Today on the Fat Boy Road Trip we explored Ocean City, NJ and the surrounding area. It was the perfect day, sunny and around 80 degrees. The Jersey Shore is something you have to experience to believe. The boardwalk at Ocean City is six lanes(!!!) wide. There are separate lanes for bikes, surrey carts, and pedestrians in each direction.
The boardwalk at Ocean City is a mile long and six lanes wide
Even during the week both the boardwalk and the beach had a ton of people compared to what we see anywhere in Oregon. The oddest thing to adjust to is having to buy a "Beach Tag" to actually go down onto the beach. They have booths at each entrance to the beach from the boardwalk that are staffed with inspectors to ensure everyone entering the walkway down to the sand has a tag. It is also interesting to see the beach, as hurricane Sandy which came further North than normal in 2013 wiped out this and many other beaches in the area. Seeing dune grass planted in uniform rows instead of randomly growing across the dune between the boardwalk and the beach show just how much work was done to bring back this huge tourist attraction.
Dune grass had to be planted after the beach was completely rebuilt following Hurricane Sandy in 2013
The boardwalk at Ocean City is more than a mile long
While driving to and from the beach today we decided to have the GPS route us on back roads to avoid freeways and toll roads. It added a few minutes to the trip each way, but really gave us a better sense of the area. Driving through some of these older communities like Egg Harbour and Mays Landing you see some very old and incredibly beautiful homes and buildings.
What we were told is the oldest home standing in Ocean City, this beautiful residence was built in 1903
We ate a few small things as we walked up and down the boardwalk, but didn't really have a meal to review for you today. We'll rectify that tomorrow with plenty of food on the boardwalk, Steel Pier, and the Strip in Atlantic City. I'll leave you tonight with a picture we had to get for all of the Harley lovers out there, but especially for Coop's dad, Ray. This custom painted locomotive sits in front of Atlantic City Harley Davidson.
