The story of Long Beach Island, better known among NJ local as LBI, is a story of the water. As you cross the Route 72 Causeway, the view opens up in stages. There are the salt-marsh homes of Beach Haven West, some still bearing Sandy’s scars. There is the strange absence of the bayman’s shack that used to hold court in the reeds. Finally, the vista opens onto a union of water, land and sky. Even for locals, the landscape strikes a chord. Water is in the island’s spirit.
Jenn Hall 