50 States in 50 Days Day 3 New Jersey

In honor of me achieving my goal of visiting all 50 US States each day for the next 50 days, I will post a picture of somewhere I have visited in each state and write a paragraph or two about my experience. There is so much to see in every one of them, so I am just selecting one of my best memories. 

So what is New Jersey? Is it endless beaches full of hedonistic revelers like “The Jersey Shore’? Or is it full of mobsters like “The Sopranos”? Or perhaps it just a state full of bedroom communities for Philadelphia and NYC whose denizens toil at blue collar jobs and have their lives set to music by Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. You have to admit the state is saddled with a lot of preconceived notions.  But as you cross the Hudson or Delaware Rivers and enter “Jersey” forget everything you think you know and allow yourself to be surprised.

You will meet all types of people here. Trust fund kids who hang out on the beach, hard-working ‘9 to 5’ers who commute miles to ‘the city’ (Manhattan)  every day and live in a tract house in Hackensack, Children of immigrants from every corner of the world who try to juggle the traditions of their forefathers with being “American” . For every stereotype, there is an element of truth. But from my observations, the people of New Jersey are just decent regular people who have a strange accent.  Some of my favorite memories of New Jersey are the many beachfront towns that vary from exquisite to charmingly tacky. Trying to see if there really is a Dr, House on the Princeton Campus, and the “Grounds for Sculpture” Park on the Jersey side of Philly which is probably the best sculpture park in the entire country. I would have to say the favorite place of all has to be Cape May.

My favorite excursions in New Jersey include taking Route 34 down the shore and riding the ferry at Cape May.  If you allow yourself to visit with an open mind New Jersey will definitely not disappoint.