I was lucky enough to have spent 10 years of my childhood on the New Jersey beach, we lived just about a mile from the shore and I have so many memories of fun times in that area. I miss it often and always feel at home when I am on any beach, but especially the beaches of NJ. It had been a couple of years since I had been there to visit, Mom and I took Anabelle when she was just about a year old, and the beach was calling to me- so I decided to answer :) The girls had done so well on our road trip to Utah, I figured we could squeeze in one more road trip this summer. John wasn't able to come, so I dragged (ha, ha! ) my Mom along. My Mom grew up in NJ and is a true "Jersey Girl" at heart, no matter where she goes. A trip to NJ without her just wouldn't feel right. I am so thankful for these trips that I get to take with my Mom, and know that so many others cannot do these sort of things. I am a lucky girl- that's for sure! Here are my photos from the trip as well as some my Mom took. I love taking pictures, and while to you this may seem like a lot of photos- please know that I had to go through about 700 to narrow it down to my favorite 126 :) Enjoy!
Here we are about to hit the road- NJ or bust!
We made it to Pittsburgh and stopped for the night, it was my Mom's birthday so we went out in search of a nice dinner and some dessert! Happy Birthday Mom!!
We made it!
We drove immediately to the beach near where we used to live (Mantoloking) and ran to stick our toes in. Here are Anabelle's first few moments at the ocean. I just love the smile on her face! She LOVED the ocean and I can tell she always will :)
Charlotte on the other hand will take some time to warm up to the hugeness that is a roaring ocean, and I can't blame her! It is overwhelming for such a little one. She clung to us for a while but did eventually love sticking her toes in the water and playing in the sand.
Beautiful!
After some time at the beach it was time to go to the boardwalk and get some pizza!!!
And play some games!
Charlotte won at Whac a Mole!
And ride some rides!
And of course eat some treats, Anabelle found a chocolate covered waffle!
Charlotte decided on gummy fish!
And Mom had to get some soft serve with chocolate sprinkles. Something was wrong with this ice cream and it melted at an extremely fast rate- watching my Mom eat this was one of the funniest moments of our trip!
You might be starting to notice that there are a lot of food pictures on this beach trip, and really it's also a trip focused on eating as much sight seeing. Here is a pork roll sandwich with egg and cheese. So Yummy!!
After breakfast we took a trip to Allaire State Park, to run off some energy and take a little train ride. Mom's good friend Brenda from school joined us, she is a very sweet lady.
On the train we were under a green awning and the color was so bad on the photo I just turned it into a black and white photo- and I actually love the way it came out!
Brenda and Mom got to tour their old High School, which they loved getting to see.
We ending our evening with a lovey dinner with Aunt Pat- always a treat when we get to see her, she is very special to us!
Our old neighbors, Donna and Bill, were not only neighbors but great friends. They were nice enough to host us for a night on our trip. Our visit with them, and their daughter Dana, was too short- they are so fun!
Our time in NJ was spent visiting lots of friends, here we are with some very special gentlemen. Mr. Barber and his son Mike. I have lots of fond memories of them while I grew up. Here Mr. Barber teaches Anabelle how to play the organ.
Time for lunch! We headed to a local fish shop in Point Pleasant, where Mom and Anabelle ate some lobster. Being less adventurous, Charlotte and I stuck with the chicken :) Here they are picking out their lobsters.
Here are some of Mom's friends that I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting till this trip. Lynne, John and Maureen are the sweetest people and we had a truly enjoyable visit with them!
The next morning it was time to head to the beach for a swim!
Time for some lunch at Stewart's, root beer floats and cheesy bacon dogs- yum!
Anabelle's 1st corn dog- she loved it!
A sad reminder of Hurricane Sandy, here at Stewart's they show how high the water level was. It was amazing to see the damage that was done to the area from Sandy. It was so interesting to me to see what survived and what was taken- very random. Sometimes little shacks had no damage at all while huge homes were demolished. They are rebuilding which is always great to see, but you still see lots of reminders of the devastation this area went through.
After lunch we drove a little ways up the coast to Belmar, where they had a sand castle contest earlier that day. It was fun to walk around and see what was created, some people have such talent!
This one was my favorite.
That evening we met up with my Mom's friends from school. What a nice group of ladies and how great that they kept in touch all of these years! Makes me think of my own friends from high school and how much I love them!
We spent a few nights at a hotel right on the beach in Point Pleasant, and one of our favorite things to do there was to get up and have breakfast by the pool. Here we are lounging in our jammies, enjoying some coffee and juice. It was a lovely way to start the day.
We loved the pool too!
Hmm... maybe just one more root beer float!
On one of our excursions, Mom pointed out to me Fort Monmouth where my Dad was stationed for a while in the Army. She told me stories of how he would walk miles to see her after she got off work at the diner. So sweet!
Mom wanted to check out Long Branch, the area she grew up in as a child. Here we are at the beach, which was beautiful. The lifeguards were very friendly and asked if the girls would like to take photos in the boat on and on the life guard stand? You know they didn't have to ask me twice- of course!!
This picture here is my very favorite one of the girls from the whole trip! having so much fun, huge smiles, wind in their hair, sand in their toes! Love it!!
While up that way we met up with my Mom's brother, my Uncle Bill. I had not seen him since I was 13 years old. So it was nice to visit for a bit, and for him to meet the girls.
We ended the evening with a trip to the boardwalk, some rides and fireworks on the beach, what can be better?!
Our final day in NJ, we tried to squeeze in our favorite things- the pool and the beach!
I wanted to take some cute photos of the girls. These crack me up- here is Anabelle posed so nicely next to her name.
Here is Charlotte so true to her age and personality- Stomping through her name, always on the run- love it!
Beautiful!
On the way out of town we drove past my grade
school, I had to stop and snap a picture.
Headed back toward home, we went through Hershey,Pennsylvania. Of course we had to stop and check out Hershey's Chocolate World. We had a great time on the tour, tasting chocolate, making our own candy bars and shopping for lots of yummy treats.
Some kisses with our kisses.
We made it home with a car full to the brim with memories and sand! It was such a great trip and I can't wait to do it again in a couple of years. Thanks for coming along Mom, I loved all of the laughs and fun times we had!
