If there is one place on the East Coast that can remind me of the West Coast where I am from, it is at the beach. This was my first time stepping foot into the Atlantic Ocean and I have to say… Atlantic > Pacific. It was sooo warm (well, cool… but warm comparably), even at 10AM when I jumped all in. I am used to literally freezing in the water in Santa Cruz. Even in the middle of summer it is typically too cold for me 🥶 I had the biggest smile on my face when I felt the cool water against my skin… the feeling of the waves swaying me… the foam of the crashing waves… the soft sand under my feet. There is nothing like the ocean to put my own life into perspective. More on that later.
This past Saturday my coworker & friend (who is also a travel social worker) took me with her to Sea Isle City, New Jersey. This trip was so necessary for me and to think I almost let it pass by me because I wanted to wallow in my grief and feelings about something completely unrelated (true story)! I have let grief and pain rule wayyy too much of my life in the past. I realized since I arrived in Philly I have not done nearly enough exploring. That needed to change. Plus I had never been to New Jersey, so I was first and foremost excited that I crossed number 26 of my #30before30 goal of going to 30 states before I am 30! I am most definitely going to accomplish it too so I am stoked about that.
The drive from Philly to Sea Isle City was about 1.5 hours and when we first got there the first thing I noticed was how NOT crowded it was compared to Santa Cruz, CA (which is 45 mins from my parents’ house in CA). In general Santa Cruz is 150% more crowded and rowdy too. There was something that was really calming about this beach even as it became more crowded as the day went on. It was a refreshing change.
We did some reading, I did some picture-taking (well, she did of me at least LOL), and pretty soon it was time for one of my favorite parts of any day trip: finding food 😂 We decided to try out Mike’s Seafood which was in Seafood Alley. It had really good ratings and looked delicious. Our restaurant pickers were ON POINT let me tell you. I splurged on the Stuffed Lobster ($37.99) which was literally a lobster (as seen in the photo for this post) stuffed with lump crab meat. HOLY wow, it was so good. I am a huge seafood lover and it was by FAR one of the most delicious & unique fresh seafood meals I have ever had. My mama who also ADORES lobster wasn’t there either which meant I had to fend for myself with cracking it open to get the lobster meat! I got a pretty hilarious video out of it so there is that 🤷🏼♀️ The ambiance was great also, we were seated by the window looking out to the harbor.
After our delicious lunch we walked around for a bit, talking and going to some of the cute shops by the beach. I ended up coming home with a tote that has anchors on it & “Sea Isle City, New Jersey” written because you know, ~tourist~ and all 😂 I also got a mug that was practically me written all over it that says “I just want all the dogs” 🦮
Overall, an awesome day trip. I will definitely be heading back to NJ for more adventures before summer is over! What are some of your favorite things to do on a day trip? I’d love to hear them below!
Seas & Statelines 