Have you had the chance to visit one of the world-famous New Jersey shore areas? Growing up in the state meant that the shore was always part of the summer routine. The sand and surf, the boardwalks, the rides, the food… there’s something for everyone.

Basically on a whim, my wife and son joined me for an afternoon in Point Pleasant, where we probably haven’t been for about a decade. Armed with a Ziplock of quarters – arcade fodder – from the change jar, we parked at the bottom end of the boardwalk and worked our way northward.

Point Pleasant emphasizes family-oriented diversions: mostly parents with young kids in tow, enjoying the kiddie rides, and slightly older kids, barely in their teens, cruising the boardwalk and arcades. Stretching the parental leash a little, this is sort of a ‘practice boardwalk’ for what’s to come. In a couple more years they’ll be hitting the beach with their friends as opposed to parents, and opting for towns like Belmar and Seaside…

Before we knew it we had reached the upper end of the boardwalk! We stopped for a couple of Snapples and discussed what to do next. We decided to move on to Seaside, about a dozen miles south.

Seaside has a longer boardwalk, more arcades, just more. Since we were hitting the arcades it took a couple of hours to traverse the boardwalk this time. The top prizes offered tend to be the same across the midway, and it’s always interesting to see what the ‘stuff of the season’ will be. This year held some surprises. Like iPhones. It conjured an image of Steve Jobs in a meeting with the Apple’s marketing department, “now I want to be sure to release a few thousand units to those crane games in Seaside Heights, New Jersey! Let’s get on it!” Yeah, right. Guitars – both acoustic and electric – were big. Some looked so chintzey that I doubted they would last to the end of the day if you handled them. I’m a little surprised I didn’t notice more guitar debris as litter. Of course, there were those miniature scooters and motorcycles but I didn’t even realize that knock-off ‘Segways’ existed! Live and learn.

As day turned to night and the lifeguards packed it in we hit the beach. We weren’t equipped to swim (there’s a $200 fine for changing into a swimsuit in a public bathroom or your car!) but we wanted to walk on the sand and wade some.

Overall, a few hours well-spent!

I think I’m spoiled, though. None of the more northern towns, for me anyway, come close to Wildwood. First, Wildwood’s boardwalk is over 2 miles long and you can bicycle (or unicycle or rollerblade) on it. The beaches are freakin’ huge and uncrowded and free, and they’re raked every single day. There’s something to be said for a town where they play the Star Spangled Banner over the boardwalk PA each morning. Most everything stops dead while people pause to respectfully listen.

You can spend days, as opposed to hours, visiting Wildwood.