Four Action Packed Days on the Jersey Shore
September 10, 2020
In September of 2020, we took our final flight of the year on Southwest Airlines to Baltimore. Don’t get me started on how poor the baggage claim and rental car experience is there! Our plan was to meet up with my dad, and his extended family, and head to the Jersey Shore. The Jersey Shore encompasses 141 miles of oceanfront, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Famous for its wide beaches, boardwalks with arcades, amusement parks, and water parks, the Jersey Shore is a popular vacation spot for many on the East Coast but not as prevalent a destination for those of us on the West Coast. Growing up in both Connecticut and Maryland though, I did frequent the “Shore”, and wanted to introduce Doug, Roy, and Greg to a real boardwalk experience — something Santa Cruz is not.
We spent our first night in Baltimore with Grandpa, and then left around 10AM for Wildwood Crest, NJ. We unfortunately left “Snuggles” behind, so Grandpa had to mail him to us at the end of the week. The drive to New Jersey took us past several Wawas, so we had to stop and sample the famous “Wawa Pretzel” and a “Gluten Free” Bowl (via the super cool kiosk) for Roy. Roy said it was the best thing he had ever eaten.
Wildwood Crest, New Jersey
After a few hours of driving, we met the rest of our family at the Boathouse Restaurant, just beyond the “Wildwood Welcome Center”, for a late lunch. A couple hours later we were checked into our hotel at Armada-By-The-Sea, and Grandpa et al. at their rental property. Our beachfront hotel was ideally located in Wildwood Crest, adjacent to Centennial Park, and very close to the renowned Wildwood Boardwalk.
Once we had dropped off all of our luggage, we walked across the street, to the beach. The Wildwood beaches are a five-mile stretch of powdery-white sand, alongside the Wildwood Boardwalk which offers thirty-eight blocks of fun and over one-hundred rides and attractions. The best part about these beaches is that they are completely FREE, without the need for a “beach tag” required by other beaches in the area. Wildwood Crest has a population of around 3,000, but during the summertime it is exponentially greater.
Splash Zone Waterpark
On Sunday morning, we took a family trip to the Splash Zone Waterpark. Here we enjoyed twisting, turning, and soaring through the whitewater rapids on “The Beast of The East” — the only 5-person raft ride on the East Coast, and witnessing Doug and Grandpa getting drenched while standing under the “Giant Bucket”. The admission to this waterpark was $20/per person.
Next on our agenda was a stroll along the Boardwalk in search of Lime Rickey World – one of the most “fun” activities in town, and a local tradition. Lime Ricky World is the place for ice cream and arcade games, but is best known for the drink that bears its name. The lime rickey is made from of lime juice and soda water, but for some reason everyone out there raves about it. While perusing the boardwalk, a teenager pointed out how “ripped” Roy was for a seven-year old. Roy was actually eight at the time, almost nine, but has never gone shirtless again.
Starlux Mini Golf
That night we played a few rounds of mini golf at Starlux Mini Golf, and then walked to the “Wildwoods Beachball Sign”, a popular place for photos of the “Wildwood” sign in front of the ocean. The rest of the night was spent at the pool at Grandpa’s rental house, swimming.
Most tourists were heading home to start school on Monday, so we made it our official “beach day”. The kids built sand castles, swam in the ocean, and learned to body surf. For dinner we had the “Italian” at Primo Hoagies. We couldn’t get enough of this place, so basically ate there for all of our remaining meals.
Crest Bike Rental
On Tuesday morning we rented bikes at Crest Bike Rental and biked the Boardwalk — Roy, for some reason, choosing to ride on a low rider. Afterwards, we drove to Cape May, NJ, to check out the scene there, and to visit the Cape May Lighthouse. We were too late to buy tickets to go up, but got some nice pictures from the ground.
Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum
The final stop on our trip was at the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum. This Museum is located inside a real World War II hangar and has many different exhibits on the topics of aviation and military history. I feel that I have visited so many of these places at this point that they are all starting to blur together.
On Tuesday night we returned to Baltimore to catch our flight back home to California the next morning. We were flying Southwest again, so had several connections, with one taking completely out of our way to Portland, OR, but whatever. Anyway, there were a number of fires in and around Portland at that time, so when we took off, smoke filled the cabin, and all of us passengers quickly realized that our masks were doing absolutely nothing to conceal it. It was a great excuse to remove our masks until we got above the fires. The kids returned to “in person” school again that Thursday, no quarantining required.
