Greetings from the Jersey shore!

After Burlington, we went to Belleville, NJ to see Monello's mom; then on to the Poconos to hang with his sister at her lake house. I spent 3 days without cell service and very limited internet. IT WAS HELL!!! All this talk about, hey, unplug! Bah. Bull####. It sucks. It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have to work, but I did so there was more than a little anxiety.

So anyway, here we are in Toms River for a week!

Once again my good karma had me smelling like a rose. I had to replace my hotspot because the battery blew up (you should have seen this thing, good grief), so afterward we decided to go to Chinese buffet. I found a good one, plugged it into the GPS, and Monello proceeded to drive...and drive...and miss the jughandle that snuck up out of nowhere, and drive....and then I took over and I drove...and drove...and missed that same jughandle...it was amazingly frustrating...until we ended up back where we started and said to heck with it, let's have dinner at this Italian grill place in front of us.

OMG!

Monello had the Sunday dinner platter with meatballs, bracciole, sausage, and pasta; and I had a pork chop with vinegar peppers and long hots, parmesan polenta, and broccoli rabe, with an appetizer of crispy brussel sprouts. And it was a big plate so I get to have it again for breakfast tomorrow.

Thank you, karma gods, for making that Chinese buffet impossible to find, and for stupid jughandles, and for a crazy GPS lady who doesn't realize they exist. This is why I always pick up the dog's poop and let people in in traffic and leave a tip for housekeeping: racking up those karma points.

(Oh, and it turned out that the Chinese place was right where it should have been but they didn't have a lit up sign so we didn't see it even though we drove past it several times.)

"Shut Up and Eat!" - CASH ONLY, WORTH EVERY PENNY - AMAZING BREAKFAST

vraiblonde said:

After Burlington, we went to Belleville, NJ to see Monello's mom; then on to the Poconos to hang with his sister at her lake house. I spent 3 days without cell service and very limited internet. IT WAS HELL!!! All this talk about, hey, unplug! Bah. Bull####. It sucks. It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have to work, but I did so there was more than a little anxiety.

So anyway, here we are in Toms River for a week!

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So,*that's what happened to you!

Interesting (or not!) Military Brat factoids: My brother was born in Tom's River, NJ. Then some time after that we moved to Pax River, MD where my sister was born. Then back to Lakehurst, NJ a year or so before we moved to Naples, Italy. I started school in Lakehurst and went to 1st and part of 2nd grade there. I walked to school by myself WITH my lil' brother- who was in (half-day) Kindergarten. We walked home for LUNCH, (and he would dilly-dally taking his time, and I would get so mad at him, because I only had a little bit of time!!) and he stayed home - but I had to return to school. I also still remember our home telephone number there!

warneckutz said:

"Shut Up and Eat!" - CASH ONLY, WORTH EVERY PENNY - AMAZING BREAKFAST

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We passed that yesterday and thought it looked interesting.

Bann said:

So,*that's what happened to you!

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That's the only thing that mars hanging out with the sister there...but it's a big mar. Being out of touch is weird.

vraiblonde said:

That's the only thing that mars hanging out with the sister there...but it's a big mar. Being out of touch is weird.

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Sounds like a wonderful vacation place on the lake, though.

vraiblonde said:

We passed that yesterday and thought it looked interesting.

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If you get a chance - go... it's a little off the wall but the food is beyond epic. best breakfast I've had in a LONG time. Apple Pie pancakes don't even need syrup

vraiblonde said:

Monello had the Sunday dinner platter with meatballs, bracciole, sausage, and pasta

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You misspelled broccoli

So, I totally didn't do this right. I put us in Toms River, which is fine, but Seaside Park is way way better. If I had it to do over again I'd get a rental or crap motel right by the beach. We're okay at our Clarion in Toms River, but we could have been a lot happier.

A lot of my posts are meant for travelers get some tips. So your tip for Jersey Shore is to get something, you know, on the shore.

