Adventures galore at Seaside Heights!

Seaside Heights is a popular destination located in the Ocean County of New Jersey, primarily because along with the Beach it also has an amusement-oriented Boardwalk, which is one of the busiest at the Shore. The community is also the location of popular MTV Show Jersey Shore.

As I am very fond of beaches and have already covered more than 10 of them this year (some had lighthouses too), i couldn’t have left this one out. So, with much excitement, we left one Sunday afternoon for Manasquan, which is on the way to Seaside Heights. We spent a bit of time on a beach in Manasquan. The place was not crowded at all, maybe because there is too much to do just a few miles away at Seaside Heights. However, calmness has its own beauty and we saw people enjoying their afternoon playing sports at the beach, including kite flying 🙂

As we reached Seaside Heights, the hustle-bustle there spoke about its popularity. Saru was happy to see numerous amusement options at the Casino Pier. First, we took the Sky Ride, that took us high above the beach and boardwalk. The cool breeze from the ocean, and great views of the Atlantic Ocean, Barnegat Bay, Seaside Height’s Beach and Boardwalk took our breath away!

We then walked on the Boardwalk from the end where the sky ride dropped us to the other, where plenty of rides are located. This time I skipped the other adventure activities there, having done the same at Jenkinson’s boardwalk at Point Pleasant last year. However, Saru was thrilled just by seeing them and experienced Super Storm. The ride swings like a pendulum and also spins around its circle. The greatest thrill is when it turns you upside down, making a 360 degree revolution. Well, some people might feel nauseated after it, and that’s what happened to Saru…so that was it for the day. But we spent a splendid time there enjoying seeing others take other rides.

Sunset at Sandy Hook with Sony Alpha 7

Here’s a post i was waiting for long…the one with my new Camera in action – Sony Alpha 7. The device is simply awesome!

I absolutely love beaches, lighthouses and the calmness around. One of my recent travels has been to Sandy Hook a couple of weeks back and i was so mesmerized that i went there again last Saturday. It is hardly an hour long drive from my place and is located at the North end of Jersey Shore.

I was simply in awe of the place as it is almost 6 mile long stretch with Sandy Hook Bay and Atlantic Ocean on either side. With width of the strip varying from just 0.1 to 1.0 mile, the sight of people cycling alongside or doing kayaking in the water or just enjoying the pristine beaches is amazing.

The beaches there are considered one of the finest in New Jersey and Gunnison beach in particular is one of the largest clothing optional beaches on the East Coast. Add to it the excitement when one sees the New York skyline from the beaches, as is apparent in one of my pictures below.

I and Saru drove all the way almost till the tip of Sandy Hook, where likes Fort Hancock – former United States Army Fort. We could see many historic buildings at Fort Hancock, many of them undergoing restoration as some of them even date back to 1800s. The Sandy Hook Light, the oldest working lighthouse in the US, is located on the grounds of Fort Hancock.

I guess my camera got the perfect setting on its first adventure, that would take your breath away as well 🙂

New York skyline visible in the distance

Fort Hancock historic buildings on left, some under renovation

A Lighthouse with Spectacular Views – Barnegat

We had been waiting to visit Barnegat Lighthouse for quite some time. With the temperature in the 80s last Saturday, it was a perfect day to head out to the Beach. So, we go the opportunity to fulfill both our desires at a single place.

Barnegat Light is the northernmost community on the Long Beach Island (LBI) and derives its name from the Barnegat Lighthouse, which is one of the Jersey Shore’s most famous attractions. It is a quiet and relaxing shore town.

  

After reaching there, we were taken in for a pleasant surprise since along the Lighthouse, there is a long walkway (almost a mile) made of huge rocks, which provides for an amazing stroll along the bay. We could see boats coming and going from the bay, birds and sea life.

Before taking this long walk, we headed up on the Lighthouse, the ticket for which is priced reasonably at $3 for an adult. There are 217 steps that lead up to the light. Once at the top, the views were stunning. One can see wonderful views of the LBI, the Atlantic Ocean, Barnegat Bay, Barnegat Inlet and Island Beach State Park (see the long stripe at the top in the picture below).

The Island Beach State Park looks quite beautiful from the Lighthouse, but there is another way to reach there, that would take almost an hour from where we were. Since our day was reserved for the Barnegat Lighthouse, Beach and other surprising activities there, I will continue with our Barnegat experience with thoughts of writing more about Island Beach State Park when we actually visit it.

We spent a cool and breezy half-an-hour at the top of Lighthouse and hardly wanted to come down. But then we could see the pathway and beach in the distance, which were so inviting. So, we headed down and out and right away onto the mile-long stroll. It was a very relaxing walk since the rocks are huge and we could see many people fishing. At the end of it is the beach, which was gorgeous. We spent a very soothing time, amazed by the beauty of the place.

After coming back to the foot of the Lighthouse after a couple of hours, we also did a short 0.2 mile walk along a loop trail, which branches off near the visitor center, to see the birds and plants. It is a small piece of land, and is about the only forested area left on Long Beach Island. The forest is dominated by Black Cherry, Sassafras, Eastern Red Cedar, and American Holly.

Spring and fall migration are great times to see a variety of birds. The combination of conditions there provide for a rich natural habitat.

Having spent almost a day, we headed back home, but not before doing some shopping at the Jersey Shore Premium Outlets 🙂

Hidden gem of New Jersey – Spring Lake

More often than not, i like going to Offbeat places. The reasons are many – they are beautiful, clean, less crowded and even cheap overall. With the Memorial day long weekend and approaching Summer, we decided to hit the beach. We have already covered most of US East Coast, so options are hard to find. But then, we hardly stay at home 🙂

With a bit of research, we found a beautiful place, an hour away from our place – the Borough of Spring Lake. The Borough of Belmar is famous for its beach, but many don’t know Spring Lake is more beautiful and is just a couple of minutes walk from Belmar, along the beach. One can actually park for free at the beach in Spring Lake and then just walk to the congested place of Belmar, where the parking is paid. We drove through both the Boroughs along the beach and spent good half-a-day just walking through the streets of Spring Lake.

