From Victoria Day to Labour Day, for seventy-nine years Gary Cole has lived at and wandered the sands of Bowmanville's West Beach. During that time he has garnered an immense amount of knowledge about that magical place. In this book, Gary shares this knowledge in a very informative and entertaining way. As a toddler in 1942, Gary took his first tentative steps on the front porch of his parents' cottage and during research for this book, Gary once said to me: "I may not have been born on West Beach Rick, but I'm pretty sure I was conceived here." Perhaps no similar small vacation area in this province has the unique character of Bowmanville's West Beach. Growing up there was like growing up in a small Ontario village, with the cottages being the backbone of that village. For over one hundred and twenty years West Beach has been a place where everybody knew your name. It is truly a place like no other - a unique part of Bowmanville's history.