At seven this morning there was still a stiff breeze about 10mph with higher gusts. The flags tell the story of dangerous surf and sand blasted legs. The sky was a beautiful blue to the north but the haze from sand and spray in the air close to the beach and looking east gave a diffused look to the sun.
Here you can see the sea foam and the retreating waters along the National Sea Shore.
The breaches in the dunes along the south side of Johnson Beach Rd caused sand to cover large stretches of the road. It was interesting to see where the sand fences were finally undermined by the constant pounding. The surge eventually was the victor. 
The posts left naked on the beach were a testament to the effectiveness of the fence that remained. To the left of this shot is the road covered with 6-10 inches of sand that was once a dune supported by slats of fencing now peeled back. Look a little further and you can see the berms that remained and protected the road. The other eye opener was the difference in results depending upon the amount of beach expanse. 
In areas that had wider space between the road and the beach due to the general topography chances were that the dunes were not breached. I would suggest we keep this in mind when the issue of beach re-nourishment is discussed in the coming years. The overall impression was like walking into the set of a Planet of the Apes movie. It wasn't long until we started to see more and more folks out to take in the sights Mother Nature had left behind. This is the sight of the road at the first walkover and gives an idea of the "lost world" impression. 
To the left is roadway, to the right the beach.
The other place where we saw flooding in previous days was on the north side of the National Sea Shore at the end of the service road that leads to Trout Island . 
You can see the pine straw line up the nature walk. It indicates flood waters to about 2 feet and the entire parking area was under water last Wednesday.
One last picture. Here is a "last sentinel". This small section of sand fence was supported by the sea oats that managed to grow up through the slats and stands lonely amid the washout surrounding it. 
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