«We’ve come a long way since that day.» — Avicii Oh yeah. As you probably know from some of my other South Jersey reviews, I have relatives in that general area. During the hot days or weekends, we come here to relax on the beach and have fun in the ocean. We’ve been doing this ever since I was a younger. Jumping through the waves was cool. But then, I got my Ron Jon boogie-board and utilized that for wave-riding. I’ll never forget that one time when I was on the board, and a big wave approached from behind. I said to myself, «Here we go». You see, for almost any wave, I only ride for a short distance. But THAT time, this big wave actually PUSHED me all the way to the shoreline! Even though my eyes were closed due to the salt water pouring on top of me, I felt the ride being fast and intense. As soon as everything was over, I found myself right on the beach. That was fun, and it even saved me the hassle of swimming back, thanks to that wave. Then Sandy came through. When we went during that summer, everything appeared to be quite depressing. Even though there were beach-goers existent, parts of the sand was black, and roof shingles were floating around in the ocean. If that wasn’t enough, my old man told me that he stepped on a piece of broken glass. Moving on to recently, we came on a Sunday morning. We had to pay $ 5 to park, and finding a spot wasn’t problematic at that time. We then had to pay another $ 5 to enter the beach. After receiving a wristband, we proceeded to find a spot. After setting up, we proceeded to head into the ocean. The water temperature felt a lot colder than usual. So after spending a few moments jumping in the waves, we relaxed on the beach and though that maybe the temperature would warm up later on. Soon, we went back into the water, and I brought my boogie-board along. Apparently, we were wrong. Even though I had fun riding the waves with my boogie-board, the water temperature felt the same as before. We were even shivering. After a few more waves, we just decided to relax on the beach for the remainder of our experience. After lunch, we decided to pack up and leave since we were feeling a breeze that was too cool to handle, especially after being in the ocean. Other beach-goers left for the same reason. Even though a heat advisory was in effect for that general area, we still felt a little too cool. There was also only a small handful of people in the water due to the chilly temperatures. Well, at least we can say that we relaxed for a while and I rode the waves. The beach contains two parking areas — one by the beach, and the other across from NJ-35 Northbound. They have a concession area with picnic tables for breakfast, lunch, ice cream, and other snacks. They have restroom and changing room facilities. Those restroom and changing room facilities appear to be dirty, and can certainly use a revamp. The key thing is to arrive early. Because it will be hard to find a spot later in the day, as indicated by BOTH lots filled to the brim and people were waiting for spots to open up. Also, those with boogie-boards will have to ride the waves in designated areas. Overall, I’m a fan of this beach. I recommend this beach to anyone who doesn’t want to deal with large public beach crowds or pay a quarter for 12 minutes or less of parking elsewhere. Cheers!
