Let's begin again, shall we?
We are not far in miles from THE BEACH but a little something called 'shore traffic' does stand between us and the crashing surf. We left the house at 8 am and had our toes in the sand by 9:45. Not bad. Did I mention it was in the 90's with a heat index over 100 degrees? What is a heat index anyway? Whatever it is I know its nothing good when it arches over 100 degrees. Fortunately it was really breezy sitting in a beach chair facing the Atlantic Ocean. Normally I don't even put my big toe in the water at the 'Jersey Shore' because even at the end of one of the hottest Julys on record the water is still icy cold. Saturday was so hot that icy cold actually felt pretty good.
There were some awesome waves too...maybe not awesome like Hawaii surf conditions awesome but still really good waves for body surfing. Hubs spent a lot of time in the waves. I spent most of my time reading in my beach chair which is my most favorite of all pastimes.
If all you know of the Jersey Shore is what you've seen on a questionable television program of the same name then you might be surprised by the loveliness of Spring Lake. (Hello NJ Dept. of Tourism. I'm back with more free advertising.) There are some gorgeous homes in Spring Lake and I'm pretty sure I would love to have a beach house there. It's a quiet town but you can always drive up or down the 'shore' a town or two if you feel the need for anything more entertaining than the ocean.
Speaking of the ocean...what is up with people loudly making and taking business calls while standing on the beach??? On a Saturday no less. We saw this in Marco Island too so its not a 'Jersey Shore' thing. I think its more of a 21st century thing. Hey, its the ocean people! One of the most awesome displays of God's power and creativity we have here on earth. Put down the phone for goodness sakes! If you don't you may very well end up on a stranger's blog.
Just sayin'.
One thing about NJ beaches...they are crowded. As in lots of people. Lots and lots of people. NJ is a tiny state but it is packed with people. And cars. And taxes but that's a post for another day. Anyway, I think the fact that Spring Lake doesn't have all the arcades and amusement park rides and casinos, etc. that some of the other shore towns have are what has allowed it to remain a little less crazy. Which is how I like my beach towns.
We found a parking space without any trouble in a beautiful neighborhood only one block from the beach. There's not a lot of town to Spring Lake, mostly pretty neighborhoods, some restaurants, the ocean of course and also, a lake. Hence the name-Spring Lake. I would love to have a beach house someday but it's pretty safe to say that as lovely as Spring Lake is my future beach house will not be in The Garden State (Hello NJ Dept. of Taxation. I blame you.)
Spring Lake did make for a a wonderful day out...we soaked up the sun, had a nutritious and delicious hot dog on the boardwalk, drank our body weight in water (did I mention it was HOT?), and did lots of people watching because truly, is there anyplace better for people watching than the beach? When we headed for home close to 6 PM it was still 100 degrees. Literally. At 6 o'clock in the evening.
We have a few busy weekends coming up but we'd love to go back before summer comes to a close. It was the perfect little spot for a day-cation...
Sun, sand, surf.
That's what I think of when I hear the words "Jersey Shore"
