Now this is a place of my youth. I have been coming here during the summer since I was in cloth…read morediapers. Really I am part of the big Gravelly Family that has seen generations grow up. In fact a couple of years ago we brought a few grandkids here and they were the 4th generation to have slept in bungalow #68. Right off the water but we are still able to sit on the porch and look into the giant city of New York. There were many many good even great times here. From learning how to sail from my uncle's sailing school to my cousin's hobie cats for which she was a sailing team member. To fishing off of one of the pier or one of the older marinas. I also remember just wonder down the beach into town where the lobster boats used to dock. I remember buying a crate of lobsters for like 25 bucks. Or catching a boatload of bluefish. You can catch 2 kinds of flounder here. The ones like we call flounder in the south they call fluke. Then their flounder which has a little pucker mouth and you catch with with red blood worms. An yes they are a saltwater fish and you use worms to catch them. Then you could dig for a couple kinds of clams like little neck pisser and hard shell clams and even soft shell clams. Literally by the little dingy boats full. Oh the good old days when you could almost run wild sailing, swimming, fishing, playing ball, or even running up and down the very steep red hill. But gravelly in really a great family beach with a mere 20 or 30 moms. It was and is a great place to raise your kids. Now day specially since Hurricane Sandy which destroyed many of the bungalows. There are some that were torn down during the storm. Some that are scheduled to come down. Unfortunately our dear #68 is on the list to be torn down. Maybe we can figure a way to just repair it and run with that. This is where it hurts the most to come up and see if still boarded up with no life in it. The bungalow know as # 68 was a major hub of activity on bungalow day for sure. It was the place for a quick snack if you needed or a beer stop before the beach. But then life moves on, on gravelly point road but the biggest lost was that of my cousin who kind of run the place. Well for so many years even back in the 30's thru the 70's my grand parents were one of the big families of Gravelly. Now we did hold the record for the most kids and we were the second bungalow built on the road. That record goes out to the McQuade's with their 9 children and the first ever bungalow built on the beach. There was even a massive flood tide that washed up a house boat. They later secured the boat and built a house atop of the hull. This bungalow was owned by a flood family. Image that the Flood's house was brought in with a flood. There are many families that have called Gravelly home. So much history is littered down this road. I was just about raised here coming up most summers from a very young age to my mid teens. I could really go on for pages but Gravelly holds a special place in my heart. So if you ever get a chance to visit Highland NJ stop in and just tell everyone that you are friends with Mark from Florida. I promise you will be welcomed with open arms and probably a beer.

Gravelly Point Road is a small strip of road in Highlands, NJ. From the beach at the end of…read moreGravelly Point Road, the view includes Sandy Hook, the Manhattan skyline and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. This is a road deep in history. Summers on the New Jersey shore have been spent here for more than 100 years. This is like retuning to times when this were simple and the pleasure of spending time with family and friends is special. Everyone knows everyone here. Making memories is important. This is the 76th annual Bungalow Day. It's always the 3rd Saturday in August. It's like a block party full of family fun. It starts at 9am with a parade down the road. There's a theme every year this year it's MardiGras. There's a bungalow decorating contest. Water and land races, tug-of-war and egg-throwing contests are among the activities normally held throughout the day. The end of the day is spent with live music beach party that you honestly wish will never end. The cool evening breeze is always welcoming to the tunes of Mike Flood who performs a mix of old sea songs as well as old acoustic rock and roll tunes. This makes returning here year after year a wonderful kind of family reunion.

We checked in today at Hole In The Wall through Chrissy at the front desk. She was definitely the…read morenicest , most welcoming customer service agent we've ever come into contact with. They found the best person to do that job!

I love these little places that create a personality to a community and find themselves forever…read moreliving within your memories. This tunnel is a pretty tight drive as you pass through in your vehicle. As I said, this tunnel will stay within your memories as part of South Amboy, New Jersey. I lived in South Amboy, New Jersey and grew up in Central New Jersey, which many claim that central New Jersey does not exist. I disagree. Central New Jersey certainly is a place. It is not the more rural south Jersey nor claim Philadelphia as their city, nor is it directly in the shadow of Manhattan (though here is within the shadow of Staten Island, New York). This "hole-in-the-wall" is part of the landscape of my memories and I am better for having driven through it (definitely a better driver). Again, these little quirks will forever stay within you no matter if your life journey took you far from South Amboy, New Jersey. It is perhaps more poignant will you remember something as seemingly inconsequential as a narrow bridge as a part of a community that you fondly cherish. I remember this "hole-in-the-wall" and smile at its memory.

My brother stacks stones. It's a thing he does when we travel and he did it when we traveled to a…read morefew of Maine's beaches this year. So I was a little prepared for this interesting art spot that is maybe a quarter or half mile south of the Little Red Lighthouse along the Hudson River in Fort Washington Park. These stacks are made from local rock, a type called Manhattan Schist. They seem to be ideal for stacking as they have square edges and flat sides. This phenomenon apparently started in July 2017 and were initially the work of Uliks Gryka, who was inspired to create them after noticing the medley of rough, jagged rocks strewn about the shore. With the Midtown skyline way off in the distance on a clear day, you could almost imagine that these stacks - some five or six rocks tall! - could be skyscrapers themselves. I wouldn't recommend starting stacking stones - it's quite habit forming to see how many you can stack successfully before they tumble like a heavier version of Jenga. And be warned - the existing stacks are not glued or cemented in place. They can fall (on you!) at any time. Best to observe from a few feet away. They're about level with 171st Street if it continued west to meet the Hudson (which it obviously doesn't). [Review 15649 overall - 246 in New York - 1153 of 2021.]

