I loved your last line about taking these for granted. That is exactly how I felt last night; it is what sent me into another crying night. I lived in Camp Osborn (the small group of homes next to the old Thurnderbird and 1 mile south of the Mantoloking bridge) my entire life. My grandfather build a home there and we have inhabited our beach bungalow for over 67 years. Over 100 of the bungalows in our community burned the night of the hurricane. The loss is so devastating that even my 6 year old can feel the suffering. We are headed to the island on Tuesday to see the devastation with our own eyes. I just want to return to the place that I know I won't see for many years to come.

Can anyone tell me if these two houses are still standing?
Post WWI, my grandfather built a house on the corner of Circle Dr and Spark in Shore Acres.It was a ranch on the left. Also, back in the 70's I owned the house at 21 Adair Dr. Did either survive? I will be heartbroken, especially, if my Grandparents house is gone. Summer vacations, then moved there in early 60's. So many memories.

I too lived in camp Osborn for 61 years My family's home was formerly owned by the Burke family from Toms River. The Osborn (no "e" at the end of this name, family owned from the the ocean to the bay. Tent houses started popping up in the 20's. Gradually, those called their summer bungalows expanded additional rooms i lived there full time in 1991. My 1930 aerial view of the camp went up in smoke last Tuesday with the fire my friends and family are now scattered all over the area and, my homelessness will hopefully be short lived

We lost our home to sandy so did most on our street. I am in brick. I am so proud that I live in Brick... Our town rallied like I have never seen, people driving up and down the neighborhood streets handing out food, cases of water, cleaning supplies, clothing. Churches, the Pal, the little league opening up, volunteering ... Hundreds of volunteers... Making sure we were fed, clothed, had whatever we needed. And here we are 2 weeks later and Brick is still that strong, still lending a hand, trying to reach out to all who got affected....amazing community ... Thank you from the bottom of all our hearts... You all did a tremendous job !! As far as our beautiful towns, shoreline, amusements all getting destroyed.... Yes it will be different, yes I shed tears... But I know we are jersey.... Jersey strong... We will restore the shore!!

Beautiful post , heart wrenching pics .
Thank you for sharing .

Great article. So truly sorry for all those suffering such great loss at this time!

Loved and felt your sadness in your article....I am so saddened myself that the "landmarks" we took for granted are no longer there.....I too am a resident of Brick and my sister lost all the contents of her home and had to be rescued by boat....This tragedy has affected all of us...I am so proud to be a native of New Jersey and a resident of Brick township for 20 years.....It is an amazing community.....hopefully we will rebuild and have our beautiful shoreline restored..

Joan, my family's house is off of Addair on Vanard. The houses are all still standing in shore acres, but they're badly damaged. I'm not 100% sure about the house you listed, but I'm headed over that way today, I can take a look for you.

I have treasured this area with all my heart and soul. Over the past couple of years, I was lucky enough to be able to ride my bike from Brick, over the Mantolooking bridge and cross over 35 to sit on the beach and restore my soul. I treasured every time over the past two years I could do this. I put this short video together last year for my daughter in College in Minnesota because she loves the beach so much and rode with me sometimes. This is before Sandy and taken from what I think I right in the middle of the water now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZLLbPYKAZ4&sns=em

Please let me know about any news from Chadwick Beach Island.
We,ve had an home there since 1967. Need to know when phase 2 will begin so we can get in to see whats left. Heartbroken.
Donna

Anyone know if Sacred Heart Chuch in Bay Head is ok? I got married there. It is such a beautiful Chapel. I have screen pictures close to that area but not the actual Church.

Does anybody no what happen to the house in the Bay it was all by it self no other houses were by it they had to take a boat over to the house every day

Each time I see pictures of the Mantoloking bridge, Lavallette, Ortley, or the Seaside Hts boardwalk I find myself shaking my head incredulously. So difficult to truly comprehend. Our shore and it's denizens will never be the same .... we can rebuild and repair but the heartache will remain for a long time to come. It is one of the most difficult of life's lessons ... every now and then we need to pause and give thanks for what still remains in an effort to accept what was lost. Of course, that is going to take some time. Thank you, Lauren for sharing your personal reflections in a beautifully written tribute.

