Destination: Asbury Park

Now that spring has arrived, I am very excited about all the warm weather weekend jaunts ahead! One destination that I am looking forward to returning to is Asbury Park, New Jersey. Yep, that's right, home to "The Boss," Bruce Springsteen. Last October, V and I had a work event on the Jersey Shore and as we were headed home, on a whim we decided to get off the train at Asbury Park. What we thought was just going to be an afternoon at the beach turned into a very unexpected 48 hours.....

Over the last few years, Asbury Park has been reinventing itself. There has been an influx of young, hip entrepreneurs who have been opening up restaurants, boutique hotels and stores. But what makes it so unique is they have managed to maintain the Jersey grit, keep things low-key, and foster a skate/surf culture that is reminiscent of SoCal beach cities like Venice Beach and Hermosa Beach. Two cities that I frequented growing up. I felt right at home.

Our afternoon began with a four wheel Surrey bike ride. As we pedaled down the boardwalk, we spotted the American Park Yacht Club, which is an open air bar located within the surf shop, Lightly Salted. We went in and after having a couple of drinks and eating some ridiculously good seafood, we met a couple from CA. They had gotten married the weekend prior in Asbury Park (hubby is from the area) and had just returned from a mini-moon in Newport, RI. We instantly hit it off with them, and lucky for us, they became our tour guides for the weekend. They introduced us to all that Asbury Park has to offer and started first by extending an invite to a screening of a new surf documentary. This surfer girl, accepted immediately and the fun never stopped....

From excellent vintage shopping and killer custom jeans at Sweet Joey's to delicious late night Korean tacos at MOGO's to bocce, Jenga and pizza at Porta, we seriously had the best time. We even managed to get in a quick surf session!

I would be remiss not to mention the music venues too - the historic, Stone Pony often has some very famous surprise guests.Victor even had a spontaneous performance on the boardwalk.

There is no need for a car, you can walk around town and to the beach during the day. Most of the shops and restaurants are along Bangs Avenue and the boardwalk. 

Here we are with the newlyweds (right), and local restaurateurs. As you can see, we had fun. 

Tips: 
How to Get There: From NYC:  1 hour 15 by car (without traffic) and 2 hours by New Jersey Transit 

Where To Stay: Hotel Tides

Breakfast: Toast & Cafe Volan

Lunch: Porta & Pop's Garage

Dinner: Fish & Langosta Lounge

Late Night Snack: MOGO

Bar: American Park Yacht Club

Shopping: Sweet Joey's, Glide Surf Company & Lightly Salted 

Music: Stone Pony & Asbury Lanes

Bike Rentals: Brielle Cyclery