The Big City of the New Jersey Shore
Thanks to miles of coast and sandy beaches, the New Jersey Shore has something for everyone. Adorable beach towns line the state's Atlantic Ocean coastline, but Atlantic City is the biggest and most well known. While the city has declined in popularity over the years, it's still an enjoyable place for New Yorkers to spend a weekend at the beach.
My most recent trip, this July, happened because of my hometown bff, Jaime. She was gifted a weekend stay in Atlantic City and asked if I wanted to tag along with her and her kids. I rode down from NYC on the 131 bus and after a 3 hour ride, stepped out into the hot New Jersey sun. We stayed at Harrah's, which is not on the boardwalk, but has beautiful view of the Atlantic City waterways. The resort is massive and has numerous restaurants, pools, and activities for the entire family (including the casino of course, which we did not visit even once in our stay 💁). We were regulars at the hotel fitness center and the resident Starbucks.
On Saturday, we hopped in their car and headed to the boardwalk for people watching, fun fair activities, and of course, the beach. The kids are big Monopoly fans, so we enjoyed rattling off all the street names and trying to remember the corresponding color in the board game. It was a hot day and the sun had no clouds to hide behind, which made for a great beach day but a little exhausting walking around. After playing at the arcade, getting henna tattoos, enjoying the murals, and shopping for beach toys, we decided on the dark and cool, old school Irish Pub, for lunch. I loved that it was on the iconic St. James Place. The food hit the spot and the respite from the sun was welcome before we spent the afternoon in the water.
For ease with the kids, we mostly had our meals at the restaurants in Harrah's (We loved Coastal Craft Kitchen & Bar, AC Burger, and Guy's Sammich Joint). For an adult weekend, we would have stopped at chef Michael Symon's, Angeline, for soulful Italian or Bobby Flay's Steak for a high end filet or the 100+ year old institution, Dock's Oyster House. We would make our way through the 15 best restaurant's listed in New Jersey Monthly. Other activities on our to-do list with the kids, included a dolphin watching boat tour, a trip to the Atlantic City Aquarium, miniature golf, Absecon Lighthouse, Steel Pier Amusement Park, the shops of the Outlet Mall, Lucy the Elephant statue, The African American Heritage Museum, the Atlantic City Free Public Library, and the Civil Right's Garden. Who knew there was so much to do in Atlantic City besides gambling?
Matt has extended family on the Jersey Shore, and we love to spend time with them in Seaside. Cape May is on my New Jersey Bucket List as well as other cute little Jersey beach towns. We haven't been New Jersey residents long, but I'm already falling for this garden state on the coast!
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