New York, New Jersey & Pennsylvania - Eastern USA - page 237

tents clustered together, which are used as summer homes. The town has dazzling well-
preserved Victorian architecture and a 6500-seat wooden auditorium, and there are many
beautiful, big-porched Victorian inns to choose from for a stay; visit
www.oceangrovenj.com for guidance. A few miles inland just off the Garden State Pkwy
is a very utilitarian-looking Premium outlet mall .
Bradley Beach to Spring Lake
Bradley Beach has row after row of adorable summer cottages and a beautiful stretch of
shore. Belmar Beach is equally inviting and has a boardwalk with a few food shacks and
a handful of restaurants and busy bars on the oceanfront road. The New Jersey Sand-
castle Contest ( www.njsandcastle.com ) is held here in mid-July.
South of here is Spring Lake , a wealthy community once known as the 'Irish Riviera,'
with manicured lawns, grand oceanfront Victorian houses, a gorgeous beach and elegant
accommodations. This quiet low-key base is about as far from the typical shore board-
walk experience as you can get. Try the bright and airy Grand Victorian at Spring Lake
( 732-449-5237; www.grandvictorianspringlake.com ; 1505 Ocean Ave; r with shared/private bath
with breakfast from $100/150; ) .
Only 5 miles inland from Spring Lake is quirky Historic Village at Allaire (
732-919-3500; www.allairevillage.org ; adult/child $3/2; noon-4pm Wed-Sun late May-early Sep,
noon-4pm Sat & Sun Nov-May) , the remains of what was a thriving 19th-century village
called Howell Works. You can still visit various 'shops,' all run by folks in period cos-
tume.
Ocean County Beaches
Just south of the Manasquan River is Point Pleasant . The northern end of the town
boardwalk is backed by small, idiosyncratic vacation homes only feet from the beach-go-
ing hordes; the southern half, called Jenkinson's Boardwalk , has the usual salt-water
taffy shops, eateries and amusement rides, as well as an aquarium good for kids and an
enormous bar and restaurant for adults jutting out over the beach. A few seafood restaur-
ants with outdoor patios built over the water can be found on a marina and inlet of the
river - try the Shrimp Box (75 Inlet Dr; sandwiches $10, mains $17; noon-10:30pm) . Just
north of here in Manasquan, Inlet Beach has the Shore's most reliable year-round waves
for surfers.
Just below there, the narrow Barnegat Peninsula barrier island extends some 22
miles south from Point Pleasant. In its center, Seaside Heights of MTV reality-show