This is one of the coolest little secret spots in NYC! Stacking stones exists all over the world,…read morefrom Ireland to Sint Maarten, but this spot is just north of all the main attractions of Manhattan. There are about two dozen of these stacks and they look great with the panorama of the GW bridge behind them.

So...this is the parking lot for Stony Brook medical specialty center. This is actually pretty…read morefitting for Stony. Their main campus is surrounded by a lot of trails and forest. Also kinda in the middle of nowhere, like main Stony.

Be not afraid. I have spoken with the trees here in reverent conference . . . a quiet army of…read moreconiferous pine: They do not wish us harm. . . they were laid to seed in the mid to late-Twentieth Century by the hands of Men, calculatingly plotted in an exact network of evenly spaced rows and columns. . . The saplings have since grown and now stand in excess of 60' tall, having endured more than time and inclement weather since their planting. . . an aged woodsman hath told me this forests' size once doubled the earth it now stands on, that half the acreage was destroyed by the encroaching expansion of the F0rest Lab0rat0ries, to the South. There are many contemporary theories of the ultimate purpose of these trees, from being planted either to measure time, for use in pagan rituals, or for a decorative demonstration of a Neoclassical ideal: Mans' attempt to control Nature. Here they stand, still awaiting a greater call. The forest can be seen from passing traffic on Commack Road, where its unusual gridlines create a notable strobing effect as you drive past, though the forest is best viewed and experienced from beneath. The Mysterious Forest is on private property beyond a fence & security gate. It is not open to the public.

I did zero reading about this before hand but was with someone who wanted to see it. It seems like…read moreWeird NJ has this covered well: https://weirdnj.com/stories/devils-tree/ So, what was it like in person? First the boring details: No parking in this "park" that I could see. This, however, doesn't make a trip to the tree hard. There is a somewhat quiet street right across from it and parking there, crossing the road, you are left with a one minute walk to the tree. In other words, it you cannot find it you shouldn't be driving. Anyway... on the tree itself it certainly stands out. I cannot say I witnessed anything different happening from a supernatural perspective but something is going on there. It is either a species way outside of what is native to the area or... perhaps... something more sinister?

After reading about the devil's tree in weird new jersey my friends and i thought it would be fun…read moreto check it out. we drove an hour and a half to mountain road and drove around the neighborhood near the tree a few times since we were scared to get out of the car. The whole time we were making fun of the tree and saying it was stupid and none of the stories could possibly be real. Two of my friends got out and touched the tree, they said nothing happened, so we left to go home. Many stories mention car trouble as the aftermath of visiting the tree. Just as we were heading home we noticed the car bumping and wobbling. we got out to check the tires, and one was completely flat.

Great music from the areas best local artists. Food from some of Red Banks most popular and diverse…read morelocal eateries. Vendors offering many interesting handcrafted items for sale. All on the banks of the beautiful and picturesque Navesink River. What more could you ask for?

Riverfest 2016 is the best free music event in Red Bank, NJ.. Great food, free SWAG and…read moreenvironment! Check it out!

Atlantic highlands is a sleepy little fishing village of old. Those who live here like the layer…read moreback slumber of living on the shore. Facing the inlet of Sandy hook this town has almost everything from a good seafood restaurant to an old times hardware store where they still remember your name and what you are working on. The police department has maybe 3-4 officers and one fire truck. I do like visiting here for a number of reasons. Probably the best reason is the views of NYC and the hook. You can look out over the bay and see right into the City or turn your head a see the ocean a mere mile or so away. You can even look out and see Gravelly point where we come to visit this glorious weekend.

Lovely town, very quiet Beautiful beaches…read more Quaint downtown area with a handful of restaurants, shops and galleries. The Italian festival was the reason for my most recent visit. Nice way to spend a few hours.

Completely by accident I drove by this town and was compelled to stop and take a look around. This…read moredoes not feel like New Jersey. It is more of a resort beach town similar to Bar Harbor Maine or even Santa Barbara California. The first thing I noticed as people were walking by, and this was not an exception but the rule, they happily greeted me with a "good morning." Where in this State do you see this happen? And no wonder they were so happy. The beauty of the town along with its charm simply can not avoid but put you in a better mood. The variety of small shops, restaurants and even a couple of coffee places gives you enough of a selection to easily spend the morning. And if walking around and food is not enough, just walk down the block to a gorgeous beach with a beautiful boardwalk. By the time you leave expect to have a grin from ear to ear.

Incredible murals along the boardwalk. A outside art gallery…read moreby various artists. Art on one side, ocean on the other. What more could you ask for?

Fantastic! It's one home but the owner decorated it quite festive. My daughter really enjoyed…read morelooking at each piece of the yard and her favorite was all of it. Something nice to add some cheer to the winter blues. There are other houses in this neighborhood decorated nicely too so driving around you'll come to see them!

Best place to go to see some nice decorations. Wld hate to see their electric bill thoughread more