Beaches
Pre-Labor Day Fun
Sep 2nd
Tonight we are having a family get-together at my aunt’s house to celebrate the upcoming holiday. I have a big family, and I truly love these types of gatherings as they give me time to relax and catch up with everyone. With my cousins going back to school and summer coming to an end, it’s the perfect time to come together and celebrate.
I did some cooking last night for the party. It was my job to make a few desserts. I decided to make something that would be fun for my little cousins to eat yet still delicious for the adults. I made homemade raspberry and strawberry Jello with fresh raspberries mixed in. I put the Jello in individual serving dishes. It took all my self control not to eat one this morning!
The second dessert was an easy classic. I mixed chocolate pudding with Cool Whip and put the mix in a graham cracker crust. When the pie sets, I’ll add another layer of Cool Whip on top and sprinkle some chocolate chips to top it off. I can’t wait to try it.
The family party will be the beginning of my Labor Day celebrations. I am going to Manasquan Beach for the weekend, which will probably be the last weekend I’m able to spend at the beach. Summer went by too quickly. I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!
– Amanda Smith, advertising and editorial coordinator
Weekend Fun at the Jersey Shore
Aug 12th
This past weekend, I stayed at my friend’s house in Manasquan, NJ, a beautiful beach town that offers upscale boutiques, delicious restaurants and fun nightlife. One of my favorite restaurants in Manasquan is Tidal Wave, located right on the beach. It looks just like a surf shack on the outside, but they make the best wraps I have ever tasted. The restaurant has creative and funny names for their different wraps, such as “Sandy Crab“, “Big Booty Wave“ and “Hottie Tottie”.
Another aspect of this town is Main Street, full of boutique shops and a few scattered places to eat. It has been preserved to keep its Old World charm. Whenever I am strolling the street or shopping its boutiques, I feel as though I am walking through a quaint Victorian village.
Thankfully, I am heading back to Manasquan this weekend for the annual “Big Sea Day Celebration.” This day is a ton of fun for all ages, with sand castle competitions, surfing, body surfing, pie eating, fishing contests, art exhibits and much more. I can’t wait for this fun-filled day. I know for sure my friends and I will be entering the sand castle competition.
– Amanda Smith, advertising and editorial coordinator
Time for R & R
Jul 26th
It’s that time of year again! I am vacationing in the Outer Banks in Kitty Hawk, NC, the birthplace of powered flight. Today we witnessed bottlenose dolphins swimming about 100 yards from the beach. They were circling back and forth, obviously finding a position full of fish to feed.
Today starts my annual two weeks down here, where we mostly hang out at the beach, enjoy local restaurants, jet ski, golf and enjoy each others’ company. Yesterday, I played a decent round at Seascapes Golf Course in Kitty Hawk. I was able to navigate the course in three-and-a-half hours, as Saturday and Sunday are the rental home change-overs and the courses are quite empty. People are either arriving or departing. Also, the temperature was 97 degrees with a 74 percent dew point, about as hot and humid as it can get.
Down here, it’s hot. If you don’t like swimming in the ocean, the Outer Banks probably don’t make much sense for you. On the beach, it is a constant back and forth between your beach chair and the sea, which is shared with the bottlenose dolphins, of course.
So make sure you take the time for some R & R and combine this with your other trips. In the coming months, I have flights to Finland and South Africa. This is my period of time to relax before my big trips.
Have a great summer!
– Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO
Beach Bound
Jul 9th
I’m looking forward to spending the weekend with some friends in Ocean City, New Jersey. There’s nothing quite like spending the day relaxing on the beach, soaking in the sun, but also enjoying the soothing effects of the ocean breeze.
Ocean City, in southern NJ, is about two hours from my home in Bucks County. I’ll be heading down tonight, after catching the Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park. It’s a fireworks game, and the stadium is known for putting on a pretty impressive fireworks show. Hopefully the struggling Phillies can also capture a win!
I’m looking forward to tomorrow morning, when my friends and I plan (weather permitting — of course, the forecast calls for rain) to go out on jet skis. I’ve only been on jet skis a few times before and driven one myself once. My friends like to joke with me about that jet ski experience, during spring break in Cabo San Lucas. Four of us rented jet skis, and the other three joke that they were out in the middle of the ocean and looked back to find me put-putting it out there far behind them. I was trying to be safe and get myself adjusted!
Saturday afternoon and Sunday will be spent lying on the beach. At some point, I am sure we will venture over to Sea Isle City, and we will definitely cap off the weekend with a dinner at Somer’s Point’s Crab Trap restaurant for some delicious seafood.
Enjoy your weekend, and hopefully you, too, can take a little time to relax!
– Kim Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive
