Jersey Shore

We did indeed return to Point Pleasant Beach that summer, just Darryl, Joshua and me.  My Aunt's house had a LOT of people in her house, and I learned that it was pretty routine for her house to be a crash pad for her husband's adult children and friends.  I figured, how bad could it be?  They are adults.  They know that my cousin and her baby are here and Joshua is here... it isn't like they are going to stay up all night and drink.

Um.  Yes, yes they did.

My cousin Maria, her boyfriend, and their baby took over the one guest room, which was fine.  They got there first.  Everyone else was camped around the living and dining rooms, including us, on air mattresses.  Except we had a baby with us.  And we were in bed by 11 every night.  

Once I got up at 4 AM to pee and they were all still up and drinking in my Aunt's very big backyard, celebrating... the Fourth of July, I guess.  There had to be 20 people there.  We would have to climb over people, passed out drunk on their air mattresses, in order to leave in the morning. 

And that's what we did.  We would get up early (if we woke them up, oh well!), shower, dress, and head out to the boardwalk with Joshua.  We ate breakfast and lunch on the boardwalk.  We did NOT attempt the beach for several reasons:

1.  $10/person per day (I'm too cheap for that)
2.  it was so crowded that strangers' towels were mere inches apart (no.  I was a fan of social distancing wayyyy before the Corona Virus), and 
3.  my skin hasn't seen the sun since 1988 (seriously, I was covered up like it as winter).

And then there was the fact that Joshua, my fair-skinned redhead, burned like mad, even with SPF100 applied every other hour and a hat!  

Still, we paid for the expensive pizza and soggy zeppoles that were NOTHING like I remembered from my childhood.  We had fun, despite the fact that it was way over 90 degrees and so humid that my clothes were soaked down to my underwear (I don't want to hear "it's because you wear all black."  Joshua and Darryl were not in all black and they were as sweaty as I was, so shut it.)

My brother came down on the weekend with Miles and we hit the boardwalk rides HARD.  Joshua enjoyed them ten times more with Miles there.  He loves Miles (and still does).  Miles is, to Joshua, the epitome of big boy coolness.  I mean, he wears big boy underwear and everything.

We watched the fireworks over the ocean, which I guess was cool.  And then I remembered that I loathe crowds and am not especially fond of rude New Jersey people who make up said crowds.  


Still, Joshua had fun, and that made it all worth it.