There is nothing quite like New Jersey. There are beautiful beaches, rolling hills, and incredible mountains. Lakes, rivers, streams, and the seemingly unending Atlantic Ocean provided places to swim on a hot summer day. New Jersey is home to apple orchards and farmland that stretch for miles. I was lucky enough to grow up in “garden” part of the Garden State: Sussex County.
I was raised in a tiny white house in a small town of around 800 people. Tall pine trees, a brook, and blueberry bushes were what I woke up to every morning. If I wanted to go for a brisk walk, I simply walked down the street to the old train tracks that still lay among the yellow and orange leaves during the fall and become home to tiny yellow flowers, that could tell if you had a love for butter, in the summer. A few steps from those train tracks was a babbling brook that would get higher with the spring rain.
The commute to my high school was one that landscape photographers dream of. Fields of hay seemed to join the beautiful sunrise, which had the tendency to become slightly blurry due to the occasional morning fog. Red and white farm houses that lined the roads were home to cows, pigs, chickens, and horses. In the distance, large hills were covered with pine trees and oaks, creating a scene that appeared mystical.
During the summer, my friends and I would light bonfires and roast marshmallows beneath the beautiful night sky, which was always peppered with stars. Under the bright moonlight, we would run around with the soft grass between our toes and lightening bugs flying in every direction. There were plenty of places to fish with friends and if you were adventurous enough, you could kayak on the local lake.
In the fall, it was tradition to grab a group of friends and get a piping hot cup of apple cider and find a pumpkin patch. It amused us that the "city folk" assumed that the pumpkins grew perfect lines in a field without vines. We often traveled to the pumpkin patches via tractor or hay ride. It made the experience even more fun! Before Halloween came around we would always try to find a haunted house to terrify us. If we couldn't find a haunted house, then we would opt to take a haunted hay ride! Around the time of the haunted hayrides and houses, we would venture into the corn mazes and sunflowers mazes. They were always a fun place to get lost with friends. In late October and all through November, you could pick delicious, ripe apples right off the tree at an apple orchard. We always made sure to pick up some fresh cider and apple cider donuts before we left.
When we wanted to escape the country scene for a little while, we went “down the shore” to see the beautiful South Jersey beaches. We never went to Seaside, as it was much too crowded. Instead, we always went to Sandy Hook or Cape May. There were boardwalks perfect for walking with friends and family on a warm summer night. During the day, we would lay in the sand under the beaming sun and form a nice tan, or in my case, a nice lobster red. Speaking of lobster, we always made sure to have the famous South Jersey seafood! The Lobster House was one of my favorite places to visit if when I stayed in Cape May. There were always seafood festivals going on near the beaches, providing a steady supply of lobster or fresh crabs. There were even clam bakes that you can attend! I always went to the one that was held in the fire house in my hometown.
I could go on and on about the beautiful parts of New Jersey. We are more than turnpikes and parkways. We are home to the best examples of nature that you will ever find. You can hike in the mountains, swim in the lakes, and fish in the ocean. The people of New Jersey love our state so much that we fight all of the time about the different aspects of it. Taylor ham versus pork roll (and don’t you dare compare it to Canadian bacon because then we will all get offended and angry). Subs versus hoagies. Wawa versus Quick Chek. The mystery that is Central Jersey. The confusion and fear that overcomes you when you have to pump your own gas if you venture out of Jersey. We passionately drive down the Garden State Parkway (that’s putting it politely). But there is one thing that we can all agree on: New Jersey is, and always will be, the best state in the USA.
