Thursday, August 9, 2018

Summer Family Vacation at the Jersey Shore


There is a rule that if you live in New Jersey you MUST take a vacation at the Jersey shore in the summer.  I am very diligent about following this rule.  I have an almost religious fervor about the shore I must admit.  It raises my spirit, reduces my blood pressure, takes my mind to places of wonder, reflection and peace, and then it turns me on my heels and is just all out fun!.  I challenge you to find another place on earth that delivers all that.
So how does it deliver all that?  Here is a sample day.  We stay at a hotel with a pool just a block away from the boardwalk.  Each morning I walk the back way through the closed amusement park, up to the boardwalk and buy coffee and muffins for my husband at me at the Ocean City Coffee Company.  We sit outside at the hotel and enjoy the "Ocean City Roast Blend."  
Next I am off to the beach.  I walk the beach long distances in both directions – occasionally getting wet enough to cool off a bit. This is when I let my mind just wonder and wander.  It is both peaceful and exhilarating as I contemplate the waves one moment and enjoy all the activity at the shore's edge the next.   
The beach is crowded but it just seems right. There is enough room for all of us. In between walks I sit on the beach and take it all in…

Grandparents walking with grandchildren getting ready to keep a watchful eye as they go in the water

Strong looking lifeguards on duty….

Building sand forts, sitting at the water’s edge, strolling, wading, and jumping the waves…all within feet of each other…

Back at poolside my grandson never tires of jumping in the deep end…

And takes a moment to pose for the camera with Mom…

There are numerous opportunities to play miniature golf on the boardwalk.  I think this one is “Goofy Golf.”


After dinner it is time to hit the boardwalk -Wonderland Pier - and do the rides.  Grandma buys a big book of tickets and we are off to the races.

This one is a favorite….


Zach says that it is tradition to do the Crazy Submarine and so this is the last one of the night.  I thought riding the carousel together was the tradition but he skipped out on that one.

I don’t know how I missed taking a picture of both of us having a Kohr’s Frozen Custard but that is how we finish every night on the Boardwalk.

Of course there is the night that I have to myself on the boardwalk.  Yes, I shop, and sit and watch the waves at night and just enjoy taking it all in.  
Then I randomly chose to sit a few minutes facing the boardwalk and captured one of my favorite things about Ocean City, NJ.  This is a dry family resort town and it attracts a multigenerational crowd.  I am really into the multigenerational experience.  I look up and on my left is Fralinger’s.  They have been selling salt water taffy on the boardwalk since 1885.  

On my right are two newcomers to the boardwalk – a virtual reality and escape room experience.  I just sit and enjoy how both of these worlds over a century apart live so peacefully next to each other.


No matter where I travel in the world, this is always my favorite place to vacation.  What is your favorite place to vacation with family?  Please let us know in the comments.

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