spring lake is the opposite of wildwood, n.j.
its beautiful boardwalk is devoid of any commercial establishments (except one or two tucked discreetly into the pavilions; instead, elegant overlooks jut out over the beach, a perfect place to commune with the ocean (which at high tide crashes underneath).
no "mile wide" beach with gentle slope into the ocean - it's a narrow beach with a fairly steep drop, making it more prone to strong undertows.
instead of glaring neon & blaring arcades, spring lake is home to green gables croquet club & the united states croquet association. its genteel calm is the polar opposite of wildwood's... wildness.
it's long been a surprise that so few of my friends are familiar with spring lake. it's not only more civilized, it's so much closer than the more southerly beaches - basically due east from bryn athyn on rt 195.
confession - we rarely take the mega lane highway, instead driving up from trenton, through cozy allentown, then staying parallel to 195, driving past some stunning horse farms (albeit fewer than there were 25+ years ago).
you could gauge the state of my mother's general physical condition by our annual pilgrimages to spring lake.
for many years (long before john), the three of us - mom, mim et moi - made the trek from bryn athyn, pa to spring lake, nj. we savored every moment of our leisurely drive, always wondering aloud how "you'd never know you were so near the seaside."
we'd swing around the charming spring lake, then nip into sundae times so mom could get a reviving scoop of delectable ice cream (on an old-fashioned, never a sugar, cone). we'd drive past the IMMENSE american flag that snapped in the breeze as we turned right onto the village's main street. we'd check out if there were any changes since our last visit before nipping into dale's coffee shop for a cup of coffee.
we used these long, lovely moments to build toward, like a crescendo of anticipation, our final destination - ocean avenue and the OCEAN.
finally, we could bear it now longer & we'd head the car toward the smell of sea breezes.
the first sight of ocean avenue, which parallels the shoreline, always made our hearts leap. we'd find the just right parking spot, pull in, then head across the dunes to the boardwalk & beach. we'd walk up & down, both mim et moi taking immense delight in watching mom commune with her much-missed ocean, turning into a water sprite before our very eyes. we'd end the day with a drive up & down ocean avenue, with a seafood dinner at the aptly named beach house.
then there came a time that mom wasn't up to ambling up & down the shore. for several years the three of us, or just mom et moi, would got through all the preliminaries with gusto, but instead of walking up & down the beach, we trekked the boardwalk from from one end to the other before heading up & down ocean avenue, followed by a early dinner at beach house.
after 1995, when mom's energy had started flagging but never her deep love of the ocean, the two of us took a shorter prilgrimage, parking alongside the dunes, heading across the boardwalk to one of the soul-satisfying overlooks, a place mom could settle in, transfixed by the ocean waves crashing down, feeling at one with the tides. when she finally stirred from her reunion & reverie, we'd head back to the car for the drive up & down ocean avenue, followed by a late lunch at beach house.
for the last two years of mom's life, we took our back roads ramble ~ me at the wheel, mom riding "shot gun" ~ nipped into sundae times for a scoop, then pulled up to a low dune that gave mom a soul-satisfying view of her beloved ocean. after about 15 minutes, we pulled out, drove the length of ocean drive & ended up at beach house for an early lunch.
when mom passed in 2001, i was sad we never got to spring lake that last summer.
that was, until i stopped by about two weeks after mom was reunited with her o best beloved. i'd been to visit mim, who was living in brick or toms river at the time. since spring lake isn't far away, i thought it would be a nice tribute to mom to swing over on my way home.
i was so happy mom had NOT been. we knew the essex-sussex house ~ which we knew as an immense yet utterly elegant seaside hotel (complete with its own promenade & private access to the beach) - was being converted into condominiums, but to my horror it was clear the project had fallen through & the once grand hotel looked utterly shabby & forlorn. what shocked me even more was the sight of beach house, closed & shuttered, the sign gone along with any sign of life.
within a few moments, i went from sorrow mom had missed our annual trek to joy she never saw or felt what i did.
yes, spring lake is different than it was when we had such grand times there, whether as a chortling trio having a cuppa at dale's coffee shop or just the two of us gazing over the dunes at the waves rising afar off. but i still love it, always will: still love to take people there, still love to visit at least once a year - usually early fall, still love to walk the beach, wrapping myself in an oversized metaphysical beach blanket of memories.
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