Spring Lake

One of my favorite places, not that I've visited as many as I would like, is Spring Lake, New Jersey.  It is the quintessential village by the sea, complete with gorgeous Victorian mansions.  My paternal grandmother lived there when my oldest brother was a boy, but I never had the pleasure.  I rediscovered it in college and go there whenever I can.  It doesn't matter what the season is.  They are all beautiful.  I would live there in a heartbeat, but unfortunately the family income could not even purchase a shed in the town.  Even the modest of homes comes with a price tag in the eight hundred thousands. My sons often tell me that when they get their NHL contracts, they will buy me a house there. I always smile and tell them to make sure it has a wrap-around porch.

When I sat down to write my first mystery ages ago, there was only one place it could be, Spring Lake.  Mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark, who has a home there, and her daughter Carol have both written books set there.  I was a little miffed when I first saw that, but then I had to admit I am not the only writer who has been inspired by the breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean and the endless possibility of plot lines from the age-old homes.  Just the sea alone inspires untold tales of the unknown.

This past Saturday as I participated in my first official Spring Lake Five Mile Run, I could not help but marvel at the amazing job the town's organizers had done.  Every detail was picture perfect just like the scenery.  It was no wonder that the race has been named one of the ten best by Runner's Magazine and has grown in leaps and bounds since it first started thirty-five years ago.  As I made my way through the throng of over ten thousand runners, one thought, besides finishing in the top five thousand which was my goal, kept popping into my head.  This race would make a really good mystery.