Well I finally finished the Jersey Shore tour of capturing all the lighthouses that I could possibly get while onshore. The final three were quite impressive with a wonderful trip to go along with the quest. Starting at Wildwood, NJ from my shore house at 8 am, I worked my way up the coast, stopping at the Absecon Lighthouse first. This lighthouse was quite impressive with a height of 169 feet, coming in at 5th tallest in the nation. Sadly I had to jump the fence to get good pictures since I arrived too early and couldn't walk up to the top since it was closed. The surrounding area is on the outskirts of Atlantic City, but there seems to be some promise with a huge casino going up only a block away from the lighthouse. Hopefully this will improve the area at least within a few acres of the lighthouse. It is definitely worth a trip to the area for a scenic purposes and to see the most ridiculous mixes of two complete opposite ends of classes at each others doorsteps. Just about a quarter mile away is the inlet where you can see a dilapidated boardwalk begging for repairs, while people weave in and out of the areas where you can ride your bike. Underneath waves are crashing into rubble left behind from fallen buildings. The most fascinating thing had to be the huge hotel at the corner of the coast and inlet that was pretty much left abandon except for the first few floors. The other 40 stories or so were empty or home to things you don't want to think about. About a mile west, hugging the bay area is another nice set up. There are a bunch of cozy little shops set up in sheds with an aquarium accompanying them. Check it out but be careful to go only during the daylight hours, and I'm not kidding you.
The second stop on my tour was Smithville, which came out of complete surprise. It's a small historic town that is set around the idea of a quaint little village concept. You can walk around and check out numerous shops and feel like you are living in the colonial area. I found the best aspect of the places were its variety of shops they had set up. No shops were any bigger than 250 square feet inside. It is meant to cut you off from the rest of the world by surrounding you in the village when you walk in. Smithville gives you a glimpse at the not so distant past while being able to shop in present times. If you don't want any material goods at least grab a bite to eat with their various offerings of delicious foods.
About 25 or so minutes up the road is Tuckerton, home to Tucker's Island Lighthouse. This is the site of the first resort area used by people in the late 1700's for trips to the shore. This is were it all began when people from Philadelphia decided they needed a break from the heat. Tucker's Lighthouse is unique because it was rebuilt after it went crashing into the ocean. The lighthouse is far from prestigious but has quite an interesting history. Along with the lighthouse the people of Tuckerton have set up a neat little area for you to visit. Tuckerton Seaport is a small boardwalk around a bay area with little shops open for history fans. Each shop explains in detail about what its main topic is. For example they have a decoy duck shop, which seems to be the big deal in Tuckerton, where you can check out a guy hand carving fake ducks. Tucker's Lighthouse is the keystone to the whole attraction and is worth a visit.
Barnegat Lighthouse was the finally destination on the journey. After traveling at turtle speed on the huge Long Beach Island, there she blew. It was an amazing site, standing at 172 feet, 4th largest in the nation, it was begging to be conquered. The walk wasn't that bad at all especially for such a breath taking site of the marvelous LBI area. I couldn't believe my eyes after seeing how clear the water in the area was. The bay had a light greenish sparkle to it, something that I thought was only possible in the oceans further down south. Always swimming in Wildwood, I was caught off guard by the crystal clearness of the bay. You could see a a good amount of feet down in the water with out any murkiness or pollutants. The whole area is set up beautifully and is just amazing. There are tons of jetties and various paths to walk on and check out the inlet. The preservation down on the lighthouse is worth taking note of. What really made this town besides that clean water was the various wildlife that has been lost in other jersey shore beaches. Different types of coral could be seen and I saw a starfish pulled right from the bay. To go along perfectly with all this shore awesomeness was the mom and pop like stores everywhere. It provided a sweet uniqueness that has since been lost to fast food chains, and Wal-Mart-esque places in most parts of New Jersey.The trip was fascinating and definitely worth taking. Check out my NJ collection of Lighthouses here.
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