an ending

1. If you found this photoblog through a search engine, and you're looking for a particular search term or image, try typing those keywords into the search box up on the left-hand side of the menubar (technically, "navbar") at the very top of this blog, above where it says "Ocean Township Daily Photo." (up there ^ )

2. If you're looking for newer photos from JosyC, check out Snapshot Optimism.

3. If you're wondering about this post, my mother and I are driving to Chicago tomorrow. I will not be returning to New Jersey for the forseeable future. (See yesterday's post for details.)

Tschüss!

entertainment

For those who have found this blog by Googling "Things to do in Monmouth County:" I am as clueless as you are. My main source of entertainment 'round here is wandering around with a camera, looking for interesting things to photograph.

Here are some things I have done:

1. Bowling. (Often with bumpers for the second game, because I am just that spectacular.) I usually go to The Lanes at Sea Girt, but I've been to Memory Lanes in Shrewsbury, Shore Lanes in Neptune (which is on the Asbury Circle, which is not a fun circle to navigate), and Brunswick Bradley Beach Bowl (maybe that link will work if you have the latest version of Flash, which I don't).

2. Bars (and/or restaurants, grills, etc. that serve liquor). Not so much fun here in suburbia 'cos you have to drive home afterwards, so you really need to (ought to) watch yourself. Unless you have a designated driver, which no one wants to be. (The above photo was taken in the Brickwall Tavern, Asbury Park.)

3. Coffee. Only really works if there's only a small group of you, though.

4. Movies. Hey, it's something.

5. The Datebook. Go find your local print copy of the Asbury Park Press and leaf through it until you find the Datebook, which takes up the bottom half of a page and is usually printed in red or blue ink. A lot of the stuff is craft sales and "square dancing for 'kids' 55 and over," but it's worth a look. I have been unable to locate the Datebook online; you do need an actual physical copy of the APP.

6. Go biking. All right, maybe it's not a 'Saturday night with the gang' sort of activity, but it's healthy. Bob Lucky reviews and photographs several Monmouth County bike paths, and many of the Monmouth County Parks are set up for that sort of thing.

7. Walk around. This sounds monumentally stupid, but if you have nothing better to do, give it a shot. Red Bank, Asbury Park, local parks, and anywhere with a boardwalk can be fun places to do this.

Speaking of Red Bank and Asbury Park, here are some official lists of what's going on in various towns:
Asbury Park

Red Bank (see also the Count Basie Theater, Two River Theater Company, Improv Comedy Jam, and Red Bank Art Cinemas)

Also see Go Kids NJ, which sounds stupid, but you're never too old to enjoy a boardwalk or a festival or an aquarium. You can search for specific towns.

the fair! (2)

I know in this day and age it's kind of assumed that kids are scared of clowns. But I don't exactly see any of the kids in this photo clinging to their mothers, bawling their eyes out 'cos THEY DON'T WANT TO MEET THE CLOWN. Perhaps the clownhood still has a chance.

This friendly fellow drives around the fairgrounds every year beeping his horn, playing loud dance music, giving out random silly goodies to children, and generally making the fair more fair-like.

the fair!

You may or may not remember it from last year, but it's time for the Monmouth County Fair again!

People flock to the East Freehold Fairgrounds from all over the county. They can ride the rides, play the games, submit entries (art, crafts, homegrown vegetables/ flowers, and canned goods) to the home and garden tent, smell the animals in the 4-H tents, visit vendors, eat the traditional fair cuisine, watch all kinds of entertainment (including pig races, lumberjack shows, Bwana Jim, local artists, dog shows, etc.), and plenty of other stuff.

It's a five-day festival that sadly ends today, but I'll keep providing you with photos for a few days. :)

Strollo's

Strollo's ("hand made Italian Ice") is a popular place to get dessert, day or night!

sunset 11

Okay. So. I know I've shown the sun setting over Sandy Hook before, and I know I've shown the kitesurfers in Sandy Hook Bay before, but have I shown them TOGETHER?!

Seriously, though, this blog has been totally devoid of color lately. It's summer! I thought I could leave the drab browns and grays for winter!

Soooooo here's a colorsplash.

the ushers' march

I'm going to quote Leonard Sweet (SoulSalsa) because I really can't phrase this better:

"There is no more vintage moment steeped in the Ocean Grove tradition than to watch as a couple dozen ushers fan out across the vast amphitheater in their white pants and blue blazers to collect the offering in old-fashioned wicker baskets. When the offertory anthem is finished, they emerge from everywhere and nowhere to waltz back to the front and line up for the offertory prayer while Gordon Turk plays on the great organ the tune of "The Ushers March" [composed by Clarence Kohlmann, O.G. organist from 1924-1945]. it's quaint. It's campy. It's the signature of Ocean Grove. There's only one problem. All the ushers have been, from the opening day of Ocean Grove, male. (There are a couple of services each year when women usher. But these are the exceptions that prove the rule.)"

