Fire Island and Jones Beach were wonderful, and where I first encountered one of the loves of my life... waves! :D (Surfer that I am).

I didn't get there a lot as a kid, but enough to remember and enjoy. The waters of the Sound were much more placid. We lived near a "tidal pond" with current-operated gates that shut as the tide went out and maintained a water level in the pond...

Fun to learn we were "neighbors." ;)