Friday, May 11, 2012
Cape May and Morey's Piers in Wildwood also received votes
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Friday, May 11, 2012
Ocean City Boardwalk, one of the most authentic and old-fashioned boardwalks on the Jersey Shore, was the clear winner in this week's Readers' Choice poll for favorite Jersey Shore "Staycation" Spots. Thanks for voting. Others that received votes were: Fantasy Island Family-fun amusement park in Beach Haven on Long Beach Island. Jenkinson's Boardwalk An aquarium, rides, food and other seaside pleasures in Point Pleasant Beach. Seven Presidents' Beach Where the presidents once vacationed, in Long Branch, before they shifted to Florida, Hawaii and Kennebunkport, Maine. Asbury Park Boardwalk The famous boardwalk that was once part of a Bruce Springsteen record-album title. Ocean Grove The unique Victorian community in Monmouth County with the…
Saturday, February 18, 2012
I grew up at the Jersey Shore, and I admired her from afar - but I was closer to her than I thought
Growing up, I wanted to be the greatest at whatever I did, the guy who'd rise above the troubles of my family. I wanted to become the Muhammad Ali, even the Whitney Houston, in my corner of the world. I wanted to be the best runner, the best baseball player, the best surfer, even if I couldn't swim until I was 8. I grew up at the Jersey Shore but, for so many years, I was too afraid to swim in water that went over my head. I wanted to be the best writer, even as my college roommate at Rutgers made fun of it, calling it "a bad imitation of Shakespeare." I wanted to be a musician, even if I didn't know my octaves from my falsettos, or my piano keys from my car keys. I wanted to be a star, but not one of power, money and fame. I wanted to …
Friday, February 17, 2012
One accident on the North Jersey Coast Line was too much. Now it's up to five since April 1, 2011.
The voices are getting louder now. They're getting louder than the thunderous waves that crash on the beaches of Manasquan, Long Branch, Point Pleasant and Seaside Heights in the middle of a Nor'easter. They're louder than the voices on that MTV show that co-opted the Jersey Shore name. Seven dead in three years. At least three of them were suicides. From 2008 to 2009, four Manasquan High School students - or recent graduates at the time - were hit and killed by NJ Transit trains. Now Wednesday, when a teenager from Spring Lake Heights died after he was hit by a train. He apparently made no attempt to get out of the way, officials said. These tragedies on the Jersey Coast rail tracks were once thought to be isolated and independent. Now …
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Planning a vacation or just a day trip? Patch has all the information on the Shore's best beaches
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Thursday, September 1, 2011
Wonder how much it will cost to get on your favorite beach? Stressed about where to park? Debating whether to pack a lunch or head up to the boardwalk? All the answers are right here. Just click each individual beach name for all the essential information on the best Shore spots around the counties. BARNEGAT LIGHT Visitors to Barnegat Light can enjoy both the beautiful beach as well as BarnegatLighthouse State Park, home to "Old Barney." Seasonal beach badges are currently available for $25. The price increases to $35 on June 15. Senior citizens, ages 65 and older, can purchase a seasonal pass for $10. Weekly badges also are available at a rate of $20 — with a week being defined as running from Saturday to Friday. The daily rate is $5 …
Monday, May 2, 2011
Now that 9-11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden is dead, we look back at a man who loved the ocean
For months, the pile was still smoldering. The signs looking for the missing still hung, even though there was no hope. At home, all we could do was just worry and wait, hoping somebody would emerge from the "pile," and say that they were safe and alive. No one ever came out. No one, not even Brett Bailey, a Brick resident who was a lifeguard turned broker. Lifeguards know something about survival and saving others. But so many like Brett couldn't withstand the planes, the burning fuel, the collapsing towers and the dust that spread through New York City blocks. As a reporter, I rode with troops to and from Afghanistan. I sat with National Guard men and women who saw Taliban missiles float by their planes. I listened to them say that the …
Sunday, April 24, 2011
A small but steady trickle of tourists and local faithful came for Jenkinson's annual half-price ticket sale on Saturday in Point Pleasant Beach
The on-and-off rain and cloudy skies kept some away early Saturday. But locals and tourists took advantage of the smaller crowds and enjoyed the fare at Jenkinson's in Point Pleasant Beach. Many were there for the annual half-off sale on tickets, but they also appreciated the fact that they were almost always at the head of every line at Jenkinson's rides.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Five young lives have ended on the North Jersey Coast Line since 2008; others have been a little luckier
The trains scream by every half hour or so, stopping for nothing. Along the North Jersey Coast Line, the only life that usually lingers are the squirrels, the raccoons and, occasionally, the homeless. The latter digs ditches in the scrub brush, and finds refuge from the tough world under piles of cardboard. Recently, others have begun to share their space, daring or desperate enough to be in their dark, cavernous zones of mostly silence. High school students and graduates from Manasquan and, lately, Long Branch have treated the rails as a place to live and linger. Some are daring, sojourning there during a typically boring afternoon, and then dodging away from the 100 mph trains that stampede through. Others just seem to be done, and …
Friday, March 11, 2011
I grew up in Point Peasant Borough, but we enjoyed it here
The choppy waves crashed on the sand, pushed by the hard wind and rain. The sky was a thick gray, hovering over a deserted, dusty beach. But as I sat in my car on Thursday, watching it all pound on the surf, pulling the sand away, I could see my mother's smile, rising above the tide. When I was young, we came here, to Manasquan, because it was the best place to go. We came here, because it was simple and serene. We came here, even when it was crowded. In Manasquan, for whatever reason, there was always enough space for a blanket and a few chairs. The sand felt soft and natural. Gee Gee's had pinball and pizza. There was no boardwalk; just a simple, smooth asphalt path that runners, cyclists and stroller-pushers used with ease. We were here…
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Watson, 78, of Point Beach, who died Feb. 28, was the Point Boro Key Club advisor, and helped set up recycling in the area
Jack Watson never wanted anything to be merely ordinary - even if it was an ordinary old school club. When he took over the Key Club at Point Boro High School some 40 years ago, he wanted it to do more than hold cake sales or roll cotton candy at the Seafood Fest. Watson was known to be modest, so he would never put down anybody who did the car washes and the tricky-trays. It's just that, well, Jack, always wanted more. Watson, 78, who died Feb. 28 at his Point Beach home, helped turn the Point Boro Key Club - which was affiliated with the Kiwanis organization - into one of the most successful in the country. This Key Club did more than raise money - and it raised a lot. The Key Club helped set up one of the state's first regularly …
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Chris Matlosz had many friends; now, he has many more
They've seen people die. That's what happens when you're a police officer. You see the worst of things. Or so you think, until another surprise comes your way. Few officers see one of their own die - not on duty. Never, some said, did they think this could happen here. Never did they think it could happen to a guy like Chris Matlosz. He was a guy with a fiancee, a graduate of Howell High School in 2001. He had a Facebook page, with pictures. He was a cop who was friendly, and a friend to many. But there they were, lined up deep into the parking lot of the Lakewood Funeral Home, hundreds of them waiting for hours to see Matlosz, who was shot and killed on Friday. There they were, to see a man who was shot three times in the head, for …
Stephanie Barrett
2:47 pm on Sunday, February 19, 2012
Whitney was an addict, and those of you who think that she chose this life do not understand addiction. An addict no matter what their drug of choice is, is hooked from the first time that person tried cocaine or alcohol. That is when the downward spiral started. And yes some do manage to get it together, but it is a gift and a God given grace with the help of a fellowship of people who have been… more ›