As I said before, the Jersey Shore isn’t how I remembered it; or as anyone else remembers it either. They may have rebuilt the boardwalk at Seaside Heights but there are still many signs of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy last fall.
It was surprising how little damage appeared on Sandy Hook. In fact, Fort Hancock and the Lighthouse seemed to have held up very well. The ranger commented that many of the basements of the quarters were flooded, but the water never even reached the lighthouse proper.
When we drove across the bridge to the mainland to grab some lunch in Sea Bright, it was quite a different story.
All morning long Arwed and Teresa spoke so much about the Sea Bright Pizzeria that our mouths were watering. Teresa was even putting dibs on which toppings she wanted. Having spent a good part of our youths eating good, Jersey pizza, were more than ready to “have a slice”!
As we drove along the beach road into town, I saw that many new walk-overs were being built over the wall. Then I turned my attention to the other side of the street and got a look at what Sandy had done to many of the homes. It was difficult to tell which ones were merely lucky from those who had better insurance, but it wasn’t difficult to tell which ones were truly unfortunate. Some home were gone, with just a sandy lot and remnants of pavement showing where a driveway was.
Downtown was the same, except that the more heavily damaged buildings had been demolished and were just gaps in the storefronts. Soon it became clear that our pizzeria, although standing, was not open for business. Arwed was crushed. We tried to find somewhere else to eat in town, to show our support, but there wasn’t really anything open but a small tiki bar offering drinks and grilled food from a make-shift outdoor kitchen. The patrons sat at small tables surrounded by giant walls of sand and the festive sound of steel drums filled the air. Clearly this was a local hangout and although it would have been okay for us to stay, it had all the ambiance of a neighborhood party, but the celebration was much muted.
Like small shoots of green on a hillside after a fire, life at the Jersey Shore seems to be beginning to recover. There are scenes of devastation and hopeful camaraderie standing side by side. On the positive side, I’ve never seen such light traffic on a sunny Saturday in June, either on the Parkway, or in the town.
The beaches are still there, so go and enjoy. But maybe just for this year, pack a lunch.