DOWN THE SHORE EVERYTHING’S ALL RIGHT

After the particularly cold, long and dismal winter, into the chilly spring weather of 2014, summer is here at last and it is time to take a trip to the shore, lay in the sun, and jump into the ocean. It is not news that Hurricane Sandy inflicted damage everywhere from New York City to the Rockaways, Coney Island and the Jersey shore and the recovery process of trying to get things back to normal is what it’s all about.

The Jersey shore was hit badly, down along the coast from Sandy Hook to Atlantic City. Governor Christie and President Obama looked over the destruction by helicopter with boardwalks torn apart and houses, incredibly, swept right onto the streets. Some became just a pile of wood and debris from the force of the wind, a full moon and an angry ocean that developed forceful super high-powered waves that had not come to pass for some time. Sand is still being swept from the sidewalks in places that were hit hard, like the upscale Jersey shore towns of Bay Head and Mantoloking, where huge mansions once rented by the likes of Katherine Hepburn and President Richard Nixon were totaled. The ocean breached through to Barnegat Bay on the slender peninsula in two places, cutting the roads and bridges. Since, these have all been reclaimed.

Further south down the shore, towns like Lavallette, Ortley Beach, and the big boardwalk amusement-park town of Seaside Heights with its two classic merry-go-rounds took a real beating with the southernmost area of Seaside Heights going into Seaside Park which got the worst of it.

Our favorite Jersey shore town is the quaint one-mile-square Ocean Grove, adjacent to Asbury Park which in days of yore was called the mini-Atlantic City. Both towns suffered mainly from the loss of their connecting boardwalks but all of that has been replaced with new boards for a real comeback. The white sand beaches are just fine and things are back to normal as usual at the Jersey Shore. Last year President Obama made a special trip to Asbury Park where he spoke on the continuing need to put the money where it is needed. Governor Christie was on hand to back him up. It was great for the two of us to be there in the crowd joining in on the applause.

To be sure, we feel that Ocean Grove is the best place to be during the spring, summer and autumn seasons. While the ocean fishing pier with its quaint fisherman’s hut at the tip was swept out to sea, everything else is still standing. Walking down the beach recently, we noted a wooden sign nailed to one of the remaining wooden pilings that supported the swept-away pier which read: “Down at the Shore Everything’s All Right” and from what we saw of the old town that seemed to be the story.

The historic and majestic ‘House by the Sea’ is a bed and breakfast hotel directly facing the ocean and the beach in this magical town of Victorian houses and modest old hotels. This is the perfect place to stay for a weekend or week in summer. Sally and Alyn Heim, the proprietors of their 18 room hotel live here year round and enjoy having guests during the summer months. Sally told us after Sandy struck ‘The Grove’ that miraculously the hotel and all the buildings in town survived the storm with relatively slight damage. The basement room of The House by The Sea with its comfortable 1940s bamboo furniture and huge 19^th Century mechanical music boxes were untouched. Today the friendly staff at the hotel is a three-generation family affair run with great charm and efficiency by the owners and their daughter Linda Bedoya. Helping out are three attractive granddaughters: Melissa, Pamela and Amanda. Special features of the ‘House’ are the three open porches with wicker rocking chairs and the beautiful interior filled with Art Nouveau Tiffany style lamps. Check it out. You won’t be disappointed. Phone (732) 774-4771 to receive a House by the Sea brochure or to make reservations or e-mail housebysea@monmouth.com.

Ocean Grove is also a very easy day trip that is just a bit over an hour by car or by public transportation. Trains leave from Penn Station at regular intervals heading into the Asbury Park/Ocean Grove train station – NJ Transit North Jersey Coast line. Also there are late night train returns to the city. By bus leave from Port Authority which deposits you right in the middle of town. Once there if you are hungry try Nagle’s Apothecary Café at 43 Main Avenue. Restored from a turn-of-the-last-century drugstore the owner Lenny Steen has kept up the old-fashioned soda/ice-cream and coffee counter and has utilized in the décor old medicine bottles and other ephemera, like a vintage cash register, typewriters and litho-on-metal advertising signs saved by the original owners. Sitting at a table in this lively fun and nostalgic setting, you’ll enjoy an all-day breakfast egg platter, a hamburger and other American style meals like meatloaf with mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Victorian Ocean Grove was founded by the Methodists in 1869 as a camp meeting resort where people came to breathe in the sea air and read the bible; but in these real-estate crazy times you will find sophisticated New Yorkers all over the place and, yes, it like Asbury Park is everywhere gay friendly. Bring a camera as you will probably want to photograph the old-time roomy summer tent houses. There are 114 of them raised each spring on permanent platforms and connected to shacks and they are a wonder to behold as is the Great Auditorium a 110 year old wooden structure at the end of Pilgrim Pathway which seats 6000 people. During the season on Saturday nights there are celebrity concerts featuring performers like Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, the Ferko String Band, and Doo-Wop groups. Call (732) 775-0035 for tickets.

After a concert you may want to line up for the home-made ice-cream at Day’s outdoor Ice Cream Parlor. A true Victorian gem in itself it is on Pitman Avenue right next door to the must-see Ocean Grove Museum, 50 Pitman Avenue, which offers town walks and house and tent house tours. For further questions and more info on accommodations call Carol at the Chamber of Commerce at (732) 774-1391. For more seashore fun take the short walk from Ocean Grove north to Asbury Park. This is Bruce Springsteen country so you may want to check out the Stone Pony – Ocean Avenue and 2^nd Street – where Bruce still can be found making a surprise visit. This is where he started and he still likes to perform here. The gay spot in town is the Paradise Club in the Empress Hotel (732) 775-6663 at 101 Asbury Avenue facing Wesley Lake. There are four bars, a disco dance floor and an outdoor swimming pool lounge in this 50’s style resort. In a Jersey summer place it all adds up to a lyric from the song “Jersey Girl” written by Tom Waits and made famous by Bruce Springsteen –

“Tonight I’m gonna’ take that ride across the river to the Jersey side

Take my baby to the Carnival and I’ll take her on all the rides

‘Cause down the shore everything’s all right

You and your baby on a Saturday night.”

Robert Heide and John Gilman have co-authored a new 3^rd Edition of “O’New Jersey – Eateries, Daytripping, Back roads, Funky Adventures” (published by St. Martin’s Griffin, New York), as well as “Backroads of New Jersey” (MBI Publishing, Minneapolis), and “New Jersey – Art of the State” (Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, New York).