Today we decided to spend some time in New Jersey. Our first stop was to visit a relative in Tom’s River. It was fun to catch up on what’s been going on with all the X cousins Y removed. We stopped for lunch at the Dougie’s in Deal:
When we visit a Dougie’s (there are half a dozen or so throughout the NYC metro area), the kids love drawing on the paper tablecloth. Zayde designed a time machine or warp drive or something:
Next we visited the Sandy Hook unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area. At the northern end of the hook is the Sandy Hook Light. Built in 1764, it’s the oldest operating lighthouse in the US:
We toured the small exhibit space in the visitor center adjacent to the lighthouse, though I’m not sure how much the kids got out of it:
Sandy hook was the home of Fort Hancock, and ruins of coastal fortifications still litter the area:
We walked out to the observation platform on the northern end of the hook:
Looking north, we could see Lower Manhattan across the bay:
The kids received their Junior Ranger badges:
Our next stop was the beach at Sea Bright. I prepared to launch my PPG:
M is practicing his sunbathing. I don’t have the “lay around” gene, so I don’t know where he got it:
Launch of flight #109:
I landed to talk to another local PPG pilot farther up the beach:
I launched my second flight:
Flying by the family pavilion:
I practiced my foot drags:
I landed with the power on and just stood there, the wind holding up the wing:
It was a long but great day!