My mother was the first person in her West Pennsylvanian family to see the ocean from 99th Street Beach in Stone Harbor, New Jersey in the summer of 1964.

My 14 year-old mother ran into the water in her clothes in June with 60-degree water temperatures and stayed in the water for over an hour, because it was the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen.

She honeymooned with my father in Stone Harbor in 1975, brought my sister and I in 1986. I brought my son in 2007 and my daughter in 2011.

62 summers.

3 generations.

1 beach bungalow.