It got a bit cold by around 8 pm, so we had to head back home. Since the summers are not in full swing yet, not many people were there to see around. But it was beautiful time spent.

What i loved about Spring Lake:

1. Non commercial 2-mile free and quiet beach.

2. Even the borough itself is beautiful and less crowded.

3. If one likes long walks or cycling, park in Spring Lake and cover Belmar, Bradley and Asbury Park, all along the beach.

A day spent well

It was the end of December 2014 and my project was very hectic. The climate being gloomy in the US added to the frustration and stress. Me and my wife are fun lovers and the tough time seemed to be taking a toll on us a lot more. We just wanted to get out of the the house, far away from all we were experiencing, on a trip to freshen ourselves up. We had the habit of going on trips every few months. After checking a few options, we thought of spending our new year in Atlantic City, Ocean City and Cape May, though the weather on the entire East Coast was chilling. But when it comes to journeys wherein i get to drive, nobody can stop me. We set 3 days for our trip, spending the first 2 days in Atlantic City and Ocean City. We did a bit of gambling in Atlantic City on 31st December and enjoyed the fireworks mid-night in Ocean City.

However, it was the last day of our trip (2nd Jan 2015), when we enjoyed the most. It was sunny that day and we spent half-a-day in the Cape May Zoo. In the afternoon, we reached the Sunset Beach. A gentle breeze was blowing and it was such a picturesque view. We thought to ourselves that we couldn’t have spent time in a better way at a place where one can easily detach himself from the hustle-bustle of life. Since it was a Friday and we had the entire upcoming weekend to take rest, we were in no rush to head back home. While relaxing at the beach and looking at the Sun go down, we literally had nothing else going on in our minds. Me and wife talked about the little things that add pleasure to our lives – baking cake together, coming to home from work and unwinding in the company of each other; while all that may seem frivolous, it brings immense happiness. We walked down the memory lane by sharing our childhood stories. We laughed and soaked the freshness of the new year. It was a day filled with tranquility. It rejuvenated us. The entire experience with nature there gave us so much, to look forward to the positive aspects of life. Having spent 3 hours at the beach together we were so full of energy that when we think about it now, it energizes us again. I never thought, a day could bring so much positivity and cheer.

Here are a couple of pictures from that day:

The entire trip was so worth it that we have now made it a point to go on such outings every few weeks. This makes sure that we unwind ourselves from any materialistic baggage we are carrying and fill ourselves with hope and optimism. I recommend everybody to indulge in such activities every now and then. It definitely has a therapeutic effect.

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I got the Spot, Honey!

Before your wild imaginations run amuck, the spot I am talking about is a parking spot. Like the one you imagined after reading the post title, this one is quite hard to find, specially during holidays and long weekends. I have struggled in the narrow lanes of Ambala, busy streets of posh New Jersey, serpentine roads of Himachal; but what tops the list of my arduous quest is one small town on Jersey Shore – Point Pleasant.

The place is pleasant but finding a parking spot in summer is quite an unpleasant task. As smart as I am, just for the sake of getting a nice parking spot, I go early. Sometimes as early that the place is not even open. In fact, we did it in our recent Cape May trip, where we informed the officials that it’s time to open the zoo. Coming back to Point Pleasant, we got there early, found a nice “free” parking spot, spent some quality time in the aquarium, but then, the inevitable happened. My ever hungry and super choosy wife longed for food and she was in a mood to eat at Taco Bell that day. Complying to the wishes of my Almighty (you see, she gives me bread and butter every alternate morning), I drove 12 miles to the nearest joint. She was happy, I was happy that she was happy. But what broke the virtuous cycle of our happiness was the parking spot, when we went back to Point Pleasant after lunch.

This was around 2 in the afternoon and it seemed entire America was walking in the bathing suits towards the beach and each one had brought their own car. There was not even a single spot available – not even paid. And Madamji wanted to experience sunset on the beach. Like the muted version of our earlier PM, I obliged. So, for more than an hour, we went round and round 8 blocks to find a parking spot.

At first, we waited, then we drove towards any car that was moving, in the hope that some got sun-stroked and were going back. It didn’t work. Then, we started following people who were coming out of the beach and my lovely wife started asking them – Are you guys leaving?
Nope, No, Nada – we heard all versions of a plain ‘No’ that day.

But then someone said something other than No, but sadly it was – We live close by.
Then, my wife reframed the questions and started asking a set of questions – Do you guys live near by? If the answer was No, it was followed by – Are you guys leaving? To which one guy replied – ‘Negative’ in European accent! Wow, what kind of world he came from? See, I told you, now I know every version of ‘No’ in both English and Urban dictionary.

That was enough, I told my wife to walk towards the beach and I would join her after I got the parking. She walked out of the car, leaving her chauffeur behind. But what I saw couple of minutes later in the rare view mirror was baffling. She was hysterically waving at me. I panicked. I swiveled the car and drove towards her. She looked Ok, I rolled down the mirror. ‘I got the spot, Honey’, she yelled.

I looked at her in complete bewilderment and found many heads turning towards her. Some words have weird connotations, I tell you. I told her to calm down but she held the spot so dearly as if she won a jackpot. I parked, she smiled, and we saw the sunset on that beautiful summer day.

Finally, relaxing at the beach!