




It’s all about offering youth a close-up view of their ocean world as inspiration to protect it.
Continue reading Focus: Clean Ocean Action & Inspiring Young Ocean Advocates




It’s all about offering youth a close-up view of their ocean world as inspiration to protect it.
Continue reading Focus: Clean Ocean Action & Inspiring Young Ocean AdvocatesA out-of-area 28-year-old man has been convicted on sexual assault charges stemming from the 2020 assault of a woman after their first date on Sandy Hook and is facing up to 20 years in prison, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced on Thursday.
Continue reading Prosecutor: Man Found Guilty of 2020 First Date Sexual Assault at Sandy HookJonathan, is that you? Getting swooped by a seagull can be a bit Alfred Hitchcockish. You just never know that that bird’s eye view is capturing and processing in the moment. Or who the bird is that one — that Jonathan Livingston Seagull — trying to be a non-conformist.
Continue reading Nature Call Focus: Gull’s Eye View
Every dog may just have his day; and that day just may be one that calls for springing into a sun-drenched walk on the beach.
Continue reading Scene Around: Dog Daze of Spring AheadThe sun before the storm. It has a way of lessening the messy, blistering blow of inclement weather and times.
Continue reading Focus: Shore View & Week Ahead FYI
With the new pandemic the edict from NJ Gov. Phil Murphy for people to now wear masks otdoors, we’re thinking … it’s pretty interesting to ponder how that may work on the nude beach at Sandy Hook. Bathing suits optional. Masks, not so much … Hey, whatever works and floats your sun bathing and swimming gondola …
There are many more beach days ahead, masked or unmasked. Suits or not There was a time, though, that the clothing optional part was a cause for which a large contingent of RFH nude beachgoers fought — gloves on. In fact, it was taken to the famed Rumson McCarter bridge for a bit of campaigning. Everyone knows how that went.
Continue reading Unmasked: Retro Bridge Nude Beach PleaThe maximum capacity has been reduced. Access has been free. But, this weekend, as New Jersey COVID-19 restrictions ease in the second phase of reopening, some of Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook beaches will open for swimming and will have lifeguards as of Saturday.
Continue reading Beaching it on Sandy Hook: The COVID Era UpdateWith showers washing out most hope for a good beach day on Saturday to kick off a less restricted pandemic time Memorial Day weekend in the Rumson-Fair Haven area, beaches in Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach and on Sandy Hook are open and poised for a sunny Sunday and Monday — with COVID-19 caution.
And barbecues and other outdoor activities are on New Jerseyans’ plates. as well. NJ Gov. Phil Murphy has also called for a cautious easing of outdoor gathering restrictions.
Continue reading Pandemic Time Beaching it in the R-FH Area: Access & Rules
It’s the start of a Memorial Day weekend of a different kind — the pandemic kind.
Continue reading Retro Theatrical RFHers’ Day at the BeachDistancing. It’s a necessity these days. Yet, sometimes a little distance leads to appreciation. A new perspective. A dawn. That promise of a new day. The light that reminds us that it is there as darkness falls. The light that always appears after the darkness.
Solitude can offer solace. Taking several steps back to be drenched in sunlight’s promise, a stark view, uncluttered by fear and confusion. The comfort of isolation. The embracing call of the light, close in the distance.
Sometimes a furry best friend who doesn’t know how to distance makes the view just a little sweeter, too. Rumsonite Sue Hill-Spakowski and dog Nancy took in this sunrise, sunset view at Sandy Hook’s Fort Hancock and its perspective as COVID-19 stats rose and fear enveloped the area.
Call it serenity in a snapshot. And Nancy rose with the sun on this. She just didn’t want to move for the full view. That’s OK. She was stepping into the light. Illuminated Rumson dog.
Look for the light. Embrace it. Stay safe, all!


As everyone preps to spring forward in time, Daylight Saving, that is, it was a dog day afternoon of sunshine on the beach for many, yesterday and today.
Rumson dog Nancy (right) took a romp on the beach at Sandy Hook with Winter (left), her dog friend. In the ironic little play date pairing, the two did a little digging and imprinting and found one another’s shadow.
Nancy, the four-legged child of Rumsonite Sue Hill-Spakowski, is quite the poser. She has been seen around the towns making some keen nature observations, having tea and cavorting.
According to Nancy, spring is definitely in the air and in her step. And she’s right.
Predictions for the rest of the week and weekend, according to the National Weather Service, are that, despite a little rainfall Friday after 2 p.m. and a possibility of some snow mixing with it overnight, the outlook for the weekend is a sunny one with temperatures reaching a high of about 53 degrees on Sunday.
Forget the groundhog. Nancy knows all. Where shall we see Rumson dog Nancy next?
See something fun or interesting? Take a snapshot. Send it to us at evd@rfhretro.com and we’ll include it in our Scene Around feature for the area. Send photos with proper credit only. Focus and find the good little things that count in your community.
Rumson-Fair Haven area folks are falling for the spirit of the fall season like kids to a pile of leaves. And the weekend leaves no option but to partake in or at least toss around some activity options. There are many.
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