On the Beach

elSicomoro · 06-06-2002, 02:15 AM

...and I don't mean the Nevil Shute novel.

I didn't have a whole lot going Monday, so I got some stuff done early, and Rho and I headed to the Shore (the New Jersey shoreline, which fronts the Atlantic Ocean).

There's a great little town about an hour east of Philadelphia called Belmar. It's not overly touristy, like Ocean City, MD or Virginia Beach, but has enough to make it interesting. We took pictures on the beach; I played in the waves and drew in the sand. Not a lot of good seashells this time around though. The weather was great--mostly sunny, temps in the mid-70s, a mild breeze.

After spending most of the afternoon in Belmar, I decided to head south along the Garden State Parkway. A huge fire had broken out in Double Trouble State Park near Toms River (about 60 miles south of NYC), which lies near the GSP. Signs along the GSP had noted to watch for heavy smoke.

And they weren't kidding. You could see the smoldering remains of the fire, both along the shoulder, and in the median of the parkway...this lasted for about 5-10 miles. The trees and ground were black, the smoke heavy, but visibility wasn't too bad. We saw a few pockets of flames as we drove along.

We wound up at the south end of the GSP, in Cape May. Cape May is an old historical town at the southern tip of New Jersey, about 100 miles SE of Philadelphia. The town itself is nice...it reminds me of Annapolis. I wasn't overly impressed with the oceanfront there though. The sand is rough, and doesn't feel so good on the feet. But it offers some great views...and there was a pretty good surf by the time we got down there (about 7pm). And maybe it was just because it was an early Monday evening in June, but the street along the oceanfront looked a bit forlorn.

I'm also a bit claustrophobic, and Cape May brought a bit of that out in me. As I mentioned, it's at the very southern tip of the state. The next major city is Atlantic City, which is about 30 miles north. And there's really only one major route out of town inland in the event of a hurricane (although there are other minor routes).

It was a great day though, I didn't spend a lot of money, and I should have some pics up at Sycamoreland this weekend. And once again, I've discovered that the state of New Jersey has some redeeming qualities.

Undertoad · 06-06-2002, 09:09 AM

Wow, it strikes me that since you're in the northeast, a place like Belmar is actually closer to you than the southern beaches.

Most Phillly-area people head to the beaches between AC and Cape May, because traditionally the beaches north are taken by the north Jersey-ites, but during the week it's all up for grabs. Also because between trashy Seaside Heights (go once on a Saturday night just for fun) and AC, Long Beach Island is more private.

There have been doctoral theses (thesises?) written about the different and evolving personalities of all the Jersey beach towns.

warch · 06-06-2002, 10:54 AM

So I work here in landlocked Minneapolis, but there is all of this Jersey Shore stuff going on everywhere I look...(eerie music) And I'm flashing back to those teenage shore trips to Cape May and Wildwood...My boss at the museum here is putting together an photo exhibition related to Springsteen and she just returned from Asbury Park, bringing me a Stone Pony shotglass. She was part of a conference to promote historic preservation and tap into the potential for music history based tourism. The town is really trying to preserve and promote itself, save some great buildings. She had lots of great shots of delapidated but very very cool recreation buildings and amusements. I've never been to Asbury Park, but Belmar is pretty close, right?

OK then it continues...she calls me today and ask if I want to go hear Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, who are traveling through here on Saturday- research for the show...I'm steeped in the shore, and what I really want to do is look out, take the boardwalk and see the sunrise over the ocean. Taste some salt. Guess I'll have to settle for a lake and a bag of chips.

elSicomoro · 06-06-2002, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Undertoad
Wow, it strikes me that since you're in the northeast, a place like Belmar is actually closer to you than the southern beaches.

Yep. I think we're 50 or so miles from Belmar/Asbury Park/Sea Girt via I-195. AC is a bit over an hour via the Tacony, NJ 73, and the ACE.

Quote:

There have been doctoral theses (thesises?) written about the different and evolving personalities of all the Jersey beach towns.

