My friend rented a house in the Rockaways this past weekend. The house was right on the water and you could see the A train passing from a couple of hundred feet away. I didn't take that many good pictures because I was too busy taking naps on the end of the dock with my feet in the water with my girlfriends. It was extremely relaxing and I ate way too much food. I forgot what it is like to be able to walk in the middle of the street without a million cars passing by. Having lived 10 minutes from the beach for 10 years of my life, I used to always used to take it for granted but now that I'm not conveniently close to the beach I appreciate it so much more. We went to Far Rockaway beach for a while but it got kind of cloudy and the water was really cold and choppy. I definitely preferred being at the house itself. The house had this very cool 1970s decor with a lot of natural wood and tons of art everywhere. It was actually an artist's studio but the owner rents it out. It definitely had a distinct Wharton Esherick vibe with all the "imperfect" wood around the house, including a handmade staircase that I wish I would have gotten a better picture of.
