See You In September: Great Activities to Wait On To Avoid Crowds
Your social feeds will no doubt be clogged with lists of the top things to do around Memorial Day, including this station. For me, I’m going to sit this one out.
Those who truly know me will tell you that for a woman who makes her money speaking to thousands over the air each day, I avoid crowds like the plague. Can YOU say extroverted introvert? Combine that with being married to an Irishman with no patience whatsoever to wait in line, and you get a couple that runs the other way when the summer crowds clog our roadways and nudge us out of our favorite local haunts. We wave to the people forming around the block and go elsewhere, sad for ourselves as we wish that small business owner friend of ours good fortune as they recoup profits after a long, cold, and lean winter.
On the week before Memorial Day, I have a pre-summer tradition of relinquishing my favorite places to the masses, so I present to you…
A list of places I won’t be going to until September
1. Mariner’s Cove in Brielle: goodbye, pancakes the size of manhole covers. Farewell, belly-busting omelet.
2. Rook Coffee, Point Pleasant, and Wall: thanks for keeping the chill off my bones with your sultry blends from coffee ports around the world. I’ll let the tourist crowd have their Iced Cold New Orleans with almond milk and a splash of dairy to keep it real.
3. Hoffman’s Ice Cream in Point Pleasant and Spring Lake Heights: the sugar high from your succulent milk fat blended with things like coconut, chocolate, peanut butter, and waffle cone pieces kept me alive and got me through The Golden Batchelor’s low moments this winter. Throngs of new faces will make sticky sweet summer memories with your concoctions while I’ll buy supermarket pints of Ben & Jerry’s to avoid the crowds.
4. Town Grille in Manasquan. Two words: Big Beach.
5. Mud City, Manahawkin: as boaters dart over the waves a few feet away, I prefer to swim in the butter I dip my broiled seafood combo in. How I’ll miss the homey vibe of your paneling-lined dining room but alas, I am too polite to elbow my way into the fish market for a fix of your perfectly delicious crab cakes.
6. Chegg, Beach Haven: let the ludicrous wings burn the mouths of unsuspecting out-of-towners. I’ve just stocked up on bottles of your fire-breathing sauces because my youngest daughter drinks so much of it that her blood type is now HOT positive.
Back to school means I get my favorite places back, though I’m not rushing the beach season away anytime soon! Bring on the sun!
