It’s the most wonderful time of the year… well, almost. Anyone who retains the 732 area code understands the aura that surrounds this month. We are on the cusp of everything that makes life in Jersey worth living, and it never ceases to amaze me how amazing this place really is during the summertime. It’s no wonder everyone who’s anyone flocks to the shore like contentious seagulls when the calendar hits Memorial Day Weekend.
So while we endure the purgatory known as “May," let’s say sorry for the things we said when it was winter and dive head first into the Shangri-la of endless possibility that a summer in Monmouth County provides.
We all know that everything is better at the shore. A Bagel Masters’ porkroll, egg and cheese sandwich is The Eighth Wonder of the World. There’s nothing that a slice of pizza from Pete and Elda’s cannot cure. And a cone of cookie monster ice cream from Hoffman’s could end human suffering… However, it’s a known fact that the classics always taste better after you’re drenched in an ungodly amount of sun.
While it did not make CNN’s list of the “7 secular pilgrimages that could change your life,” your crusade to the most famous lawn in all of Holmdel has the potential to become a coming-of-age story. Fact: I’d choose the likes of Luke Bryan or Wiz Khalifa over The Kumano Ancient Trail any day. It’s impossible to fight the allure of the 2016 concert season’s lineup, so you’ll be there — even if after J Cole, you swore you’d never come back.
A drive down the Garden State Parkway or the Turnpike on a gorgeous Saturday morning is a cultural experience unlike any other. (Do question the Pennsylvania license plate’s authority to take up space in the left lane. Don’t use your blinker — then they’ll know you’re coming). That is why only locals understand the beauty of the 12-hour beach day that starts at sunrise... Visitors in the amateur division will never quite master this art — or how to achieve a front row parking spot.
For three months, life is blissful. Here's to a summer of Summer Stage, Pier Village, beach bonfires, The Navesink River, sunflower fields, Lobsterfest, the racetrack, Lighthouse and whatever else the 732 has in store for us this year.
