Buckroe Beach
By J.M. Mertens
Daily Press
September 3, 2005
I came to Hampton Roads from Missouri five years ago. Shortly thereafter I found Buckroe Beach. I do not have to fight a tunnel to reach it, and it is not as crowded in the summer as Virginia Beach. It is a terrific place to go in the spring, summer, fall and winter. I have walked the beach in all seasons and find a peace there that I truly enjoy. The shells vary by the seasons, and it is full of some type of life every day.
Recently I was walking along the beach while the band was taking a break during a Sunday evening "Groovin' On the Bay" concert. It was a truly wonderful evening. A young woman asked me if I was a Hampton resident and told me about the petition they were circulating to keep the green space at Buckroe. Although I could not sign the petition, I promised I would write my feelings and concerns.
As someone speaking from a Midwestern experience, Buckroe Beach is the best thing in Hampton. The rest of the city has little of beauty to offer tourists or residents. Why would someone want to spoil that? Money, of course. I think it is time that the City Council realizes that nature and beauty cannot be replaced by condos. Improve the beach and try to rid the area of late-evening crime, but do not destroy what is there now.
There is no place on this side of the water that can compare with Buckroe, and we don't need a strip like Virginia Beach or Myrtle Beach in this area.
J.M. Mertens
Williamsburg
Copyright (c) 2005, Daily Press
