By Claire Cooperman

I’ve always loved summer. Since I was a little kid, my family would come down to the beach from my old house, around an hour away, on the first day of summer and leave on the last. My cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents all came for overnight stays as well. Every day was a beach day, and every day was loads of fun! Here are my five favorite things to do in the summer! Enjoy!

1. Swim in the ocean!- My favorite thing to do in the summer is to go swimming in the ocean! I love going under the waves, lying on the sand while the wave continues over my head, and bodysurfing, feeling the wave pull me along with it as it races to the shore. I also love treading water for as long as I can during high tide! The ocean is absolutely beautiful, but also very powerful. Always take caution in the ocean even when the water looks calm. It’s also lots of fun to swim with friends and family! You can come up with numerous different games to play using your own creativity. When the water is the safest and calmest, the lifeguard stands will have a green flag waving in the air. When there are strong currents and or big waves the flag will be yellow, warning that the ocean is dangerous that day and you have to be extra cautious. You should definitely swim in front of the lifeguards and if you feel the current is too strong or the waves too big, don’t stay in the water. The lifeguards also have a red flag. When this flag is flying, it means there are crazy powerful currents and or giant waves. On a red flag day, it is best to not even go into the ocean at all.

2. Early Bike Ride on the boardwalk!- Another fun thing to do in the summer is going bike riding on the boardwalk! Bikers are allowed on the boardwalk from 12 am to 10 am during the summer. It is a great feeling, waking up a bit earlier than you normally would and taking your bike out and riding up to the beach and along the boardwalk. The air is still a bit cool and there is a little breeze, yet the sun shines warm and wonderful. And you notice all of the people around you, also already up and about, walking, running, riding bikes, sitting on benches, and talking, at the very beginning of the day.  You can pedal as fast as you can and feel like you are flying parallel to the soft sand and the shimmering blue ocean. This always puts me in a good mood and helps me start off my day with a positive attitude.

3. Order Fins on the Beach!- When you’ve been on the beach for a whole day of playing and swimming, you get hungry! It is never fun to have to leave the beach when the sun is still out. Fins, a surf-inspired Mexicali restaurant with great burritos, smoothies, and tacos located on Main Street, will deliver your food right to the beach! Some dishes that I highly recommend from Fins are Tahitian fish and chips, black bean soup, and chicken and cheese enchiladas. They have an online menu that you can click here to see, and their phone number is (732) 897-8600. It is lots of fun to eat yummy food on the beach with family and friends!

4. Seeing the 4th of July fireworks!- Another really cool thing to do in Bradley Beach is to go and watch the fireworks for the annual 4th of July celebration! Every year it takes place on the beach on July 3rd. The fireworks are always beautiful, and I don’t know about you, but I like the sound as well as the colors! Some people, like my family, even stay on the beach that whole day leading up to the fireworks! We order Fins to the beach and watch the fireworks with my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Overall, it is a very enjoyable night and it’s really neat to see all of the people who come for the fireworks looking at the sky in awe, and how that little moment can bring so many people together..

5. Playing Bocce-  On a nice night, take a stroll up to the boardwalk and play some bocce! Bradley Beach has four bocce courts on 4th and Ocean Avenue. If you don’t have a set of bocce balls you can buy them at local stores such as Target and Walmart. If you don’t already know the rules, click here. A little competition always spices up an evening at the beach!