Beachy!

The Amazing Bob and I went down to Nantasket Beach today for lunch at The Red Parrot. I think Nantasket's my favorite beach, apart from my own that is.

When I first moved to Boston, just before time was invented, there was still an amusement park at the beach -- Paragon Park. Having just come off the road from three seasons with the carnival, I was both attracted and repelled by the funfair atmosphere. Mostly repelled. I suspect I was afraid. The striped awnings, games and rides were like Sirens, like hypnotic horror show monsters. Get too close and I'd be sucked back in, never to escape.

OK, adding to that 'repelled' vibe, I didn’t have a car and Nantasket wasn’t on public transportation.

Paragon Park closed in 1984. Posh condos and a hotel went up in its’ place.

There’s still an interesting array of folks at the beach -- loads of great people watching. It’s not become all la-di-da and snooty like Singing Beach.

Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, when the town name was still Manchester vs Manchester-By-The-Sea *sniff,* I could get there pretty easily via subway and commuter rail. Singing Beach was beautiful, calm and vendor/barker free. It seemed like a wonderful oasis AND I could get there on public transportation, no car needed.

Over the following years, the town got all uppish and the beach became less accessible to us riff raff. Now there’s a ‘walk on’ fee of $5.

Let’s say you’re a city dwelling family of four -- mum, dad and two rugrats.

Taking public transport from Boston:
Round trip tickets on the T to get to and from North Station, for four, would be $16.
Round trip for four on the commuter rail would be $65
and then there’s the beach access for four -- $20.
So a beach day for the family in Manchester-By-The-Sea is now at $101 not including lunch, snacks or ice cream treat.

Have a car? On top of your gas price there’s a $25 parking fee. That’s if you’re lucky enough to score a spot at one of the open-to-aliens lots. Weekdays, non-residents can park in the beach parking lot, for $25, but not at the weekend. Your price for the day is cheaper but only if you own a car.

The site notes that the ‘walk on’ price is for ‘Lifeguards, Parking Attendants, bathhouse utilities, beach cleaning, trash removal and facility maintenance and improvements.’

C’mon, really? Nantasket has two large bathhouses as well as all the rest and doesn’t charge an entry fee. Plus...beach parking cost? $7.00.

 Other public transportation accessible beaches? Revere. You can get there, if you live in Boston, by MBTA alone. There’s a Blue Line Stop right across the street. I went there a few times, so very long ago, but I just didn’t cotton to it. Like Nantasket in the ‘80s, it had too much of a carnival feel. I was running away from, not to, the carnival.

I see, in the Globe, that Revere Beach now has big sand sculpture events and competitions now -- WAY cool! Nantasket should have them too -- I'd be SO there.