My Review of Neshotah Park Beach

Neshotah Park consists of 50 acres and is located along Lake Michigan in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. The name Neshotah, meaning “a twin” (pronounced Neesh-sho-da) is of Pottawatomi orgin.

Two Rivers is a city in Manitowoc County and is 31.9 square miles. The address is 500 Zlatnik Drive, Two Rivers, WI 54241. In the 2010 census, the estimated base population of Two Rivers was 11,712 people.

It has been a long winter here in Two Rivers, the average high for the last six months has been, well, pretty much freezing. Today was almost 70 and it was one of those kind of days that you just felt so very thankful for the sunshine. As I stood outside with my face towards the sun and my eyes closed, my body soaked up all those healing sun rays. Although I am not sick, it still felt like I was being healed.

Two Rivers is the smallest town I have ever lived in. I moved here about a year ago and the first six months I kept asking myself, "why?" as I looked around and found not a Starbucks in sight and the snow piled so high that I could not remember what my front yard once looked like. But now I can appreciate it and one of the things I enjoy is taking Pepper and Scooter on walks whenever I can. Today I decided to take them to the beach, well at least what they call the beach here. It is by far not like the typical salt water ocean beaches but it has its charm.

As I parked the car in an empty parking lot, the dogs were very anxious to get to the water and it was a bit tricky trying to find an opening in the fence quick enough for them. Although I only live ten minutes from here, the air was about ten degrees cooler here at the waters edge. As we walked along we stopped and talked to the City maintenance workers, I asked them if it was ok that I was on the beach because they were looking at me like I had trespassed the fence that they were working on. Being the new kid on the block, there were things I did not know yet and I had not been down here all winter. They told me I was fine and that they were taking down the temporary snow fence.

I did not question them about this but I did want to know what the heck was a snow fence for. And of course, I did some research on it and found the reasoning behind it. I discovered that this has been around since ancient times and that there are different kinds of fences, not all are made of wood. So pretty much in a nutshell, they detour the snow drifts, supposedly every foot in length of a 4-foot tall snow fence, 4.2 tons of snow, on average, are held back from reaching the roads. Needless to say, I was impressed with this new knowledge and thought I would pass it along to you.

As we continued on our walk, I wanted to know more about this small unknown piece of tranquility and vowed that when I got home, I would do some research and find out everything I could about this place and pass it on to you.

I found that this fresh water sand beach does have volleyball courts, basketball courts, and picnic areas. There is also a jet ski launch area in the parking lot closest to 22nd street. Swimming is allowed but at your own risk--lifeguards are not provided. There are park shelter rentals for picnics, family reunions or other special occasions. This information can be found at the City of Two Rivers website.

Carlsbad, Tamarack, Oceanside and La Jolla are all beaches that I grew up with in Southern California. I loved going to the beach although I did not swim in the ocean much. I witnessed the stinging pain that jellyfish can cause and I experienced powerful waves taking me under that now I have great fear of.

And as I ponder what used to be, I must say that the beaches just don't compare as they did back in the 1970s era. I remember collecting so many shells and half dollars when I was young and how clean the beaches were but as the years went by and I took my kids there, it was disappointing. The city had brought in huge rocks along certain areas of the beach and by doing this, it made the beach smaller and less attractive. You now felt the need to always wear shoes while walking in the sand for fear of glass or needles. And if you found a seashell that was fully in tact, it was a good day!

So with my experience with beaches I can say that Neshotah beach is very small and does not compare to the ocean. But I really like that it does not have jelly fish and it is clean and you can walk out in the water like about the length of a city block; maybe even two blocks and still the water will only go up to your waste.

Neshotah beach is probably not a place you would travel halfway around the world to come and see but it is perfect in my eyes. You can come here and feel safe and relaxed. You can walk barefoot and let your kids build sand castles and not worry what you will step on or find.

OK, so this is awesome! I have saved the best for last! Unique Flying Objects put on their 7th annual "Kites Over Lake Michigan" in 2012. This is one of the largest kite festivals in the Midwest. I did not know about this until my daughter told me that this is something they have enjoyed going to the last couple of years since they have lived here. And after learning more about this, you can bet that I will be at the 2013 event!

This event takes place only once a year on Labor Day weekend. During the day you can come and view the giant show kites and watch the stunt kite teams flying dual and quad line kites; not only can you watch them but they will also teach you how!

They have colorful ground displays, games for the kids, dancing and in the evening they have the night fly with the bonfire on the beach and fireworks after the release of the sky lanterns! Check out these cool videos!

With all that I have learned now, I have decided that the folks of Two Rivers know what life is all about and I feel blessed to have stumbled upon this quaint town and you just may see me around for quite some time.

The following quote has been stated by numerous people although the actual author is not clear and you have probably heard it said before but I must end this review by saying, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."