A Day In The Life

It may be December, but I am always ready to head “down the shore” as we say here in New Jersey, and visit the beach. Monday we headed to Asbury Park, the place that Bruce Springsteen put on the map in 1972 with the release of his first studio album. The town had fallen on hard times years ago, but lately is coming back to life, as was apparent as we walked the main street in town. The temps hit 52 by afternoon and I found myself removing the scarf and gloves I had needed in the morning. What a treat!

Tillie, the famous  amusement park “fun face” painted on the side of the Palace Amusements building in Asbury Park in 1955,  is an icon for the area. Santa Tillie was in evidence around town given the time of year.

After stopping in the many shops, we headed for the boardwalk and the ocean. Yes, the beach is my happy place.

A woman walking by insisted on taking a photo of me and my husband, she said she has made it her “job” to do so everyday she is out walking and sees someone with a camera. How nice is that?

We passed a pinball arcade on the boardwalk that not only is a place to play pinball, but has a museum of old pinball machines. We took a walk through, seeing how much the machines have changed over the years. I was a Pac Man fanatic back in the late 1970’s, and was happy to see the machine included in the collection.

The ocean was calm, almost like a lake, with hardly any waves. Beautiful to visit, as always. A mini vacation for a day, close to home but feeling so far away.