We interrupt our usually scheduled blog posts about all things digital marketing in NJ with this reminder -- it is summer! And summer doesn't last long around here, so get out and enjoy it.
And what can be more summery than going to the Jersey Shore???
Consider this a pro bono marketing announcement but if you haven't visited Asbury Park in a while then you may be surprised to know that it's back.
Not back in the way we may remember it in it's glory days and then it's gritty days. But, it's back with it's own new vibe with some of the cast of characters still serving as a backdrop. (The tilt-a-whirl is gone but Madame Marie still has her booth there.)
Sure, many of us Jerseyeans remember going there as a kid to visit the boardwalk and the famous Casino where there were bumper cars, putt-putt boats in the canal and the famous carousel under the patina copper roof. The relics of those things are there and they're slowly being scrubbed over to make them less scary and foreboding. Today, they serve as ancient markers of past glorious summers.
Somehow, Asbury Park fell into disrepair shortly after Bruce Springsteen memorialized it in his "Greetings from Asbury Park" album. It wasn't the safest place to be and its boarded up buildings didn't make it seem like a shore destination any longer. Perhaps, just bad economics washed over this area and swept it away for a while. It was forgotten and forlorn. It was if Poseidon dragged her under the sea.
However, Asbury Park had some staying power. Maybe it was the music scene that help anchor this town with the famous Stone Pony (which Bruce still showed up at from time-to-time) and the Wonder Bar with Tillie's face on it, or maybe it was the architectural beauty of the two buildings sitting on either end of the boardwalk and their rich history. If Asbury Park was located anywhere else than right on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, it may not have ever seen a second chance. I like to think that the allure of the water that serves as a natural border of this town helped sustain and nurture its existence and maintain it until the time was right.
Yes, Asbury Park has resurfaced. There are new restaurants, hotels, and a thriving music scene. And there is the ocean, sand and sun. While, many of us have rediscovered this hidden gem I hope it can hold on to its own identity rather than becoming an unrecognizable beauty makeover.
Check out the New York Times recent piece on it, get on a train (which stops nearby), or get in your car and be prepared to sit in traffic on the aptly named Park-Way, but get out there to experience a real Jersey icon because the days of summer are finite and this is part of Growin' Up in New Jersey.