A Tale of Two Cities – Atlantic City and Ocean City NJ [Mid-Atlantic] (October 25-26. 2015)

Pirate fun in Ocean City

Atlantic City casinos

It is hard to imagine two cities more different from each other than Atlantic City and Ocean City.  They are located next to each other on the coast of New Jersey.  They both have famous beaches and boardwalks.  But that is where the similarities end.

We arrived in Atlantic City via the Atlantic City Expressway that brings you in front of the complex of bright new stores, including Bass Pro Shop.  We had wondered about where to park the motor home and had been told that Bass Pro Shop had an outdoor lot where customers could park.  We called them to verify and they directed us to an empty lot at the end of the Expressway.  From there we headed out on foot.  After passing the stores, we walked past Ceasar’s casino which was 3 blocks long and finally reached the boardwalk.  We wandered through several casinos but were never enticed to stop and gamble.  The boardwalk has casinos along the side, with a few restaurants and shops as well.  A few blocks inland from the stores and casinos, Atlantic City has small, rundown buildings.  The sidewalks are sticky.  A big contrast from the glamour of the stores and casinos.

Atlantic City boardwalk

Ocean City is an island of affluent homes.  It is clean and orderly.  The boardwalk has a Ferris wheel at each end and an assortment of shops and amusement areas in between.  Everything is family friendly with amusements for the kids.  The boardwalk is divided into separate lanes in each direction for joggers, bicycles, surreys and walkers. We had heard from several sources that we should visit Ocean City, so we took a detour on our trip south.  We really enjoyed Ocean City, with a leisurely walk along the boardwalk.  One of the best features – parking was free (in October)!

Approaching the Ocean City boardwalk

Ocean City boardwalk

Lanes in each direction

Yay, free parking!

Living the Island Life – Jersey Shore Barrier Islands [Mid-Atlantic] (October 23-24, 2015)

Island Beach State Park

Barnegat Lighthouse viewed from the North Island

 On the central coast of New Jersey are two long barrier islands separated from the mainland by the Barnegat Bay.  The northern island doesn’t seem to have a name, it is referred to on maps as the Barnegat Peninsula (though it is cut off from the mainland on all sides), and we saw it referred to as the North Island.  The island to the south is known as Long Beach Island or LBI.

When you cross over to the North Island you arrive at the town of Seaside Park and almost immediately see the amusement park Boardwalk that often represents the Jersey Shore in movies and books.  The rides and games were all closed for the winter while we were there, but it was easy to imagine it noisy and crowded with people having fun.

The beaches in the North Island were closed for renovation with earth moving equipment pushing sand from the beach up into the dunes.  So, we drove north along the central island road and looked at beach communities varying from rows of modest houses to towns with larger, fancier homes.  One thing every community had in common was that every parking spot has a number, and you pay to park at computerized kiosks that issue you a ticket to place on your dash.

The crown of this island is the Island Beach State Park which takes up the last 10 miles of the southern tip of the island.  Historical kismet caused this section of maritime forest and beach to never be developed, so the maritime vegetation is the same way now as it was hundreds of years ago.  The NJ Park Service has divided the park sections with some devoted to research and conservation.  You can drive through these sections, and we saw 2 small foxes on the side of the road watching the infrequent cars go by.  The beach here was wide and long with fine grained white sand.

Long Beach Island (LBI) is lovely with long white sand beaches lined by lovely homes.  At the north end of the island is the Barnegat Lighthouse.  The lighthouse is a New Jersey State Park and is open to the public.  You can walk up to the top without escort.  Once there you have a lovely view of Island Beach State Park as well as of LBI.  While we were on LBI we stopped off to check on a friend’s beach house there.  Afterwards we frolicked on the beach.

The view from Barnegat Light

Frolicking on the LBI beach

Heading to the Jersey Shore – Sandy Hook NJ [Mid-Atlantic Coastline] (October 22, 2015)

Sandy Hook Lighthouse

We usually drive as fast as we can through New Jersey to get past the traffic and congestion.  But what about the other Jersey?  So we have headed to the Jersey Shore to see what we could find.  

We started at the northernmost point of the New Jersey oceanfront – Sandy Hook, at the mouth of New York Harbor.  In 1762 a committee of prominent New York merchants purchased land to build a lighthouse to guide ships safely past the dangerous shoals off of Sandy Hook.  The lighthouse has been marking the point continuously since 1764, making it the oldest U.S. lighthouse in continuous use.

The land around the lighthouse was contested during the US Revolution, and was fortified during the War of 1812.  During the 1890’s an army base, Fort Hancock, and gun batteries were built to defend the harbor and protect NYC from attack by sea.  The base was used until it was decommissioned in 1974.  Some of the buildings of the base are still in use today for

The Sandy Hook in the Background with Fort Hancock

educational and scientific research.

We climbed up to the top of the lighthouse and had a fabulous view, including 4 of the 5 boroughs of New York City.

Sandy Hook and Fort Hancock are now part of the National Park Service Gateway National Recreation Area, a collection of sites around New York Harbor.

Sandy Hook Lighthouse

On the way to Sandy Hook, we traveled for a short while along the Jersey Shore.  In the town of Sea Bright we passed a municipal parking lot by the sand dunes and beach.  We pulled over and crossed over the dunes to a beautiful stretch of wide, white beach.  It was a bright, warm day and we couldn’t be happier to see waves gently roll in to shore. 

Leaving Sandy Hook we traveled as close as we could to the shore passing through beach towns, some affluent and some not so well-to-do.  We stopped off in the town of Sea Girt to see their lighthouse.  It was not open, but we got a few good photos.

Looking up the stairwell

 

Sea Bright Beach

Sea Girt Light