Crystal Beach
is a stretch of soft sand on the Canadian north shore of the eastern
basin of Lake Erie, somewhat east of Point Abino. The Point
creates a sheltered cove that features the gently sloping shore and
'crystal' waters of the Beach.
My first memories of 'Crystal' are as a third or
fourth-grader who went to the nearby amusement park to spend the
ride tickets he had earned with the grades on his grammar-school
report card. The tickets were good for access to the beach, as
well, and there started a lifelong attraction to the wonders of sand
and shore. As a teen-ager summer was filled with weekend trips
to the beach, which continued when the Coniglio family (Ange, Angie,
Angelo and Angela) would pack up at 9 AM every Saturday, Sunday and
holiday, to head to the park and especially the beach, to leave only
when Danny Zack, the lifeguard, informed us that the beach was
closing for the night. In later years, we rented on the beach,
in a lower flat in the cottage of Angie and Ange Giuliano, and
finally, in 1983 bought a cottage on the 'Hill' just two doors away
from the one we used to rent.
We're now here from April through October, and this
page is my effort to record the plants, animals and weather
phenomena that make the place so special to us. Many of the
photos were taken by me, but in some cases, I've used internet
photos to show a feature I haven't been able to capture myself.
. . . . to be continued . . . .
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