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NJ keeps running an ad featuring Bon Jovi promoting visiting their beaches.
The most memorable scene features the Cape May lighthouse.
It got me thinking.
I've never vactioned in NJ and really had no desire.
I like the Outer Banks because of the surf and seclusion once you get out of the main strip.
I also like how the water is nice and warm.
NJ has always struck as, well, NJ, overcrowded beaches, trashy, with boardwalks, mild water, so so surf, nothing special and not the most cleaneast.
I'm wondering, I know some of you might be partial, but what is the NJ shore like in general and in particular, Cape May?
Is it average like Ocean City, MD, or is it pretty warm, with a good surf, and quiet like parts of the Outer Banks?
NJ keeps running an ad featuring Bon Jovi promoting visiting their beaches.
The most memorable scene features the Cape May lighthouse.
It got me thinking.
I've never vactioned in NJ and really had no desire.
I like the Outer Banks because of the surf and seclusion once you get out of the main strip.
I also like how the water is nice and warm.
NJ has always struck as, well, NJ, overcrowded beaches, trashy, with boardwalks, mild water, so so surf, nothing special and not the most cleaneast.
I'm wondering, I know some of you might be partial, but what is the NJ shore like in general and in particular, Cape May?
Is it average like Ocean City, MD, or is it pretty warm, with a good surf, and quiet like parts of the Outer Banks?
cape may is a great place to vacation at, nice beaches, good restaurants nice places to stay,and while there are people on the beach it isn't crazy crowded.
One thing about the jersey shore, it is big, and every town has a distinct personality, there really is a town for everyone, do you like action and crowds? try wildwood or seaside, do you want peace and quiet? ocean city, lavalette come to mind, then there are the family type towns, towns that cater to day trippers, towns that cater to the 20 somethings, look around I am sure there is a beach town that could suit anyone's tastes
I love Wildwood Beach/Boardwalk. It is not known for being peaceful and quiet! It is very lively, with rides, a ferris wheel, little stores, food shops...the sand is super soft. I don't swim, so I appreciate that you can walk pretty far out into the ocean and the water stays shallow for quite a distance.
I used to travel down to Wildwood in my younger years. It had the best of both worlds. In North Wildwood, Zabers probably had the best restaurant in all of Wildwood and Miss Kitty's featured some great live entertainment.
The main center of Wildwood (by the boardwalk) is geared more towards teens to mid 30s crowd. The boardwalk is about 2 miles long and is serviced
by a tram car. .......Watch the tram car please! Very family friendly compared to Seaside IMO.
South Wildwood attracted quieter, older folks. I believe it was dry
which helped cut down on the wild parties. Bal Harbor used to be the upscale
motel on the ocean featuring a restaurant on the first level.
Cape May has a fee for using their beaches but it is very clean. Many Victorian Homes have been restored in Cape May. "Angel of the Sea" is worth visiting. Built in 1850, the home has been converted to an Inn. It is an airy, Victorian 'painted lady.' Completely renovated in 1988 by John and Barbara Girton.
I have wonderful memories of vacationing in Avalon as a child (60's-70's) and Stone Harbor as an adult. I was extremely fortunate that my Grandmother had a home in Avalon, steps from the beach. Our family had gone to Avalon since the 1950's and then the home was sold for a sum in the 1970's, today that prime real estate would sell for an unbelieveable amount. The beaches are still well known in Avalon/Stone Harbor. When I was a kid they beaches were enormous and the sand just right.
Back in the those early years, everyone knew everyone, and it was all about the families.
It was small town, the bakery, the 5&10, a few bars, a restuarant here and there.
Like every other gem in the USA, they were discovered more and more and now the Real Estate is some of the highest on the Eastern seaboard.
It still has alot of those same characteristics, however the crowd is more elite/preppy, and has lots of wealth.
As great as those memories are I still love visiting the Jersey shore from Avalon and Stone Harbor to the Wildwoods to Cape May and a little "ching ching" at Atlantic City. However it is not the "Outerbanks" or Cape Cod, or even the Hamptons (that's another group entirely), but a great place for folks from the Mid Atlantic to get away and still go to the seashore.
So I can see why people from other parts of the USA visit and say "ok" its nice but I can't figure out why everyone might rave about it and come in droves.
One key reason I can say, is that whenever someone was going to the Shore, they always seem to know someone there or someone knew someone else and so on. Before you know it it is one big family party of friends/family/workmates/college friends,etc.
The Jersey Shore has gotten crowded and expensive but there is still something about it, that those who go, just love it.
My impression of the NJ shore is just that, a nice place to go to get to the beach if you live nearby, but otherwise overcrowded, average beaches, water, surf, and scenery that is not in the league of NE beaches of the Outer Banks.
In other words nice for nearby locals to get away for a couple days but not some place people from out the area spend close to a week.
My impression of the NJ shore is just that, a nice place to go to get to the beach if you live nearby, but otherwise overcrowded, average beaches, water, surf, and scenery that is not in the league of NE beaches of the Outer Banks.
In other words nice for nearby locals to get away for a couple days but not some place people from out the area spend close to a week.
then you really don't know the NJ shore, sure some towns are as you describe but there are others that are like gems, fantastic places to spend time, millions of people have fond memories of growing up on the shore, take some time, slow down and find one place that works for you
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Avalon/Stone Harbor
