Our summer haven...

Unscrew the cap of a bottle of Coppertone...directions to follow.

Over the course of each day the boardwalk in Seaside Heights presented two different faces. During the day the boardwalk and the beach are one extended playground. You can lie on the beach, play in an arcade, swim in the ocean and have lunch at a pizzeria - all in places that are within sight of one another. Then everything changes at night. The lights, crowds and excitement of the boardwalk come alive with the beach and water receding into the background. The energy and feel of the boardwalk changes too. The easy relaxation of a day at the beach gives way to a more edgy feel that is both readily recognizable and excitingly pleasant. You sense that something is about to happen and is fueled by many things, like the game of chance barkers, groups of noisy teens, small wide-eyed children, the ride hawkers and sometimes screaming riders. You almost feel compelled to take it all in as completely as you can.

We can still hear and smell Seaside like it was yesterday, the cool salty morning air that clung to you like Saran wrap, the hot sand on the beach and the wild surf. Can't forget those brutal sunburns and windburns. The sounds and lights...of the rides, especially the Himalaya, Led Zeppelin. Walking the boardwalk and smelling all the different foods from the stands, sausage and peppers, pizza, meatball parm, cheese steaks, french fries, the clams and oysters on a half shell, corn on the cob, cotton candy, the waffles and ice cream, Kohr's custard. Whether it was with family, friends or our senior hooky day...the Jersey Shore was special. A kid growing up in Butte, Montana will never understand.

Raymond Ruiz - I seemed to have spent most of my time on the Jersey Shore in my college years. I dated a girl whose family had a house in Beach Haven on LBI. It was beautiful down there. Then I started playing music more and I would play some small venues in places like Keansburg, Seabright, Long Branch, etc. I was actually getting my equipment out of my wagon for a gig when I found out Elvis passed away. My claim to fame is I was in a band (1977-78) and all the guys were from Woodbridge. The name of the band was Horizon. The other four musicians were then ages 17 - 19. I was the old man at 25. The lead guitarist was a 19 yr. old kid named Richie Sambora (he was the one that told me about Elvis). So I can tell my friends and family I played the Jersey Shore with a famous rock and roll musician. What a talented young man. I knew back then he would make it big. There came a time when I decided I wanted to make more money and do weddings and banquets. Richie, although we both did, said he preferred to stay with rock. Oh well, he's a millionaire and at almost 59 years old I am a retired math teacher teacher who is still playing classic rock and doing gigs. I have enjoyed my life as it unfolded, but as the saying goes..."Those were the days my friends...".

Kathy Ombres Dunham - My high school memories of the Jersey shore are great ones for me. I wasn't the type to do all the rides, but went on a few. What I remember was the scrambler and bumper cars. They were the best ones for me. The bumper cars are like a crash course in driving, the operative word being crash! I can still taste the sausage and peppers on a roll or the pizza fresh from the oven and the amazing lemon ice or vanilla custard. For some reason it always tastes better at the boardwalk, whether it be Seaside, Asbury Park or even Atlantic City. To this day, my children and grandchildren do the same things. As a matter of fact, I, along with my sister and brother and their families still try to meet in Seaside once a year and do the whole boardwalk. My first date with my husband of forty years was at Seaside Heights. I remember when I was trying to get into a sorority our pledge pranks involved a day at Seaside beach. I often laugh when I think of how the day went. Surely it was nothing harmful or hurtful like the kids do today or seen in the movies. The Jersey Shore always provides fond memories to those that have gone there. I am happy to be among those and whose memories are being passed to others. Proud to be a "Jersey Girl"!

Kathi Jedrusiak Bornemann - I do remember the scalding sunburns I would get from lying on the beach in Seaside Heights bathed in baby oil and thinking how "cool" I looked afterwards. Loved the "made on the spot" lemonade from the stand with the big lemon on top in the middle of the boardwalk and eating my first zeppole after watching Doug Hart eat an entire bag I believe on a senior hooky day. To this day I love zeppoles and will drive to Keansburg with my husband, Rich, a few times each summer to enjoy some.

Oh...that bottle of Coppertone. No matter what time of the year, even December in Butte, all you have to do is open that bottle and take a whiff of bottled Jersey summers. It will take you and your memories back in time to Jersey Shore time...each and every time.