With a cancelled trip to Europe in July and no return to travels afar anytime soon, we needed to keep our much needed Summer getaways close to home this year. So here we are at the beginning of Fall, thinking back to this years trips to peaceful, relaxing destinations filled with long sunny days making memories with our family.
The Jersey Shore. Anyone hailing from the Garden State has grown up jam-packing the family car for a trip ‘down the shore’. Pick your exit on the Garden State Parkway beginning from Sandy Hook (117) all the way to Cape May at exit 0.
If you grew up in Jersey, the shore is part of your culture. As a kid, you remember family trips in station wagons, sand castles and seashells. As a teen, you remember shore houses with friends, bars, bands and parties that raged. As a parent you remember dragging chairs, blankets, umbrellas and toys and constantly watching the little ones not get pummeled by waves. And now, in later years, it’s time to relax, spending long days reading, napping and just gazing at the relentless surf, taking a much needed break from the every day.
If you’re planning a visit, come see why we love the Jersey Shore…
The Beach…(duh)…New Jersey beaches are beautiful. Most have grassy dunes protecting the soft, white, shifting sands, and the water warms up to refreshing levels in the high 70’s during July and August. The waves change with the tides and weather, but are usually big enough for surfers – body or board.
Some beaches are wider than others (like the five hundred yard walk to the water in Wildwood), and some get congested around boardwalks and bars but you’re always sure to find a comfortable spot, far enough from your beach neighbors, to make your circle of friends and family.
The Bay. Most Jersey beaches are on barrier islands that protect the coast. This creates protected waterways lined with houses and eateries, and filled with all sorts of watercraft on sunny days.
On our vacation we rented a house that backed right up to the bay, and every morning we took our kayaks and standup paddle boards our to the grassy islands, where egrets, herons, countless seagulls and even osprey make their home.
Seafood is of course fresh and plentiful. New Jersey fishermen land more than 100 varieties of finfish and shellfish from six major commercial fishing ports: Atlantic City, Barnegat Light, Belford, Cape May, Point Pleasant and Port Norris. Most notable are the sea scallops, blue crabs and oysters – don’t miss the must-try the Cape May Salts, harvested right from the Atlantic’s intertidal flats on Delaware Bay.
The Boardwalk(s). Starting with the world’s first, built in 1870, Atlantic City is rich with history, and still reigns as ‘America’s Playground’ (in usual times) complete with gleaming lights, flashy shows and beach bars reaching out from the casinos to the ocean.
Other favorites include Wildwood’s funky, retro vibe (38 blocks long, with five amusement piers), the home of NJ’s best live music in Asbury Park, family-friendly Ocean City and our perennial party place, Point Pleasant…it isn’t Summer without a trip to Jenkinson’s and Martel’s Tiki Bar for one of the shore’s best beach scenes.
Boardwalk food. Feast your way through the best Cheesesteaks – loaded with peppers, onions and mushrooms (sorry Philly, ours are the better), huge pizza slices (Joe’s on the Wildwood Boardwalk is a whopping 28″), funnel cake and zeppoles (we’ll deep fry anything, especially dough),
And don’t forget Kohrs Ice Cream…the iconic orange sherbet and vanilla ice cream swirl is a must.
History – yes, there is plenty, starting with America’s First Seaside Resort: Cape May (click for a full blog on this charming destination).
And all you lighthouse buffs shouldn’t miss Barneget, Absecon and Sandy Hook, the oldest operating in America. It is there you’ll also experience Gateway National Recreation Area in Monmouth County. The barrier peninsula forms the other side of the “gateway” to New York Harbor.
Fort Hancock served as part of the harbor’s coastal defense system from 1895 until 1974 and contains 100 historic buildings and fortifications. Sandy Hook contains seven beaches, including Gunnison Beach, a nude beach by custom, as well as salt marshes and a maritime holly forest.
The Asbury Park Boardwalk was founded in 1871 as a seaside residential resort in a prime waterfront location. Shortly after the city’s inception, the beach boardwalk was constructed, featuring an orchestra pavilion, public changing rooms and a pier extending into the Atlantic Ocean, capitalizing on the opportunity to attract visitors beyond the local region. In the 1920s, the Paramount Theatre and Convention Hall ushered in a new era of music and performing arts that still exists to this day.
Music – yes, the Jersey Shore is home to world-renowned artists with a sound that take you right to the boardwalk the minute you hear it.
Born in iconic venues like the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, many of the world’s most popular musicians have played at the venerable clubs and concert halls which today are considered some of the greatest rock & roll venues of all time.
From Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to Bon Jovi to Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes The Stone Pony, The Wonder Bar, Paramount Theatre and Convention Hall not only helped launched careers but put the Jersey Shore sound into music history.
This was a year like no other, but we still had our fun in the sun. For a week that went way too fast our family came together to spend long sunny days at the beach, paddle on the bay, enjoy spectacular sunsets and escape for a bit.
…cos down the shore everything’s alright…
Tell us why you love the Jersey Shore!
