Monday 30th June - 'The Beach Party Goes On, Down on The Jersey Shore'

We awoke to two things on Monday morning - another beautiful New Jersey day of sunshine, clear blue skies and 'thick heads' - it must have been that last beer we had!   It was another start to a week so we needed to get our laundry done, but feeling like we were on vacation we decided to splash out and pay for a "wash & fold" service whilst we continued to enjoy ourselves by the shoreline.   

Michael offered to show us around the area, much of which he grew up in. Once again we jumped into the slow-to-accelerate but ever so trusty and well driven 4-Cylinder SUV! And headed for Asbury Park which included a stunning cruise up the New Jersey coastline following 'Ocean Avenue' which is the road that runs right alongside the beach for miles and miles.

We had lunch, or was it 'brunch' at a restaurant along the board-walk and after much debate a "hair of the dog" beer, after which Michael and I felt much better! JG abstained, preferring the water to accompany his headache!  

Here we are after lunch - that's Michael in the middle flanked by those darn "Blighty-Boys."  In the background is the 'Asbury Park Boardwalk Convention Hall' a very famous concert venue for anyone "who's anyone in music" has played there. Like for instance, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Doors, KISS, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Bob Dylan, The Who, Van Halen, The Allman Brothers Band, The Clash and of course local boy Bruce Springsteen.....and many, many others.

The 'Stone Pony' (http://www.stoneponyonline.com/info/history.html) also in Asbury Park, just a short stroll down the Boardwalk is another distinguished live music venue and a career starting place for many young artists  at the time like 'Jon Bon Jovi' 'Bruce Springsteen' 'Blondie' 'Stevie Ray Vaughn' to name a few.  But for 'One Night Only' they could have booked The Blighty-Boys, but no one was home when we called!

As the sun was going down it was time to collect our laundry and head to another notable Sea Girt establishment - the 'Parker House' (http://www.parkerhousenj.com) which had been a house of fine food, wine, cocktails and beer for over 137 years situated just off the beach.  The atmosphere was great because another World-Cup football match was being played on the large flat screens.  The bar was packed, standing room only, as we enjoyed several well made margarita's and cheered on the Germany vs. Algeria game.

After all the excitement of the 'Parker House' it was time to go eat.  Michael drove us over to Klein's Waterside Cafe (http://www.kleinsfish.com) for some very fresh local seafood.

Great restaurant to watch the sun setting.

More margarita's just to keep the vacation vibe going!

Not sure who the singer/guitar player was but he was doing some great Springsteen covers.

After dinner we headed to another bar to meet up with Michael's college friend Paul.  It was late as we ordered our drinks and the bar was soon to close but being America "take out" for our Rum was an option, although I think could have been technically illegal......but hey at that point we didn't care!

What a great day we had, and an ever better evening thanks to the friendship and generosity of Michael & Paul - thanks guys!  Top blokes you are.