u.washington.edu
On a cold day in the spring of 2000, I stood on the beach in the Hague staring at the North Sea with my bare feet in the surf and my rolled-up jeans wicking up the saltwater. My mental summary of that large expanse of water-land interface was flat, gray, cold... just like the Jersey Shore. At that time, however, I hadn't yet been to the Jersey Shore, much less South Jersey. I was just being cheeky.
Turns out I was right! Except the jersey shore also has some dunes.
See? There's a dune. Stay off it. It's the only thing between Ocean City and the hurricanes.
In the off-season, this is how long you have to wait before the one coffee shop that serves lattes opens. Well, depending on the weather.
In Ocean City, there is only one thing to do -- walk the boardwalk. OK, there's a library with wi-fi, and a street full of little tourist shops, and one cute little independent knitting store. And a Wa-wa.
It's an octopus, what can I say?
My dad's Aunt Mary lives in Long Island -- apparently everyone with family in Jersey has an Aunt Mary in Long Island -- and as proof of it, here's a bench on the Ocean City boardwalk dedicated to everyone's favorite aunt!
And this is me with my great Aunt Mary! She's in her 80s, and spent most of her life in Jersey, Staten Island, and now smack dab in the middle of Long Island. She has never had a driver's license, and always got around by public transportation. Just try doing that in the midwest! (Or here.)
I didn't get any good pictures of Atlantic City when we drove through; just this one, taken from the car en route.
Lucy is a tourist attraction near Atlantic City -- it was built by a real estate guy who hoped people would be entranced by the giant elephant enough to plop down money for the honor of living near it. I think it worked.