in mid-september, fall started to gain hold over the northeast, and I wanted to get in one more visit to rockaway taco before they closed for the season. especially on a crisp friday afternoon, the beach was delightfully sparse, abandoned to the surfers and scavengers — with metal detectors and crates for archaelogically sifting through the sand. I walked down farther than usual to the jetties where you can watch the surfing up close; a group of endangered piping plovers followed the tide in and out.

when I got to the taco stand, the kids were blasting LCD Soundsystem and yelling along. the sense of their impending departure felt conflicting: kind of sad but nice to think they'd disappear for the cooler-to-cold seasons, then come back with the warmth next year.

rockaway is the beach I like to visit most, even in the winter, so there's a good chance I'll be back before then.