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New Jersey Days 1 and 2: To the Jersey Shore

4 August 2025 • 4456 km / 2769 mi (map)

  • Added to Eric Scouten :: Travel on 14 August 2025
  • New Jersey 7

Lisa and I arrived in New Jersey yesterday morning for a weeklong family visit.

We were on a red-eye from Seattle and it arrived many hours before we could check into our hotel, so we took a meandering “scenic” route by way of the Old Mine Road along the Delaware River to the Jersey Shore.

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, southwest of Montague, New Jersey
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, southwest of Montague, New Jersey
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, southwest of Montague, New Jersey
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, southwest of Montague, New Jersey · by Lisa Rozmyn
Westbrook Bell House, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, southwest of Montague, New Jersey
Westbrook Bell House, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, southwest of Montague, New Jersey
Westbrook Bell House, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, southwest of Montague, New Jersey · by Lisa Rozmyn
Old Mine Road, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, west of Sandyston, New Jersey
Millbrook Village Historic Site, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, north of Blairstown, New Jersey
Millbrook Village Historic Site, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, north of Blairstown, New Jersey
Millbrook Village Historic Site, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, north of Blairstown, New Jersey
Millbrook Village Historic Site, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, north of Blairstown, New Jersey · by Lisa Rozmyn
A large, round, cracked stone millstone made of porous gray volcanic-looking rock lies on the ground, partly overgrown with grasses, weeds, and leafy plants, with fallen leaves scattered across its surface. A rocky, shallow stream runs along the upper right of the frame beyond the dense green vegetation.
Millbrook Village Historic Site, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, north of Blairstown, New Jersey

We’re spending the week in Ocean Grove, the Methodist-Church owned town adjacent to Asbury Park. “God’s Square Mile on the Jersey Shore,” the signs say. Mostly that meant we had to cross over the bridge into Asbury Park to buy wine if we wanted it.

Here are a few scenes from the mostly-historic residential neighborhood around our hotel.

A concrete sidewalk running through a leafy residential neighborhood in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, with mature trees overhead casting dappled late-afternoon light. To the left are houses with covered porches, white railings, and flowering hydrangea bushes, while dark cars are parked along the curb on the right.
Ocean Grove, New Jersey
Asbury Park, New Jersey · by Lisa Rozmyn
A calm lake reflecting a row of large Victorian-style homes and lush green trees lining the far shore, under a wide pale blue sky with wispy clouds in early evening light. A bulkheaded waterfront edge, parked cars, and a small dock are visible along the bank.
Asbury Park, New Jersey
A long mural along the base of a weathered building at night, depicting a glamorous woman with white hair, long black gloves, and pearl jewelry whose body transforms into the orange tentacles of an octopus swimming through blue water. The aged structure above has rows of peeling, distressed window frames, and a bare concrete walkway runs in the foreground.
Asbury Park, New Jersey

We are staying at the recently-remodeled Hotel Albatross. Originally built in 1881, it was lovingly stripped to its bones and re-imagined as a modern hotel that still keeps its historic character. We later learned that it had just reopened a few weeks before our stay.

A four-story white clapboard hotel named Albatross photographed at dusk against a deep blue sky, its front porch trimmed with glowing warm lights and an illuminated entrance reached by a central staircase from a brick walkway. Black-shuttered windows line the upper floors and balconies wrap the front, with the numbers “34” marked at the steps.
Hotel Albatross, Ocean Grove, New Jersey
Hotel Albatross, Ocean Grove, New Jersey
Poulsbo, Washington, to Ocean Grove, New Jersey · 4456 km / 2769 mi
(Mouse over or tap on the markers to see the photos there. Use the button to adjust the map’s position and zoom.)

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