We recently spent an ‘off-season’ night in a Jersey Shore hotel right where the North Wildwood Boardwalk begins. It was chilly, but being avid beachcombers, we ventured out near sunset. These photographs are part of Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge/Size Comparison of Objects.

Jersey Shore beaches, especially in Wildwood, are usually low and flat. Beach replenishment is the purpose of these sand dunes, and they will eventually be leveled off. They are huge. You can see how small the people in the distance appear alongside of them.

We can’t wait until the sounds and sights of New Jersey’s boardwalks are back to normal again.

Somewhere in those waves are the porpoises we saw swimming in a pod. It’s the first time I’ve seen them at this time of year, and in such large numbers. By the time I pushed the shutter button on my camera, they were back underwater again.

I’ve visited the Jersey shore for over five decades. I don’t think I’ve missed a summer in all that time. This sand dollar is a first. They are rare to find on our beaches. They are usually broken up by the heavy surf. Could the sand dollar have been scooped up with some of the dune sand and then washed away onto the beach? I don’t know how it happened, but I was blessed to find it. One small sand dollar on a very large beach…a miracle.