The Jersey Shore...Recovering from Hurricane Sandy

Every Spring my girls get excited for when their Grandparents return to Long Beach Island from wintering in sunny Florida.  For them it means fun weekends spent with Grandmom & Pop Pop at the Summer Cabin.  A place where all of us find an escape from our everyday routines and stresses.  A place to wake up late, be lazy, enjoy sitting on a sunny deck and watch boats and birds on the water.  

Last weekend was our first visit to the area since Hurricane Sandy.  This visit offered somewhat of a bittersweet welcome. 

My In-Laws were very lucky in that they sustained minimal damage to their home.  The fact that their house is on pilings is most likely why.  Their dock was damaged and they had a lot of mud on their property, but the house for the most part was un-touched.  Unfortunately many of the summer cabins on their street did not fair as well.  

The first morning we were there, I woke up early, grabbed my camera and went for a quiet walk to start my day.  The sights I saw filled me with many mixed emotions....take a look at my photos, and I'm sure you will see why...

Battered and broken boats littered yards everywhere....

 Smaller homes that have been a fixture for many, many years were just shattered to pieces.

Their interiors left open and contents flung around like unwanted toys.

Almost every home had piles upon piles of debris left out for removal.

Dried mud caked the roads everywhere.

This garage lost an entire wall allowing for a perfect view of the bay from the street.

And these bright orange signs were seen all over, making the severity and devastation of the storm all too real.

Yet, despite all the destruction, there was still beauty to be found on every turn.....the little footbridge my family has enjoyed for generations withstood Sandy's wrath....

There were signs of people rebuilding and cleaning up everywhere...

 And, the sunrise was completely untouched and just as beautiful as ever....perhaps even more gorgeous than it was before.