Angie, Ken and Sally in Firemen’s Park. Sally is the dog. Blogfinger.net photo. 0/29/20. ©

By Paul Goldfinger,  Editor @Blogfinger.net

Angie and Ken rent a house on Main Avenue every September, which is a good idea because it is the best time of the year at the Shore. They are from Philadelphia, and being in Ocean Grove is a treat, but now it has a special allure given the COVID situation.

They say that the Grove is a unique  place and they enjoy daily walks to Firemen’s Park with their black dog Sally. The three of them play Frisbee, but the focus is on Sally who diligently works at her flying craft.

Every transplant from NYC or Philly that we talk to love also to walk to Asbury Park, primarily for the food, but part of that allure is the music. All summer there was free live music in Sunset Park near Bradley’s statue, and the programs changed weekly.  And now there is live music at St. John’s Island on Sundays through October.

Asbury and OG offer contrasting life-styles and gifts, but this just adds to the appeal of Ocean Grove where real estate has continued to increase in value, and that is not just related to the virus.

Some new buyers are coming here just because they are within a short round trip to A. Park and back, and real estate ads reflect that marketing feature.

OG is still a better buy than A. Park, but the challenge for OG is to maintain its historic charm while Asbury is fulfilling its dream of being “hipster city.”  The North End Development, as currently planned,  will be a commercial urban entree into A. Park while diminishing the look, spirit, and neighborhood appeal of small town Ocean Grove.

Clearly, the idea that OG and A. Park are sister cities, going back to the 19th century, has now come true as A. Park has become a destination for visitors including Grovers who can easily get over there by foot or by bike, unlike the out-of-town interlopers who park for free in our neighborhoods and then vanish into the Wesley Lake mist while crossing the bridge.

Destination  Asbury Park, through OG on Delaware Avenue near Wesley Lake.    Blogfinger photo on Saturday, 9/27/20.

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