We have taken half of our vacation, as you already know if you follow this blog, and will be taking the other half in September, if all goes as planned…that meaning if we can afford it after they install our new septic system in the next month or so. Yes, we still have those in this rural part of NJ. As baby boomers who have raised their children, we can vacation off season and save, plus use sites like HotelsCombined.com to search for hotels with the best rates.
This site has a tool that you can use to compare hotel rates, and these days we are all looking for the best rate, aren’t we, because just driving to your destination can cost a lot with gas prices as they are. Getting back to that comparison tool…it actually searches 30 sites at once! This is an award-winning site, and well worth a look-see if you are planning a trip.
Every year, one county to the west of us, the New Jersey State Fair takes place. It’s also known as the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show. This brings out for all to see the “Country” part of our State, highlighting the farming industry that still exists in many parts of the Garden State. This includes our agriculture, (what better corn is there than Jersey Corn, and Jersey tomatoes are great as well) and farm animals. There are 4H Club exhibits with farm animals, horse shows, concerts, carnivals, lots of vendors, and so much more. It’s a great thing to do with your family. This has been going on annually for years, I remember taking my own children.
I’d suggest you take a look at the calendar of events (starts August 1st) as it develops over the coming weeks, there’s already a lot posted, and plan your day around the events you want to see. During times when there are no events, there are plenty of vendors, and if you and your children like rides, there’s the carnival. It’s a busy place, so chose your times to visit to suit your likes and dislikes. You can find out more by visiting the official website for the New Jersey State Fair.
Comment if you’ve ever been to the fair and let us know what your favorite attraction was.
When we went on our trip a bit over a week ago, from a distance, I was able to capture the Twin Lights that are situated in the Navesink Highlands. These historic lights were originally built in 1828, and then rebuilt of area brownstone in 1862. Today they are much like they were when rebuilt, but are no longer operating lighthouses.
Sitting about 200 feet above sea level, when in operation, one light remained stationary while the other flashed. The lights brought cargo and other ships safely into New York Harbor on the Atlantic Coast.
It was interesting to me to see two lights, as most of us are more accustomed to seeing just one. These were built with the light house keepers area, and rooms for storage built between, and connecting the two towers.
Twin Lights was decommissioned in 1949, then purchased by the State of New Jersey as a historic monument and is a museum today. If you visit, you can climb one of the towers and view the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. Enjoy the exhibits showing the history while your there.
I was listening to the weather today, and heard some not so fun news about one of our beautiful shore points, Cape May. They are experiencing some flooding. They showed a picture of water-filled streets that someone captured on their camera.
I’ve also heard that a woman went overboard late last night from a Norwegian Cruise Line ship at Atlantic City, another popular shore point, and it’s not easy to search for anyone during coastal storms like we’re experiencing today. I guess we’ll hear more about that later today.
I hope all will turn out okay, and I’m not here to post a lot of “gloom and doom”…life goes on, and life in Cape May is beautiful.
We have had the pleasure of vacationing there on a few occasions, and I had a class trip to the area when in 8th grade. To get there from here, we have to drive the length of the State of New Jersey…we live almost as far north as you can get, and Cape May is almost as far south as you can drive in NJ…approximately 3.5 hours away. Pictured is the Cape May lighthouse.
Cape May is not far from Wildwood, so we enjoy both beaches when we’re there. The walk to the water on Wildwood’s sandy beach is a long one on the hot sand if it’s a hot summer day, but that makes for a lot of area to enjoy the beach.
Wildwood is known for it’s LONG boardwalk (pictured). Walking the boardwalk is fun, and a fun activity is to ride bicycles on the boardwalk during hours when it isn’t too crowded.
There are spots as busy as Morey’s Pier in Wildwood:
or as serene as the sound of waves crashing on the beach:
(Pictures taken from Webshots…clicking any will take you to other photos.)
It’s May which means that the official start of the shore season begins here in NJ, it usually runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. When my children were growing up, my parents would spend a few long weekends each summer at Ocean Grove. There were a few years that we went down to join them and celebrate my son’s birthday at the end of July.
Ocean Grove is known for it’s no alcohol policy, and observance of Sunday by following blue laws, generally a community that tries to maintain a high moral standard. It is a VERY popular destination, as you can see from this picture of a crowded beach:
This is not my personal favorite time to be on the beach, I’d much prefer being there after the busy season in September, at around sunrise or sunset, sitting on the beach looking at serene scenes like the following…nothing more soothing than the sound crashing waves:
Ocean Grove has a great boardwalk which takes you right to Asbury Park, and is known for it’s many Victorian homes, many along the ocean have been turned into hotels, like The Shawmont where my parents used to stay. We hope to take Mom down there this summer.
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I’ll have some more Jersey Shore posts in the days to come as the season is upon us!
