4th of July on the Jersey Shore

I’d never once been to the Jersey Shore— all I’d ever heard about it was there was something called a Snooki and and lots of house-sized flags.

Originally Published on:
July 6th, 2023
Jersey Shore, NJ

I’m currently bonking my tilted head with my palm, trying to get sand out of my ear.

In all my years of living in New York, I’d never once been to the Jersey Shore— all I’d ever heard about it was that there was something called a Snooki and and lots of house-sized flags. It was the perfect place to spend my first July 4th as US citizens.

“Sketch On The Beach”

It was quite an experience, plonking ourselves down in the sand with our American pals and celebrating the holiday as traditionally as we could, with sun, sand, and drinking lots of booze out of red solo cups.

I spent a lot of time drawing in my sketchbook (I’m very social) and capturing what I could of the people around me. My pal Tristan really liked the drawing I did of him while our pasty white skin baked in the breeze and an endless squadron of single-engine planes towing banner ads chugged overhead.

( Not to scale. )

Ice Cream Guy!

Every so often, a chubby little man would appear from behind the dunes and ring a loud bell, sending every child within earshot into a frenzy. They all know what the bell means: It means Ice Cream. Lots of ice cream. (Cash only.)

One Country Under God.
One Trip From the House.

Tristan’s old pal Morgan drove in from Missouri to join the fun. We had a lot of fun chats about his small business, which is fast becoming a not-so-small business. He had crazy life stories, ageless wisdom, and a beat-up guitar that looked like it had been used as a weapon. He and his young family showed me how it’s done when lugging all of your stuff from the house to the beach in a single trip, Hobbit style. It’s quite a skill.