from the typical shore
boardwalk experience as
you can get.
Only 5 miles inland
from Spring Lake is the
quirky Historic Village
at Allaire (%732-919-3500;
http://www.allairevillage.org; adult/child
$3/2; hnoon-4pm Wed-Sun late
May-early Sep, noon-4pm Sat &
Sun Nov-May), the remains
of what was a thriving
19th-century village called
Howell Works. You can
still visit various ‘shops’
in this living history
museum, all run by folks
in period costume.
4 p116
The Drive » For a slow but
pleasant drive, take Ocean Ave
south – at Wreck Pond you turn
inland before heading south
again. At Crescent Park in the
town of Sea Girt (the boardwalk
has a couple casual restaurants),
Washington Ave connects back
to Union Ave/Rte 71 which
leads into Rte 35 and over the
Manasquan Inlet. The first exit
for Broadway takes you past
several marina-side restaurants.
4 Point Pleasant
Point Pleasant is the first
of five quintessential
bumper-car-and-Skee-Ball
boardwalks. On a July
weekend, Point Pleasant’s
long beach is jam-packed:
squint, cover up all that
nearly naked flesh with
striped unitards, and it
could be the 1920s, with
umbrellas shading every
inch of sand and the surf
clogged with bodies and
bobbing heads.
Families with young
kids love Point Pleasant,
as the boardwalk is big
but not overwhelming,
and the squeaky-clean
amusement rides,
fun house and small
aquarium – all run by
Jenkinson’s (%732-295-
4334, aquarium 732-899-1659;
http://www.jenkinsons.com; 300 Ocean
Ave; aquarium adult/child $10/6;
hrides noon-11pm, aquarium
10am-10pm, hours vary off-
season; c) – are geared
to the height and delight
of the 10-and-under set.
That’s not to say Point
Pleasant is only for little
ones. Martell’s Tiki Bar
(%732-892-0131; http://www.tikibar.
com; Boardwalk; mains $5-30;
h11am-11pm, to 12:30am Fri
& Sat), a place margarita
pitchers go to die, makes
sure of that: look for the
neon-orange palm trees
and listen for the live
bands.The Drive » Head south on
Rte 35 past several residential
communities laid out on a long
barrier island only a block or two
wide in parts – Seaside Heights
is where it’s at its widest on this
11-mile trip.5 Seaside Heights
Coming from the
north, Seaside Heights
has the first of the
truly overwhelming
boardwalks: a sky ride
and two rollicking
amusement piers with
double corridors of arcade
games and adult-size,
adrenaline-pumping
rides, roller coasters, and
various iterations of the
vomit-inducing 10-story
drop. During the day,
it’s as family friendly as
Point Pleasant, but once
darkness falls Seaside
Heights becomes a scene
of such hedonistic mating
rituals that an evangelical
church has felt the need
for a permanent booth on
the pier. Packs of young
men – caps askew, tatts
gleaming – check out
packs of young women in
micro-dresses as everyone
rotates among the string
of loud bars with live
bands playing Eagles
tunes. It’s pure Jersey.We love the shore but let’s be honest, in summer
months, the traffic’s a nightmare, parking’s
impossible and the beaches are overflowing. Pack
the car – the night before. Leave at dawn, or soon
thereafter. If at all possible, come midweek. If you
want to stay, make reservations. And if you want
something besides a run-down, sun-bleached, musty,
three-blocks-from-the-water, sand-crusted flea box
to stay in, make reservations six months to a year in
advance.PLAN AHEAD
TOP TIP:
NEW.JERSEY.&.PENNSYLVANIA.TRIPS.8
.THE JERSEY SHORE