for launching legends Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen. The Kiefer Sutherland Band will appear May 24, followed by Slightly Stoopid on August 19. The 3,600-seat Convention Hall has hosted the likes of Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder and the Boss, with its state-of-the-art stage, spacious floor space and location right on the boardwalk. At one-mile long, the boardwalk—an ideal day trip, 60 miles south of New York City and 90 minutes north of Atlantic City—offers something for the entire family, with Asbury Splash Park and the Silverball Museum Arcade. www.apboardwalk.com Even amid casino closings, the four-mile-long Atlantic City boardwalk remains an attraction, extending 1,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean at its Steel Pier, with kiddie rides, a family-restaurant and a separate bar. Here you can climb the 228 steps in the Absecon Lighthouse, one of the oldest lighthouses in the country, also the tallest lighthouse in New Jersey. From its top you gain a whole new perspective of Atlantic City. Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville is located inside the Resorts Hotel Casino where you can get nachos, cheeseburgers, “Jimmy’s Jammin’ Jambalaya,” and a vegetarian and gluten-free menu, along with the signature cocktail in numerous permutations (“Last Mango in Paris, “Feelin’ Hot Hot Hot”), live entertainment and a tiki bar. Fralinger’s, the original saltwater taffy maker, is still in business. Too gooey? Try the fudge and macaroons. www.atlanticcitynj.com Sandy destroyed about a third of Ocean Grove’s one-mile boardwalk. The ultimate rebuilding was called a “miracle project” after FEMA funding was twice denied, on the grounds that it is a seaside community whose oceanfront is owned and maintained by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a non-profit religious organization. FEMA was finally swayed when a group of federal and state lawmakers unearthed documents saying the boardwalk has been recognized as public property and a public roadway since the early 1900s.
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In Ocean Grove you will find arts and craft shows, mega flea markets, guided historical walking tours, free concerts in the Boardwalk Pavilion and performances in the legendary Great Auditorium. www.oceangrovenj.com/events.html Jenkinson’s Boardwalk in Point Pleasant is home to many fun rides and games. Featured rides include the carousel, Crazy Bus, Dizzy Dragons, Boardwalk Bounce and more. At Jenkinson’s Aquarium you will find everything from lizards and fish to starfish and penguins. The mile-long boardwalk at Seaside has the Funtown Pier and the Casino Pier which features a merry-go-round built in 1913. A year after Sandy, Britain’s Prince Harry paid a visit. Seaside’s boardwalk suffered a fire in 2013 and is still rebuilding. If you like to stroll, the boardwalk at Avalon Beach is seven miles long. The boardwalk at Sea Bright, on the other hand, is short and sweet at 170 feet long. It was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy and rebuilt by volunteers from the New Jersey Fireman’s Mutual Benevolent Association and the Foundation to Save the Jersey Shore. Looking for something quiet? Try the boardwalks at Avalon, Avon-by-the-Sea, Cape May, Lavallette, Sea Girt or Sandy Hook. Many of the boards are built these days from materials more sustainable than wood, often from recycled plastics such as Trex and Timber Tech, and some are made of asphalt or concrete pavers. In colors with names like Winchester Gray and Spiced Rum, and without the smell of creosote and the splinters, they have a hollow sound and have been called soulless. On the other hand, towns that even think about using Brazilian hardwoods have been called far worse. An Asbury Park a mural reads: “The boardwalk was where all of New Jersey came together, where New Jersey, for better or worse, met itself.” The quote is from Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and New Jersey native Junot Diaz. “I would never have become the person I am as an artist if it hadn’t been for New Jersey and specifically if it hadn’t been for those 127 miles of shoreline that make New Jersey so special,” he said during Sandy recovery. For more boardwalks, directions, hours of operation, amenities and attractions, visit www.visitnj.org
PRINCETON MAGAZINE may/june 2016
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