Donovan’s Reef Annual Pilgrimage
It wouldn’t be summer without a trip to Donovan’s Reef in Sea Bright, NJ. It used to be our regular hangout - every Sunday afternoon, every summer. In the past few years, it’s dwindled down to a once a year thing - an annual pilgrimage to Mecca. The trip only takes 30 minutes - but there’s always something else to do and that’s why it’s only once a year, I guess.
So this past week, we made the plan and off we went. Nothing’s changed really. Some new faces but a few of the old ones. A beautiful day and lots of sunshine. Good music playing from the speakers. Live bands still there at night during the weekends and for Happy Hours on Sunday. No sign of the dental hygienist, though!
I don’t know of another place in New Jersey where you can actually put your toes in the sand or sit at a Tiki bar, and watch the ocean’s waves while enjoying a drink and a burger. I also don’t know of any other place where the crowd is about 8 years old to 80.
It brought back great memories of old friends and old times, singing and swaying to the Jazz Lobsters and Brian Kirk and the Jerks. By the way, I see that Brian is still a headliner on Sunday afternoons, but I guess he lost his jerks…
You might be wondering why this blog? Nothing about plants or gardens? Well, not true, I’ll manage to squeeze a little in.
Every year, Donovan’s trucks in large palm trees to make their “sand bar” even more tropical. The trees take a beating because of the heat of the summer and the cold winters - but every year, they’re back - whether replacements or they survived - I think the thing that keeps them hanging on, though, is they get to spent their summers at the Jersey Shore with all the shoobies covered with oil…. As long as it’s not palm oil, they really don’t care.
So, if you live in NJ or are just trekking through, you owe it to yourself to stop in at Donovan’s and see for yourself why it’s an annual must-do for us! It’s not fancy, but it shore is home!