Tonight we went down to the boardwalk and it was SO COOL! Because it was in the middle of the week and rainy, traffic was low and we were able to find a seat at an ocean front bar and have a drink and a steak (which is their thing here, a cheesesteak). I wanted the crappiest boardwalk cheesesteak available, which was at this nondescript place whose name I can't remember.

It wasn't crappy, it was pretty good. But it had these crappy cheeseball things on it that crapped it up more than it deserved.

So anyway, SoMD, the Jersey Shore is within reach of you and you need to get a place on the ocean in Seaside Park to get the best out of it.

Greetings from Asbury Park!

This was our afternoon jaunt. For some reason I had a mental picture of it as a chit hole with crappy people hanging around - probably because of all those Bruce Springsteen songs. NO! Asbury Park and its neighbor, Neptune, are super cute. All beachy and family oriented, with a great boardwalk (the upside to Sandy) and all kinds of eateries and shops and fun things to do once you cross over into the Asbury Park area. Neptune is quieter, but it's just a short walk along the ocean to the stuff.

Did I mention that I didn't do this right?

Anyway, we walked the boardwalk and had dinner at a Cuban place that was merely okay. Normally I'm madly in love with Cuban food but this was somewhat underwhelming. Monello's cod was attractive and tasty, but my lechon was under-seasoned and bland. I owe myself some picadillo after that.

When you vacation on the Jersey Shore, note that they don't have a lot of chain hotels. You stay in vacation homes or B&Bs, similar to when you go to OBX. In Asbury and Neptune, they're LARGE! former homes, all historic and adorable with big porches and decorative features. A couple blocks off the beach they have more traditional motels. The Stone Pony is right there and they have a large convention center right on the beach with concerts and entertainment every weekend.

Whoever came up with the idea for the Jersey jughandle - yeah, please explore other career opportunities because you suck at road design. Instead of taking a left at the stop light, you take a right and circle around...to stop at that same light.



It makes no sense and I cannot think of a reason why they did it that way. And it's not consistent - some lights, you can make a left turn; others have the jughandle. And they don't give you a lot of advance warning as to which it's going to be, which is more than a little bit frustrating when there's traffic going on.

One more weekend, then home to Solomons we go! I'm excited to get back (mostly to see my friends and also because it means that only another month before we head for Florida )

A boardwalk chapel

Is the Berkeley Carteret still there?

To you all who recommended Shut Up and Eat - WINNER! The place is kitschy and interesting, with all kinds of memorabilia on the walls and around the restaurant. Breakfast and lunch only; cash only.

I had eggs over with pumpernickel toast and a huge side of corned beef hash that wasn't Chick 'N Ruth's but it was still pretty good. It was an easy two breakfasts, so I'll eat leftovers either tonight or in the morning.

In Burlington we had a well-appointed fitness room at our disposal and got in the habit of going to the gym every day. This Clarion has a fitness room, but the equipment is cheap and annoying, plus there's a crappy weight machine instead of hand weights. We've been using it, but we don't love it, so for today's exercise we're going to the park to bike ride (riding on the streets here is only for the suicidal). It's a glorious day - sunny and mild - perfect day for a ride after I get my work done.

vraiblonde said:

....... also because it means that only another month before we head for Florida )

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you should arrive in time for clean up

Today was a very different day on the Seaside Heights boardwalk than when we went the other day. Sunny and beautiful, tons of people out walking around, all the shops and greasy food stands open for business, the amusement park and arcades buzzing. We walked the boardwalk, had a slice and a soft serve, then went to Island Beach State Park for a bike ride and walk in the sand (beach walking is very good exercise, btw - my butt and thighs are on fire).

Pleasantly surprised by the Jersey Shore.

Did you meet Snooky?

GWguy said:

Did you meet Snooky?

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No, but she has an awful lot of impersonators.

Boo hoo hoo, goodbye New Jersey! Today we head back to Maryland.

NJ is an excellent example of how one state can be so different in each area. Newark area is a large swath of grit and urban blight, while the shore is a family mecca with terrific beaches, parks, and boardwalks with arcades, rides, fair food, and little shops.

We really enjoyed our time here and would definitely come back.