Birthday Travels

I don’t always like traveling, and I don’t always like birthdays, so when the plan for this year’s birthday involved travel, I didn’t quite know what to expect. I don’t know if low expectations helped, but I definitely had a good time.

Day 1: Asbury Park, New Jersey
I have driven through New Jersey on a handful of occasions, but my time in New Jersey had been limited to stopping for gas right off of the turnpike. Wanting to be near, but not in New York City (destination for Day 2), Asbury Park seemed a good pick.

It was a weekday, so there weren’t too many people around. Although, I’m not sure how populated it gets even on the weekends. I got a good price on a room with a king-sized bed at the Berkeley, which is always a good thing. The hotel has just recently gone under some reconstruction, and is still in the middle of more. Their decoration was kind of crazy, the air conditioning in the room never quite got cold, and the shower drained super slow, but being a block from the beach made up for it a little.

The part of the boardwalk nearest the hotel also seemed to be undergoing renovation/restoration, and some new construction, too. The boardwalk itself clearly had new planks, and there were new businesses, as well as some old ones, too. I wonder what the area looked like before...



The weather was gorgeous, and that night there happened to be a fireworks show right at the beach closest to the hotel. They weren’t as big as D.C.’s 4th of July fireworks, but being close make them bigger, sitting on the sand with the waves crashing, and having fresh baked cookies from The Baker Boys definitely heightened the whole experience. Well, and the beer and food from the Irish pub earlier in the evening didn’t hurt!

I had time the next morning for a quick walk on the boardwalk, and breakfast nearby.


Day 2: Slice, Garlic Knots, Waterfalls, & Dinner at Nobu (Next Door)

I admit, I can get pretty pre-occupied/obsessed with food...but when you find a good slice of pizza with some yummy garlic knots, and then have dinner at Nobu, then what’s not to celebrate. Hey, at least I also made time to walk a little of that food off by taking a walk to the Brooklyn Promenade to catch a glimpse of the waterfall installation.