Can’t Go to Point Beach and See the Ocean? Watch it Here
A long-time Point Pleasant Beach resident has gone above and beyond to help you in times of need when an ocean-time 'fix' is just what you need to calm your jangled nerves.
This is super cool... so many different videos and angles and it's as if you're a gull standing on the shoreline looking at the waves. Great job, John! He asked us to share his letter and this sample of one of his videos:
"Hello, My name is John Vitollo. I grew up and live at the ocean in Point Pleasant Beach NJ. I’m a born and bread beach person. Living in a resort year round I see and understand all things ocean and beach.
This current crisis is affecting my home town in a different and more dramatic way then most in NJ. Right now, we have 4 corona cases. Still the fears and anxieties over this have crazed our citizens deeply stemming from the fears of people from “hot zones” coming to our shores and boardwalk to get away, get some fresh air AND be on the ocean. For people who aren’t beach people you may not understand this magical affect the ocean and beach has for so very many people. In recent decades, it’s to the point where on a sunny 40 degree day in Feb, the boardwalk is packed.
What was happening is a family from up north under our quarantine rules, not working or in school think, “lets get out of here for the day and go to the shore.” But what they may not realize it there’s 2000 other families with the same idea.
This has become a problem for our little town to the point where Point Pleasant Beach has closed and blockaded the boardwalk. No one now can walk
it, NOT EVEN WE WHO LIVE HERE. As well, everything here is closed so even if you own a summer home here there’s nothing to do.
I was talking to a female friend from North Jersey who owns a home by the beach here. They normally would come down pretty much every weekend year long. This is the kind of pull the ocean/beach and town has for lovers of PPB. I told her what’s happening and almost like addiction withdrawal, she exclaimed they were jonesing to be here. They need their ocean fix. She asked me to take and send them a video.
Shortly after I thought, if I could get on the beach, go to the ocean’s edge and take lengthy videos to post online, it may be of great use and comfort. All my beach friends (and we have about 80) could sit in their living room, and if they have smart TV or can HDMI their computer to their TV, make their favorite beverages, sit back in their couch for a half hour per video and feel the next best thing. Heck, I’d even put my beach chair in the living room to watch. The surround sound and big screen beach and ocean at our favorite spot.
So I got permission, and simply with my phone, took glorious panoramic videos so those who can’t be here, can experience them. First day was experimental. I realized a lot of things that would make the experience even better and am in the process of getting it together and have a You Tube channel with these vids loaded so anyone can click and watch. ½ hr and 1 hr videos. Taken at beach chair height at the oceans edge. Truly a point of view experience. And the beauty part is, the ocean, tides, and shoreline are constantly changing so the videos would be quite different regularly. I’m hoping to do at least 3 days of the week
For us locally during this crisis and the fast approaching spring, it may help keep people away from our town until this crisis is over. At this point I think we realize July may well be the soonest our resort’s facilities can open to the public. And that’s not a guarantee.
I thought that until then if I can provide this relief while people are cooped up all over the state anyway, it might be quite a service to beach lovers all over the state.
Entertainment people everywhere are live streaming music and such to help. This is my way. For now, it’s just for my friends all over the tri state but it could go statewide and national. Your favorite beach on your TV or on your laptop with ear buds.
You can find links and explanation to each day’s videos on my dedicated FB page under “Johnny Beach”. Just for the videos or you can go to my You Tube channel under “Johnny Beach PPB”
Here’s a brief sample. Since this video below I bought a new S20+5g phone. Best camera in the business. Ones from 4/1 and 4/2 on You Tube are with the new camera. I have also since refined my technic so to clamp my camera to a flattened end broom stick pole so for true point of view, I can slowly spin the camera as if you were looking up and down the beach."
Thank you, Johnny Beach!