My heart cries as I see the pictures and on occasion, the remnants of precious memories gone. I feel for the people who have lost everything and wish I were a rich man, that I might be of more service.
As a retired mariner I know well the capriciousness of the sea and wonder why, knowing this anyone would choose to live on its verges, but we all must do as our desires lead.
God bless all the survivors. Join me in prayer for those who have been taken "By the Restless Wave . . ."

my husband and I were the original owners of Spikes Fishery, and I recieved pictures of Broadway from my cousin that still lives in the area. We cried. Our beautiful Point Beach and Boro gone. All the great times with the children on the boardwalk makes me so sad. Wonderful memories are all we have left. It's hard for us to travel anymore, I feel so bad to see my husband so sad; not being able to go back to his home town. We wish everyone well, our prayers go out to everyone on the Shore.

If you look at pictures from the late 1800's early 1900's what you see now in the pictures is what the road actually use to look like before they build the dam up and put all those properties there. If you read up, it actually looks like mother nature make it exactly what was there over 100 years ago.

How about the area of king fisher cove. I lived not far from the water there at one time.

Mary please read Harry Truman's second bill of rights, just because you got LUCKY does not mean everyone should have the right to a decent life.

Sorry left out Mary's NOT, Freudian slip

I'm sorry for everyone's loses but I wish they didn't fill in the new inlet. Just think of how clean northern Barnegat Bay would have become not to mention the gas I would have saved fishing.

Some of the best before & after shots have been published by Point Pleasant Beach High School graduate Timothy Sharkey who grew up on New Jersey Ave in Pt. Beach. His incredible pics are broken out by towns. Google "Sharkey Images Hurricane Sandy." Tim is a professional photograher in U,S. Powerbaot Racing circles & beyond.

Seashells323
This article was great. I would ride by bike all the time over the Mantoloking bridge, going either right past the Best Post Office ( no lines ever) and up Downer to get a fix of the beach. Or off to the left down Barnegat Lane, taking in all the breath taking houses, always admiring the landscaping! Then up Lyhmen Ave and down East Ave and on to Bay Head for some frozen hot chocolate. Every time I would go over the Mantoloking Bridge and see the sun glistening on the water I would say that I am so happy to live here. I have taken pictures but not as many as I should have. Your last statement is so true. My heart goes out to all those that have lost so much. We need to stay Jersey Strong and help one another get through this unbelievable time.

There are soooo many fundraisers just getting under way (dec 9'at playdrome call for tickets ASAP) and sooo many affected between FEMA and ins and US it will be back!

Thank you to everyone who reads this and understands the anguish and sadness we all feel for our neighbors and loved ones that have endured incomprehensible loss. It feels much like a grieving process I am sure just at many different levels. And unfortunately, I don't think any of us was expecting anything even close to this.

Thank you in no particular order Brick PD, NJ state police, NJ national guard, Visitation Church,Alabama, Tenn, Texas power companies, FEMA, anyone who drove around mantaloking rd neighborhoods and distributed clothes,cleaning products, food, etc, anyone who helped move a fridge, empty a garage, talk to a neighbor, helped someone keep their sanity. Your effort is greatly appreciated. Family and friends have come together to help each other, thank you to all who have helped. I know there are many more people and organizations who have contributed greatly, and I can't name them all, thank you stay strong and continue to help who ever you can. Stay strong, we will rebuild.

What happened is of course terrible.

I think we should expect to see more of this until we start dealing with our environmental situation here on Planet Earth in a more rational way. That's why I ran for Congress this last time around and will again next time. We need to steer in a more reasonable direction.

I tried to warn people about the vulnerability of the Jersey Shore back in 2003, as per http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXBfB5CVKSY&list=UUkp82XygTyAphmJ4HqABVUQ&index=1&feature=plcp, a short video that was filmed in northern Mantoloking at the beach.

My heart goes out to the victims of this storm.

The shame lies with those who aren't trying to get informed, and aren't trying to inform others, not with those who are doing both.

I have been trying to inform people about anthropogenic global warming and other major concerns for twelve years without pay. Perhaps you should look into my history before judging so harshly. We're all in this together. You might not see it that way but that's the way it is.

I was born and raised in Spring Lake Heights, so many awesome memories, so much to reflect on. Everything will be brought back, probably even better than it was before, (property, material things) Thank God that we are able to keep our memories safely in our hearts forever!
This storm and global warming, floods, etc. are all part of the plan from the very beginning. These are only birth pains, a glimpse of what's to come. It's time for all of us to wake up and realize that we need to put our differences aside and call on the unmatched, name above all other names, our Lord Jesus. Only he can help, nobody else, period! Praise Him!!!