In today's Philadelphia Inquirer, I shared - finally - my Jersey Shore backroads. Turns out they're a lot more serpentine than what most other people follow.
I debated about whether or not to do this story. Should I share? Will it make these routes more crowded? I doubt it'll make a huge difference. Also, I rarely take backroads anymore because I don't drive down or back from the shore in the weekend prime time hours. The beach can be really pretty when you get there at 7am.
The original draft for that story, by the way, had this intro: "When I tried to write down my Jersey Shore backroads, my notes included phrases like 'past the car dealerships,' 'that farm stand with the peaches,' 'that graveyard' and '666.' I couldn’t name one road except for Route 42. That’s because my backroads, which run from Bellmawr to Clermont, N.J. (right outside of Avalon, N.J.), were passed down from my parents, who got them from my grandparents. Anthony and Elizabeth Verzella started their annual treks down the shore before the Atlantic City Expressway opened in 1964, and before the Garden State Parkway finished in 1957."
I wouldn't normally post that, but I liked that bit of the story that didn't make the cut.
I also have a piece in that same issue about bay-side delights. You can read that here.
2 comments:
We get to the shore by taking Route 206 all the way south, and then backroads so that we only have to get on the AC Expressway for one exit!
55 only worked the first year it was open, then the backup on the two lanes at the end killed it. Using the back roads is not the answer. Early to bed and really really early to rise gives you a clear shot on any road and has you dining on Uncle Bill's Iowa corn pancakes by 9:00 am. Then you shop until the rental opens at 1:00 pm. Hicko
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