So Much Jersey Stuff, Part III

Ok, here's my final installment of So Much Jersey Stuff.

On Wednesday my cousin Ben and I went down to Island Heights. Ben hadn't been to the house in a long time and since we were already waxing nostalgic on all sorts of things, it seemed natural that he, too, re-experience Aunt Douglas's home. Leave it to me to muck things up.

On Monday night, I said to Ben, "I'm putting the key to Aunt Douglas's in my suitcase. Remind me to bring it on Wednesday."

Ben's reply was, "There's no chance I'm going to remember that!"

Knowing a Forest defect when I see one, I thought to myself, Okay, I'll just put my rental car key here, too. That way, when I get the car key I'll also grab the house key.

Yeah, not so much. As we turned onto Rt. 37 in Toms River I realized I'd forgotten the key. Ben suggested we go back, but that seemed excessive. So instead, we went to Island Heights and Ben got to see the place from the outside and we talked a bit about family and what not. Then we went down to the river and walked about and I took some more pictures. It was a wet day and we had dark skies that threatened rain.

Another view of the public dock.

Not sure what kind of birds these are, but I think they are cormorants.

After roaming around Island Heights we headed east to Seaside Heights. As you know, Seaside Heights was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. I couldn't help but want to see how the storm had changed a place where I had spent so much time as a youngin'.

The cranes are in the spot where the roller coaster used to be.

A beautiful and imposing sky over the Atlantic.

The only memory I have from Lucky Leo's is me not having much luck!

This is at the other end of the boardwalk. It used to be full of rides.

Creepy!

This is Jane. She was manning the candy shop where we got some fudge. She had a nice way about her.

A wet and off-season boardwalk.

Love these signs. I'm sure they are the same ones I knew 30 years ago. (Ack, did I say 30?)

After Seaside Heights we had to stop for donuts on the other side of the Barnegat Bay Bridge. Ben insisted on the local fame of the shop - Ob Co's - and indeed Yelp had rave reviews and 5 stars. My donut was quite tasty, I must admit, and, more importantly, it was pink.

Pink fried goodness.

After donuts (I actually saved that pink goodness for later) we stopped for lunch at the Toms River Diner and I finally got my fries with gravy. Let me say that again. French fries with gravy. Yum!

We headed back to Red Bank, where we relaxed for a bit before I persuaded Ben to take me out to Sandy Hook, another location full of childhood memories, all of them good and all of them involving my paternal grandmother, Grandma Forest. The last time I had been to Sandy Hook was for Ben and Amy's wedding. I was sad to see how many of the old buildings out at Fort Hancock had fallen into disrepair, though I can understand why. There's only so much money that can be spared.

Officer housing from across the fair grounds.

The front side of the officer housing, all of which faces west across the water to the main land.

The porches.

House facade.

Porch detail.

Talk about home security systems.

Ben said there had been talk of at least maintaining the officer's club, but it seems unlikely given its current state.

Upper floors of the officer's club.

Front porch of the club.

Much of the old base is in a rough state, but the light house is still operational and quite picturesque.

And though the sun hid behind a cloud, mucking up what would have been a lovely sunset and perfect light on the old Fort Hancock base, I still got a nice evening shot.

The next day I drove back to Maplewood. I had the afternoon with Adele and then we went out to Newton to see Lisa, Rich and EJ. It was Halloween so we got to see EJ in his neat-o NASA costume. It was a wonderful way to end my stay in New Jersey.