Jersey Shore

Matt, Betty & Kathy

The past two nights we spent in Tom's River, New Jersey as a guest of Matt Zuech, a good friend of Kathy's from her days at Washington College. Matt was a tremendous host, so good in fact, the amazing margaritas he served upon our arrival may have played some small role in the fact that we were both wickedly hung-over most of the day yesterday.

We did not let that prevent us from having an awesome time, visiting many of the fine dining establishments in the area, including the recently opened Mulligan's for lunch and the top notch Atlantic Grill for a delicious dinner.

We spent much of the day yesterday recovering and relaxing at Matt's canal front home, taking time out to snare crabs out of the canal using the old chicken on a string technique. Crabbing proved to be relatively easy and enjoyable, we did not eat the crabs, though we could have, instead opting to return them all to their murky lairs.
Crabby



We spent the evening enjoying yet another journey into the depths of classic Americana on the boardwalk at Seaside Heights on the Jersey shore. A much larger, though similar version of the amusement filled visit we made to Old Orchard Beach in Maine. The boardwalk is quite the scene, it's like stepping into the set of some crazy movie, filled with fascinating characters. Matt is a teacher and locally well known Lacrosse coach here and we could hardly take 10 steps without running into a former player or student. It made us feel like locals, which is just what we are seeking to do in the places we visit.


Today we are off to Philadelphia and then on to Barto, PA where we will visit with more friends. One other interesting note about New Jersey, it is the only state we have ever been to where it is against the law to pump your own gas. Yep, full service at every gas station. It has been a long, long time since we have seen that, and it's at every gas station. Strange but true.