My husband and I bought our first house in Bradley Beach in 1999. My granddaughter was 7½ years old at the time. She spent three weeks at our new house that summer with her mother and brother. To this day she says that the Evergreen Avenue beach is her favorite beach in the world.
Fast forward to 2020 when my granddaughter asked if she could bring her new boyfriend along for a planned visit. We of course said: “Yes!”
A year later her boyfriend asked if we would host an engagement party for them. His plan was to surprise her with a ring followed by a party on our porch which included both families. At the gazebo by the Maritime Forest, he went down on one knee and proposed. And she said: “Yes!”
In the meantime, we had decorated our porch and she was greeted by her brother (her parents were already here) and her new fiancé’s parents, his sister, and her family. It was a beautiful day for all that will remain forever in our memory. Now the couple is happily married but has moved to Texas for his job making visits to her beloved Bradley Beach less frequent.
~ by Ines Altemose