Theses.

elSicomoro · 06-06-2002, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by warch
So I work here in landlocked Minneapolis, but there is all of this Jersey Shore stuff going on everywhere I look...(eerie music) And I'm flashing back to those teenage shore trips to Cape May and Wildwood...My boss at the museum here is putting together an photo exhibition related to Springsteen and she just returned from Asbury Park, bringing me a Stone Pony shotglass. She was part of a conference to promote historic preservation and tap into the potential for music history based tourism. The town is really trying to preserve and promote itself, save some great buildings. She had lots of great shots of delapidated but very very cool recreation buildings and amusements. I've never been to Asbury Park, but Belmar is pretty close, right?

Yeah...Belmar is 3 towns south of Asbury Park...about 10 minutes apart.

I've wanted to go to Asbury Park, but have not yet done so. I've heard it's a bit rough (a la Atlantic City). But, I was reading a local paper the other day, and they had a ton of stuff going on there, so it can't be that bad.

warch · 06-06-2002, 04:12 PM

Yeah, the pictures I saw of Asbury were pretty desolate-but in a cool way I thought. Abandoned in 1966 or something. If you're a good photographer there's probably a lot of subject matter to catch. But then I love poking around old buildings. I hope they can get some preservation projects going. Its perhaps a place to explore rather than count on any relaxing beach combing experience, though. If ya go, tell us what youse guys find. Dont step on any jellyfish.

elSicomoro · 07-11-2002, 12:31 PM

Speaking of Belmar, yesterday was the 16th annual New Jersey Sandcastle Contest. I don't know the numbers for this year, but 3000 participants were involved last year. You can see the winner here. (NOTE: You need Acrobat Reader to view it.)

elSicomoro · 05-03-2003, 11:47 PM

So, it's that time of the year...

Time to head to the Shore.

It was a bit cool here today, but it didn't rain, so the lady and I headed to Belmar. Quite a few people out there, mostly flying kites and just hanging out on the Boardwalk. A few brave souls were boogieboarding...other than that, no swimmers.

Belmar must only clean up the beach once a week off-season...it looked like shit...beer cans, trash, and a dead seagull.

Lots of places are offering summer rentals. The mood at the moment seems to be 1) People will not be doing much traveling this summer and 2) If they do so, it will be close to home. From what I understand thus far, there is a glut of rentals along the Shore for this summer, compared to recent years.

I think Rho and I are going to seriously investigate this. Belmar is nice and quiet, and relatively cheap. And if we do spend a weekend or whatever down there, we'll do it before the summer tourist season kicks into full throttle (i.e. between now and mid-June).

Time to start looking...there is a rental with my name on it and a price that will be light on the wallet.

06-06-2002, 02:15 AM	#1
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	On the Beach ...and I don't mean the Nevil Shute novel. I didn't have a whole lot going Monday, so I got some stuff done early, and Rho and I headed to the Shore (the New Jersey shoreline, which fronts the Atlantic Ocean). There's a great little town about an hour east of Philadelphia called Belmar. It's not overly touristy, like Ocean City, MD or Virginia Beach, but has enough to make it interesting. We took pictures on the beach; I played in the waves and drew in the sand. Not a lot of good seashells this time around though. The weather was great--mostly sunny, temps in the mid-70s, a mild breeze. After spending most of the afternoon in Belmar, I decided to head south along the Garden State Parkway. A huge fire had broken out in Double Trouble State Park near Toms River (about 60 miles south of NYC), which lies near the GSP. Signs along the GSP had noted to watch for heavy smoke. And they weren't kidding. You could see the smoldering remains of the fire, both along the shoulder, and in the median of the parkway...this lasted for about 5-10 miles. The trees and ground were black, the smoke heavy, but visibility wasn't too bad. We saw a few pockets of flames as we drove along. We wound up at the south end of the GSP, in Cape May. Cape May is an old historical town at the southern tip of New Jersey, about 100 miles SE of Philadelphia. The town itself is nice...it reminds me of Annapolis. I wasn't overly impressed with the oceanfront there though. The sand is rough, and doesn't feel so good on the feet. But it offers some great views...and there was a pretty good surf by the time we got down there (about 7pm). And maybe it was just because it was an early Monday evening in June, but the street along the oceanfront looked a bit forlorn. I'm also a bit claustrophobic, and Cape May brought a bit of that out in me. As I mentioned, it's at the very southern tip of the state. The next major city is Atlantic City, which is about 30 miles north. And there's really only one major route out of town inland in the event of a hurricane (although there are other minor routes). It was a great day though, I didn't spend a lot of money, and I should have some pics up at Sycamoreland this weekend. And once again, I've discovered that the state of New Jersey has some redeeming qualities.

