Wildwood

I had never been to Wildwood in the summer which is a surprising thing for someone who grew up in NJ. My family always vacationed in Myrtle Beach or the Outer Banks of NC as my parents didn't really like the Jersey shore... To be honest, I am not a big fan of crowded shore towns with amusements on the boardwalks as I prefer to go to the beach for peace and quiet rather than hustle and bustle. One of the interesting things about Wildwood is its retro style including tons of motels and hotels with 50's decor and neon. Even the Subway and Wawa Gas have adopted this style. I spent my time on the boardwalk this trip and plan to go again soon to catch some of the other sights.

The beach is very wide and it is a loooong walk to get to the ocean from the boardwalk, but the beach is free which is quite unusual in NJ. There were several beds of live coquina shells on the beach. I had never seen so many concentrated together before. Even the clam shells were pretty with some blue and tan stripes. The tide was coming in so I didn't do as much shell collecting as I would have liked.

I always love it when the lifeguard boats have the name of the beach town painted on them and Wildwood didn't disappoint me in that department. The water park on Morey's Pier is in the background.

It was interesting walking underneath the pier as the tide came in. There were quite a few folks hanging out down below and the kids loved running around the pilings.

In the evening the boardwalk really came alive with lots of folks riding the rides and playing the games. It always amazes me how much people will spend to try to "win" a big stuffed animal.

All in all it was a fun day.