Well, the weather is hot, the water’s fine, and the beaches are loaded with tourists. Memorial Day is here at last, signaling the unofficial start of the summer here at the Jersey Shore.
Judging by the number of people that hit the area this past weekend, it looks to be a banner year for all the shore towns. Superstorm Sandy has nothing on these seaside municipalities.
As for myself, I’m still spinning from the weekend. On Friday, my son and I hit the Windmill in the West End section of Long Branch to catch Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes perform a mini-concert to benefit the Food Bank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties. Around 750 people gathered in the parking lot to hear the classics “I Don’t Want To Go Home”, “This Time It’s For Real”, “Talk To Me”, and of course,“We’re Having A Party”. I picked up a nifty looking tee-shirt and had my picture taken with Q104.3’s Ken Dashow.
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Saturday was a little bit of a wash out, but Sunday was another story. My wife and I headed to Monmouth Park for their annual food truck spectacular, while taking in a set or two from local rock ‘n’ roll cover group The Pezheads.
On Monday, my wife and I headed out to the Ocean Place Resort & Spa’s Tiki Bar to catch local band Goldenseal. After listening to a set or two, we headed on down to the Promenade Beach Club, where our son was working in the key hut, checking for badges to gain re-entry into the club from the beach area.
Find out what's happening in Long Branch-Eatontownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The parking around Pier Village in Long Branch was filled to capacity. We had to park on the western side of Ocean Boulevard and walk about five minutes just to get to the Tiki Bar. By the end of the day, we were tired and worn out from being out in the sun so long and from all the walking we did, but it was a fun time for all. It just felt so good to get out after the horrific winter we had around these parts.
The summer events continue at the Jersey Shore through Labor Day. Free outdoor concerts, festivals with all sorts of music and food, local theatre, the best restaurants around. . .the Jersey Shore has it all again.
(The entire Jersey Shore Retro Blogography can be found at http://longbranch.patch.com/blogs/kevin-cieris-blog .You can also follow Kevin Cieri's blog on his Facebook page, "Jersey Shore Retro" as well as on Twitter @jsretro).
