Relaxing Piano Music - "Windrift" - composed and performed by Guy Faux - Stress Relief.

Windrift - solo piano instrumental composed and performed by Guy Faux.Show more

When I was a kid my parents took my sister and I to the Jersey shore every summer. We always stayed at the Windrift Hotel located at 80 street and the beach in Avalon, New Jersey.

Going to the shore every August was always the highlight of my summer vacation. I looked forward to packing the suitcases, the drive down the Atlantic City Expressway, and finally, the anticipation of Exit 13 off the Garden State Parkway.

As soon as we turned on to Avalon Boulevard we knew we had arrived. My dad would roll down the windows so we could take in the aroma of the salt air and the sound of seagulls.

The sign that read, “Avalon, Cooler By A Mile”, was on the right before crossing the bridge.

Right over the bridge Avalon Boulevard turns into 30th street; a right turn on to Dune Drive and 50 blocks later we were at our destination: The Windrift Hotel.

It has changed quite a bit over the years, but I remember it long before they built the sun deck, when you could see the dunes and Atlantic Ocean right from the pool.

Eventually the sun deck was added, and then a few years later it turned into an extended restaurant and lounge. The breathtaking ocean view from the pool was gone.

I remember one year we arrived for our yearly summer vacation to find a new condominium building in the middle of what used to be a huge parking lot. My dad wasn’t happy and threatened to never return.

Finding a good parking spot was a little more challenging after that summer, but fortunately my mom convinced my dad to give the Windrift one more try. We returned every summer after that until I turned 18 and went off to college.

Of course, a trip to Avalon wouldn’t be complete without dinner at the Hitching Post in Wildwood, followed by a few hours on the boardwalk dodging the Tram Car, and then on to Stone Harbor for some of the best ice cream on the planet at Springer’s Homemade Ice Cream.

I know Springer’s is still in business, after all these years, but I’m pretty sure the Hitching Post is gone.

I have a lot of great memories of the Jersey shore, and staying at the Windrift Hotel is one of the best.

I start my solo piano composition titled, “Windrift”, with an F# minor chord, which would suggest sadness, but I was only sad when we left for home.

And maybe my decision to start with a minor chord suggests that our stay was too short, which it always was, but sitting here writing about the Windrift only brings back fond memories.

I still have a picture of my dad leaning up against the wall separating 80 street and the swimming pool — or the photos of all of us down on the beach, which was just a few short steps from our hotel room.

I haven’t stayed at the Windrift since that final year in the summer of 1979. It was the year my dad got sick.

I’ve been back a few times with my wife for breakfast, but never to stay overnight. I guess I knew that I had to make new memories at some other place — but I will never forget our family summer vacations at the Windrift.

Free piano sheet music download: https://www.cherryhillacademy.com/windrift-relaxing-piano-music-for-stress-relief.html