Excerpt from The Island Blue Pages published by the Long Beach Island Foundation... Ask someone who lives on a coastal island, “What makes it so special?” Chances are, the answer will have something to do with the senses. It could be the smell of the fresh, salty air, the sound of the crashing waves, the sight of a lone sea bird over the glistening water, or the warmth of the unobstructed sunlight. Geography shapes who we are. Live on an island and you develop an “island state of mind.” You pay more attention to the weather, to the heat of the sun, to the direction of the wind, and to the condition of the sea. Living within begins and ends—and there is something reassuring about that. read more (Adobe Acrobat Reader required)