Rocky Neck Beach on New Years Day, 2011

Getting a better view of the water

By the Pavillion at Rocky Neck Beach

Jim with Will and Emma on the breakwall

Will on the breakwall

Will

Frisbee games

Will checks on the seagulls

Emma is worn out after a fun day at the beach

It's New Years Day and here we are at the shore in Connecticut, with a lot of other people who decided to enjoy the almost 50 F degree weather outdoors. There are remnants of snow on the ground from the snowfall that brought about a foot of the white stuff on Boxing Day, but that didn't stop any of us. We were determined to be outside on such a wonderful day to start the new year. Will and Emma couldn't be happier - they loved the beach and the romp with all the other dogs who were there.

Rocky Neck Beach is just a little over an hour's drive from our house, and we've never been there before, so it was a perfect day to explore. The beach is in a cove, and is a nice white sand beach, surrounded on one side by a rocky 'arm' that juts out into Long Island Sound. We walked out to the tip of the peninsula to view the sound and the bay on the other side, which is surrounded by homes, probably most of which are seasonal.

They both loved the water, and walked or ran into it to play with the frisbee. As a matter of fact, Will would take the frisbee into the water after he caught it, dropping it just along the edge, as if daring Emma to go in and get it. Which she did. The water wasn't as cold as we thought it might be. I guess it hasn't cooled down as much as it will over the winter yet. I also think that the shallower water of the sound doesn't get as cold as the ocean just east of us in Rhode Island.

The tide was going out when we arrived about noon, and kept going out till we left about 3 pm. It was wonderful having so much beach to walk on at low tide. Lots of shells, and lots of gulls along the edge, but not many other shore birds. We saw a half dozen or so men with metal detectors scouring the beach for treasures. One guy was even wading knee deep in the water. Seems like it's the thing to do in the winter -to find rings and money and other objects that were lost in the busy days of summer. We didn't see anyone find any treasures, though.

We walked way out almost to the end of the long breakwall that protects the beach. It was pretty slippery on the big black rocks as we got closer to the end. Will and Emma didn't seem to mind too much - Will had a couple of slips when he tried to move too quickly from rock to rock, but Emma was pretty sure-footed and not afraid to jump rock to rock at all. She's got those short strong legs that carry her like a little mountain goat!

They were both exhausted after the afternoon at the beach and just zonked out in the car for the ride home. Before we headed home, though, we had to go to Lenny and Joe's Fish Tales in Madison for an early dinner. They were as busy today as they would be in the middle of summer, amazingly enough. It's a great place to check out if you're in the mood for a beachy meal of fish or seafood. Their clam strips are yummy!