Summer had been flying by and before we knew it, it was time for our trek eastward to NJ for 4th of July and our annual beach fix. Some of you may be wondering about the title of this post “Down The Shore.” New Jerseyans know – we don’t go “to the beach” we go “down the shore.” Once you are down the shore, then you can go to the beach. It’s just the way it’s done.

We did stop for one night at our home lodge in Ephrata PA. We’ve stayed there numerous times since becoming Elks members back in 2016. The following morning, we made our way to our friends driveway in East Windsor NJ. It’s become tradition that we spend the 4th with one of our fav families, the Infosino’s. We had a fantastic time with our friends! You may notice we don’t have pics, that is because I decided to unplug for the weekend. I did have my phone nearby but I mostly stayed off it. I’ll admit here that I both enjoyed the time off, but also found myself having to purposely not pick it up. It became easier to leave it in the 5th wheel.

The next stop was Colonial Meadows Family Campground in Little Egg Harbor, our third stay at this campground. Once again, we noticed improvements – particularly in the pool – which was completely redone and beautiful!

The beach was amazing as always and we enjoyed several days enjoying the sun and surf.

We walked the boards at the closest boardwalk, Ocean City (our fav) many times. What we did differently this year was we visited a few other boardwalks also, including Atlantic City (where Uncle George lives now), Wildwood, Long Branch, Asbury Park, and Ocean Grove. We hadn’t been to the last three I mentioned in YEARS and they looked so different we almost didn’t recognize them.

I kinda already mentioned visiting Uncle George at his new place, which is right on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, with an amazing waterfront view! We are so happy for him as he gets to walk the boards every day now.

We spent a day out with Captain Dave of Jersey Coastal Adventures on the Barnegat Bay.

A visit to NJ is not complete without seeing one of our nearest and dearest friends, Michael and Johanna. We met them for brunch late one morning at a typical NJ diner. The kind of place that is open 24/7 and where there is a 10 page menu. We were all so focused on visiting and catching up, we didn’t get a pic.

Of course, we drove north to see my brother Jay and his family, including niece Jaime. Jay had been in a serious motorcycle accident back in December and he is still recovering and in physical therapy. We had stopped at Keyport Fishery on the way to get delicious fish dinners for Bill, Jaime, and myself. We also stopped at a pizza place for everyone else’s pizza. It was a wonderful visit and great seeing everyone.

Last, but never least, I met up with friend Lisa for dinner in Sea Isle City one evening. Her husband Matt was working and Bill graciously didn’t mind letting us have a girls night. It’s always great catching up with Lisa!

During our stop in Ephrata on the way back to Somerset, we arranged to meet up with Ken & Nancy for breakfast at Shady Maple. YUM! The following day we stopped in at Fairgrounds Market for our fav lunch spots, Dutch Poultry for broasted chicken and Jambalaya J’s for a Blue Plate Special (jambalaya with crab cakes and remoulade sauce.) DELISH!

That wraps that up – NJ time is always a great time!

Previously: Arriving in South West PA

Next Time: 10 YEARS OF RV LIFE!

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