula of land that is as thin and as long that descends down from NJ and meets the island.That part is Island Beach State Park.

In being humid subtropical we are in the same category as the rest of the southern US. South Jersey is more southern minded than north Jersey and there is even friendly competition and arguement about it.
Southern Jerseyans call the northerners "Bennys". The origin of the name is shrouded in myth now and so I really can't tell you how it came to be. The Bennie's are both a welcome crew and an annoyance.
Welcome for the dollars they spend in the south on tourism. They come to their summer homes and for vacations etc. and drop a bundle.
Annoying for their very presence when you are trying to enjoy your backyard as it were.
There is a peace that descends in late September, early October when they go home.
The summer here extends that long. You can swim right through into early October most years though there is no lifeguard service during those months, they work only from late May thru Labor Day. And you really don't want to go in without them.
New Jersey beaches are among the safest and most pleasant for swimming in all the world but all ocean has its dangers.

One of the nicest features of the Jersey shore in the south is our white sugar sand.
It is almost pure white and it has a very fine sugary consistancy to it. It just sparkles. In summer though, on the hottest days it can be hard to walk on barefoot.
You learn to hop and say Ouch Ouch Ouch as you navigate along.