Asbury Park

For years, Point Pleasant has been our go-to beach for day trips but this time we decided to try a friend's suggestion and went to Asbury Park.  I've heard mixed reviews about the beach, but thought I would check it out for myself.

Normally I like to hit the road first thing in the morning to miss the traffic heading down to the shore but with 3 kids now, we didn't actually make it to the beach until 11:30 a.m.  Nonetheless we found plenty (and cheap--$1/hour) parking right next to the beach.  I found the 3rd Avenue Beach to be clean (just lots of mussel shells on the shore), relatively quiet and not overly crowded.  And, there were a lot of families.

Hubby said this was the best beach trip with the kids ever!  I think much of that has to do with the fact that the older 2 now love going in the water.  We literally spent 7 straight hours on the beach/in the water and then just headed home.  I thought we could check out the little splash park or mini golf if the kids got bored but we didn't even make it there.

While there is a boardwalk it looked pretty sparse, though I didn't explore too much of it.  Basically there are some souvenir shops and places to eat.  The conclusion I came to was that if you are just looking for a nice, relatively quiet beach that is not overly crowded, then this is a great option.  If your kids need more activities, e.g. arcades, rides, game booths, then Point Pleasant would be a better option. 

the kids just loving the beach!

My older two kids have such different personalities and really reflect that of mine and hubby's.  Big L is more like me, reserved and cautious, and Lil P is like daddy, adventurous and thrill seeking.  Baby T's personality is yet to be determined but judging by his first experience on the beach, he may be more like me. 

I had mildly worried about Baby T's first time on the beach, wondering if I would end up holding him the entire time.  He didn't want to walk in the sand so the first half of the day, he was content to just stay on the blanket under the tent.  That made my job easy.  Then he started to explore the sand with his hands.  Unlike Big L at that age, I'm glad he didn't try eating it!  Then slowly he ventured out to the sand and was happy to play at the edge of the blanket with a bucket and shovel.  He still didn't care to walk on the sand, but he had a great time and even took a 2 hour nap to the lull of the crashing waves.  That afforded me the chance to take a nice nap beside him too.  

I would definitely visit Asbury Park again, but I think I'll make this summer one of trying out some new beaches for a change.