06-06-2002, 10:54 AM	#3
warch lurkin old school Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,796	Jersey Shore Buzz So I work here in landlocked Minneapolis, but there is all of this Jersey Shore stuff going on everywhere I look...(eerie music) And I'm flashing back to those teenage shore trips to Cape May and Wildwood...My boss at the museum here is putting together an photo exhibition related to Springsteen and she just returned from Asbury Park, bringing me a Stone Pony shotglass. She was part of a conference to promote historic preservation and tap into the potential for music history based tourism. The town is really trying to preserve and promote itself, save some great buildings. She had lots of great shots of delapidated but very very cool recreation buildings and amusements. I've never been to Asbury Park, but Belmar is pretty close, right? OK then it continues...she calls me today and ask if I want to go hear Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, who are traveling through here on Saturday- research for the show...I'm steeped in the shore, and what I really want to do is look out, take the boardwalk and see the sunrise over the ocean. Taste some salt. Guess I'll have to settle for a lake and a bag of chips.

06-06-2002, 09:09 AM	#2
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Wow, it strikes me that since you're in the northeast, a place like Belmar is actually closer to you than the southern beaches. Most Phillly-area people head to the beaches between AC and Cape May, because traditionally the beaches north are taken by the north Jersey-ites, but during the week it's all up for grabs. Also because between trashy Seaside Heights (go once on a Saturday night just for fun) and AC, Long Beach Island is more private. There have been doctoral theses (thesises?) written about the different and evolving personalities of all the Jersey beach towns.

06-06-2002, 04:12 PM	#6
warch lurkin old school Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,796	Yeah, the pictures I saw of Asbury were pretty desolate-but in a cool way I thought. Abandoned in 1966 or something. If you're a good photographer there's probably a lot of subject matter to catch. But then I love poking around old buildings. I hope they can get some preservation projects going. Its perhaps a place to explore rather than count on any relaxing beach combing experience, though. If ya go, tell us what youse guys find. Dont step on any jellyfish.

07-11-2002, 12:31 PM	#7
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	Speaking of Belmar, yesterday was the 16th annual New Jersey Sandcastle Contest. I don't know the numbers for this year, but 3000 participants were involved last year. You can see the winner here. (NOTE: You need Acrobat Reader to view it.)

05-03-2003, 11:47 PM	#8
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	So, it's that time of the year... Time to head to the Shore. It was a bit cool here today, but it didn't rain, so the lady and I headed to Belmar. Quite a few people out there, mostly flying kites and just hanging out on the Boardwalk. A few brave souls were boogieboarding...other than that, no swimmers. Belmar must only clean up the beach once a week off-season...it looked like shit...beer cans, trash, and a dead seagull. Lots of places are offering summer rentals. The mood at the moment seems to be 1) People will not be doing much traveling this summer and 2) If they do so, it will be close to home. From what I understand thus far, there is a glut of rentals along the Shore for this summer, compared to recent years. I think Rho and I are going to seriously investigate this. Belmar is nice and quiet, and relatively cheap. And if we do spend a weekend or whatever down there, we'll do it before the summer tourist season kicks into full throttle (i.e. between now and mid-June). Time to start looking...there is a rental with my name on it and a price that will be light on the wallet.

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