(You remember the Great Auditorium, right? And incidentally, the photo I took at last year's choir festival is no longer possible, since there is a new organ taking up the whole balcony behind the sound guys.)

ATTACK OF THE GIANT FRUITS

Here we see a gargantuan lemon on the Belmar boardwalk, innocently attracting absolutely no attention from passers-by.

(Clearly it's a scout for a race of giant space fruits that intend to dominate our planet. But that's neither here nor now.)

bridge 6

Shaaaark R'v'r Bridge is op'ning up, op'nin up, op'ning up
Shaaaark R'v'r Bridge is op'ning up,
My fair lady

(Okay, so you've already seen this drawbridge a few times.)

go fly a kite!

Some people get a kick out of flying kites at the beach. After 5:00PM, there's plenty of space, it's still beautifully light, and the shore winds are pretty good.

(Did I know the family whose kites I was photographing? No.
Did I introduce myself to the family whose kites I was photographing? No.
Did I do ANYTHING except stand in the middle of their fun and aim my camera upwards? No.
Is this rude and sketchy? Yes.

On the plus side, I didn't make any motion to conceal the fact that I was taking photos of the kites, which is a step for me.

Baby steps, baby steps...)

beach novel

The prodigal photoblogger returns...?

Special thanks to everyone who bothered to read and comment on my posts while I was gone. I felt loved when I came back. (If I were the type to gauge how loved I am by the number of comments left. Which I'm totally not. *cough* )

But this is someone enjoying a novel on the Ocean Grove beach. :)

The Pequon

Today, we celebrate FLASHBACK FRIDAY with a 35mm photo taken in 2002!

The Pequon--a white 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis station wagon with fake wood paneling--was my first car. It was named after Captain Ahab's "Pequod" 'cos it handled like a boat, looked like a boat, was roughly boat-sized, and probably floated. Besides which, my parents had always called it "the white whale" or "the Moby Mercury," so continuing the Moby Dick theme seemed appropriate.

(It's also the car I took to my senior prom.)

This was taken for my first photography class, and I think it was my first experience in taking candid photos of people... and trying to mollify them after they heard the shutter go SNAP and gave me dirty looks.

night fishing

Two guys (one of whom you can almost kind of see in this photo, right on the corner of the pier) fishing in Ocean Grove, aroundabout 10PM.

Now--one thing about my Fuji S700--its slowest shutter speed is four seconds. Four seconds in nearly pitch-dark (especially when the widest aperture is only f/3.5) is... well... not enough. Thank God for GIMP!

until the end of time (sunset 9)

Awwwwwwwww.

Silver Lake, Belmar, NJ.

geeks!

The NY Comic Con 2008 occurred this weekend. It happened in New York, of course, so it's barely relevant for purposes of this photoblog, but we have plenty of geeks in NJ who were eager to hop on NJ Transit to go enjoy the pleasures of such a convention.

How do I know these are comic geeks? Note the predominance of black and red, the presence of at least two Spidermen, and the fact that Jay (partner of Silent Bob) appears to be sitting on a bench checking out his PDA. Mayyyyyybe it's just a coincidence and that gentleman is not actually affiliated with any sort of enjoyment of comics, but I DOUBT IT.

(Just so there's no confusion: I use the term "geek" affectionately.)

fishin'

Spring Lake stocks its lake with trout, according to a sign. (To me, this seems stupid and cruel, kind of like rich guys who buy lions just so they can hunt them and shoot them... but what do I know?) Fishing season legally started in early April, so the fisherpeople are out and about.

wring wring

I get a huge kick out of peoplewatching. I think everyone does, really. It's fascinating to imagine what's going through their minds--why they're in the same place as me today--where they're going--where they came from--what they're going to do when they get home and why they're going to do it--who they know--et cetera et cetera et cetera.

railway

In case you've ever wondered what the inside of a NJ Transit train car (especially the North Jersey Coastline, which runs up and down the Jersey Shore of Monmouth County, which I emphasize only because this is a Monmouth County blog) looks like... here ya go.

Some of the cars have maroon leatherette seats.

The old cars have peeling brown fake leather seats, lack a fancy sign telling you what the next station is, and are generally a wee bit dingy. However, they've been progressively phasing out the old cars.

(For NJ Transit train schedules, click here. For a map of stations, click here.)

color shot

I like colorful umbrellas! It seems like everyone still uses drab black umbrellas on drab gray days. I mean, I understand trying to seem professional, but why does being professional have to be so depressing?

truck

Colts Neck. The side of the truck reads "Landy's Performance," I think.

Y'know, last week, it was snowing. This week, we're all going around in our shirtsleeves. I remember a time back when winter was winter and summer was summer and you could actually tell them apart. Stupid global warming.