There are certain things that feel like summer “must dos.” There is going to the pool. Ice cream. Lots of ice cream. And, of course the beach. We hadn’t checked off that final item from the list — until a weekend trip to New Jersey’s Long Branch Beach a few weeks back, that is.
Q has been to the beach once — last fall when we went to Wildwood and it was barely warm enough to walk on the beach and after Labor Day, when we found the Boardwalk a ghost town. This year I wanted a proper beach visit — with the sun warm and all restaurants and stores in full summertime mode.
Though there was a threat of rain, we ended up having a perfect summer day with the right amount of sun. It was warm but not crazy hot. We even lucked into one of the last public parking spaces when we arrived just after 10AM.
We walked along the boardwalk, which was nice and open but did not really pass additional shops. There was a pretty serious game of volleyball going on that kept Q enthralled.
For lunch, we went to McLoone’s Pier House. We ended up there on the early side for lunch, which was perfect for getting ahead of the crowd. Q had to be over by the window so he could continue to closely watch any games happening along the beach (volleyball, football, etc).
I was excited to see a warm lobster roll on the menu. It came served in a bread bowl with shallots, tarragon and sherry. It typically has mushrooms but they were able to accommodate and do mine without with my allergy. It was definitely a heavier take on a lobster roll but was so good. Definitely hit the spot as I had been craving one.
My dad had their Prime Bash burger, which was 10 ounces of prime rib meat, onion jam, lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion rings and white cheddar, accompanied with their french fries. It was one decadent burger!
Afterwards, we went down to the beach. You have to pay a bit to get access to the beach but it wasn’t too bad. Being under two, he was free and the weekend rate was only $7 per adult.
Before heading back, we made one final stop for ice cream at Stewart’s. I’ve long loved Stewart’s root beer but never made it to one of their stores. My dad had their sundae, with vanilla and chocolate ice cream with warm peanut sauce and hot chocolate drizzle. Q still isn’t a fan of extremely cold or hot items so wouldn’t try the ice cream but he ate almost all of Papa’s whipped cream! I had their frozen root beer swirl which was frozen root beer mixed with frozen soft serve. It was a perfect refreshing summer treat.
Definitely enjoyed our trip to Long Branch Beach and will be back!
McLoone’s Pier House – 1 Ocean Avenue, Long Branch Beach – 732.923.1006
Stewart’s Root Beer – 60 Centennial Avenue, Long Branch Beach – 732.229.0404
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