Spring Lake, The Other Jersey Shore

Exhausted and admittedly a bit hungover, we rouse ourselves and the kids for a quick stop en route to my parents beach house in LBI. For Ross, it’s his only day at the shore and a chance to catch up with college friends, Tom and Irina who live in Hoboken but own a house in Spring Lake. This is the other Jersey shore with Victorian homes and green lawns. No cheesy boardwalk a far cry from the Wildwood and Beach Havens of my youth. Tom and Irina have a great beach house with yet another front porch. I feel so privileged that every stop that I have made on this road trip has led me to a front porch. What better place to catch up with old friends (that’s old as in a long time ago, not friends who are old). Rain and serious thunderstorms prevent it from being a true beach day so instead we prolong the porch sitting, rejoice at Tom’s return to good health and enjoy an amazing lunch. Our lunch doesn’t come from the Martha Stewart Great Food Fast cookbook but I peruse it while at the house and decide it’s a must get. (Writing this a few days after the fact, I’m already the proud owner of the cookbook thanks to Amazon). Rain never clears so I take the kids and leave for LBI once they get a little stir crazy from being inside all day and Tom takes Ross to the train so he can make an evening flight back to Atlanta.