Ocean Grove is an extremely dog-friendly town, but the Township and the CMA cannot find it in their hearts to provide a dog park or an after (or before) hours dog beach. Such places are as much for the owners as they are for the animals. It’s a quality of life issue.
Want to smoke on the OG beach? Well, you cannot; read the sign. Oh, you can smoke on the Boardwalk. Blogfinger photo.
The NJ Governor just signed a law forbidding smoking on public beaches. The price of a ticket is $250.00.
OGCMA banned smoking on our beaches some time ago, but would the OG beach be considered a “public beach” making such OG puffers eligible for that fine? And what about those vapor puffers?
And is it OK to smoke in Auditorium Square Park? There’s a big fire risk building over there.
The walking path has now been opened, following the boardwalk north past the two piles of rubble and other signs of the great fire. A truck from the Neptune Office of Emergency Management has arrived, but their role in the cleanup is unknown to us.
You could stand on your head, but no one from the Mother Ship would offer some information on Blogfinger. The last time that happened was with Committeewoman Mary Beth Jahn, when she opposed the North End Plan, and she later got dumped by the Township Comedy.
The two rubble piles remain. Safety fence along the boardwalk.
Bikers, joggers, walkers, and tricky kids have returned this morning, the day after Easter Sunday.
I even saw a young woman walking with her friend, chattering back and forth as they swung their arms. They both wore black leggings (girls in their spring clothes) and one wore a shirt that said, “Á La Mode.”
That made my day, trying to understand her messaging. Lately we see a lot more T shirts with messages other than “Marquette University” which also showed up this morning. You can’t blame her for not wanting to be in Wisconsin in April.
This jury rigged path will allow life to resume as access to Asbury Park returns, and the merchants over there breathe a sigh of relief. Now all that remains is to wait for the Asburians to begin the beguine.
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH RUBEN BLADES AND WYNTON MARSALIS:
Thomas Mato Blanchot feat. WAWA: “Isn’t She Lovely”
Editor’s Note: This Stevie Wonder song is about his newborn daughter, but in a larger sense he is writing about the beauty of God’s gifts.
Shouldn’t we try to preserve one of the few remaining open vistas at the Jersey Shore for all to enjoy, not just a select few? Go take a walk at the North End of OG and look around, especially at the open views of the ocean. Why not start by sending letters to the Township Committee. They have the power to cancel that zoning disaster in favor of a gift to the people.
In Morris County, they pay farmers to keep the land forever as farms. Why don’t our elected officials campaign in Trenton and Washington to do the same sort of thing here by turning the North End into a wonderful seaside park (perhaps with a vast underground parking garage to soften the financial loss for the Camp Meeting Association.)
A reasonable Plan B would be to return to single family zoning for that project.
Link to the 1986 rejection of a South End project (posted in 2016):
This was originally posted in June, 2015 on BF. But each year we pay attention to girls in their summer clothes. It is a tradition for our seashore community.
The June day in 2015 (below) started out rainy and chilly, but later in the day it became Sunny and Cher; it warmed up a bit, but it was still windy.
I went on the boardwalk and saw lifeguards at their stations. A green flag was flying along with “Old Glory.” But no one was swimming. In fact no one was in the water.
I walked up to one of the lifeguard stands and joked with the guards who stayed at their post, like soldiers guarding a “no-man’s land.” An older guard, “Cowboy Dave” was sitting in the rescue boat, 10 gallon hat on and blue sunglasses, but he was facing the water. He is either the first or the last in the lifeboat. He said that he is from OG and that this is his 16th summer as a lifeguard. He reminds me of Robert Duvall smelling napalm in the morning. (Apocalypse Now)
I asked him if he saw any bathing beauties go by, because all that was out there was the surf. He pointed to some young ladies about 100 yards away who were the only ones on the beach, to the north. Clearly this was not a “no-woman’s land.”
They wore some pretty small bathing suits, so it seemed like a good public interest news photo- op for Blogfinger.
When I walked to their location, it seemed like I should ask them why they are in Ocean Grove on such a bleak day. I was thinking that they looked like they should be in Asbury Park. I did not comment on their attire, but you can’t help but notice that this is much different than 1880.
As it turns out, they are coeds who are camping at Allaire State Park where they are renting a yurt. They were having a great time just being together and laughing and talking and telling yurt jokes. They said that they preferred Ocean Grove’s beach to any others. One of them had come to OG as a child.
They especially singled out Days Ice Cream and the summer tents as favorite spots. I only had one BF card which I gave them to photograph and share.
I said goodbye and walked back to the lifeguards offering to sell them the names of the young ladies. They seemed interested, but ultimately I suggested that they get the names themselves.
So who says that we live in Ocean Grave? It’s time to bury that nickname.
