Well, I lived in Toronto for many years so I know how dreary winter can look and feel. If you are in NY (near the city) you are only an hour and a half flight away from what you see in that pic.
It is impossible to capture just how beautiful it is when limited to a camera lens view. If you were to look a bit left from the spot from which I took the pic of my daughter you'd see the beach:
The pink hue to the sand is due to all the crushed up coral that is mixed in with the sand. It is soft sand which doesn't get hot like many beaches I have been to that require you to wear shoes or you will get burned. This stuff is pure bare-feet action.
