Yes, it's another beach post... so skip over it if you want. Today marked the first full day of beach activity at the Erie Basin Marina. To tell you the truth I wasn't sure what to expect as far as turnout goes because the wind was coming off the lake causing a chill in the air... but when we arrived we were psyched to see a bunch of children playing by the water. So we sat on the sand and watched all of the activity for close to two hours. During that time parents showed up with their kids, passersby flipped off their shoes, and hundreds of photos were taken of people standing by the water's edge. A lot of people showed up who had no idea that there was even a beach there - that didn't stop them from wandering down to take a look.
At one point Mayor Brown stopped by with his wife Michelle to check on the activity. It was pretty funny to hear half the beach shout out 'hello' to The Mayor. I spoke to Peter Cutler, Director of Communications, for a while about the possibility of extending the beach next summer. I also asked him if the beach name 'Erie Basin Marina Beach' was definite. He told me that he was pretty sure that no formal name had been chosen and asked if Buffalo Rising readership had any suggestions.
Tomorrow is supposed to be around 70 and mostly sunny (UV index of 8). The winds will be 5-10 miles per hour... and the evening is supposed to be warm as well. So grab your kids, a towel, and a plastic shovel and think of a good name for the beach. My pick? I like Emerald Beach because the Emerald Channel is nearby which leads to the Buffalo Intake Crib. The Intake Crib is the water intake structure out in the lake that looks like an acorn... it's also referred to as the roundhouse. There are also massive numbers of Emerald Shiners in Lake Erie (see post).