Most of my blogs are about healthcare, except for the random one about baseball and how it splits my family (Yankees versus Phillies.) I’m going to ask you to indulge me as we all try to squeeze out a couple more days of summer before we return to the office or school after Labor Day. I’ll be spending some time “down the shore,” as we say here in Jersey. As I was driving to work today, I was pondering the evolution of my shore usage in the Garden State.

In high school, we would go to Long Beach Island for day trips. For some reason, around prom time, we would go to Seaside. My college years were also focused on Seaside (way before Jersey Shore) but a couple of my college friends opened my eyes to Belmar. During my law school years, I’m not sure I saw a beach at all (OK, maybe I exaggerate a little here). One of my older brothers began to go to Wildwood, and then Cape May. I followed his lead, and now my husband , son and I positively love Cape May. It is one of my favorite beaches in the world, and I love its family environment. We have spent many a wonderful summer vacation in Cape May, walking the mall, checking out the arcades on the Promenade and swimming at the beach by Pittsburgh Avenue.

But recently, we’ve found ourselves returning to Seaside Park. There, we’re very close to both the ocean and the bay. We have some family there and we get to spend some quality time. About a week ago, I had a meeting in Asbury Park and I was really impressed by the boardwalk and beachfront there. I even got to walk past the famous “Madam Marie’s” of Springsteen fame. Our state clearly has a broad variety of shore towns, and they all have a distinct flavor and feel.

So, I’ve taken you through my shore history, now you tell me: What is your favorite New Jersey beach and why? Do you share my favorites, or do you know a great spot that I failed to mention? Give me some new Shore recommendations and I’ll be more than happy to check them out.