Asbury Park in Pictures

My father and I have taken many many walks together on the Ocean City, MD boardwalk, over the past 39 years of my life. But, last week, while visiting Ocean Grove, we took a walk on a different stretch of coastline, on the Jersey Shore. And although he had visited Asbury some years before, I got to experience the boardwalk of Asbury Park for the very first time.

There's a haunted feeling you get in Asbury Park, in the early morning hours: the mystery of the eerie old blown out buildings against the backdrop of the ever watchful ocean. The grimacing Victorian faces loom over you from above cast in copper, now green from aging by the sea. And the ornate details of the buildings tell stories of mermaids, sea monsters and ships, harkening back to a time where boats held the key to the wider world. And now, juxtaposed against that looming architecture is vibrant street art which has given new life to those strange structures. There's this gritty, hopeful, edgy, vibe happening on the boardwalk at Asbury Park. It holds the whispers of the ghosts of its past, while beckoning you to have a closer look at the story contemporary seaside artists are rewriting on the very walls of Asbury.

The photos below, tell the story of how Asbury Park revealed herself to me, in the early light of day, on a seaside walk with my father.

Later on in the series, you will see Asbury revealed to my little family, as we traced the steps I had taken just a few mornings before.I give you the Boardwalk of Asbury Park, through the lens of my iPhone.

Sadly, the mural of the two pin-up girls with yellow and red hair had been defaced when we took the kids to see the art. I was so heartbroken, that I did not take a photo of the piece all splattered with grey/green paint. But, while we were there, some artists were already working to remove the paint, and to restore the girls to their original beauty, as seen in the photo below.

Thank you for taking this walk with me. If you explore Asbury Park, please share your photos.

With love & gratitude,

Stephanie