"NEW JERSEY POTPOURRI" Top 5 Page for this destination New Jersey by VeronicaG

New Jersey Travel Guide: 3,839 reviews and 7,382 photos

Sunset over the Navesink River

We moved to New Jersey from Pennsylvania and really came to love this state! We lived here for eight years. The Navesink River slowly winds past our community, a few miles away the ocean kisses the shore and South of us the prettiest little Victorian town around waits to be visited--Cape May.

The Navesink River is formed upstream southwest of Red Bank, NJ when Swimming River joins with several smaller streams. It extends along the north side of Red Bank connecting to the Shrewsbury River estuary in Rumson, New Jersey. It is eight miles long.

Red Bank, New Jersey is a "happenin' town" that's activity-packed in the summer. Jazz concerts are given weekly, street musicians entertain on hot, summer nights and competitive races tear through the town annually. See my Red Bank page for more on this!

A multitude of restaurants offer everything from Italian food, to Asian to tappas. Upscale shops enthrall people, churches call people and the river charms the town with its changing features.

NEW JERSEY'S BEGINNINGS

The Allen House--An Example Of Dutch Architecture

New Jersey's early history goes back to Dutch and Swedish communities established prior to settlement by the English. Henry Hudson sailed into Newark Bay in 1609 and Dutch claims on the Hudson and Delaware valleys were based on that voyage. The Dutch West India Company offered patroonships for settlement and small colonies grew where Hoboken, Jersey City and Gloucester City are now.

**Patroonships were granted by the Dutch government which gave certain manorial privileges to those who held estates in New Jersey and New York (1655-1665)

Swedes and Finns of New Sweden predominated the Delaware Valley, but were annexed by the New Netherland colony in 1655. New Netherland was seized for the English, but the Dutch disputed this claim. Proprietorship of lands between the Hudson and the northernmost point of the Delaware was granted to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret.

The original grants to Berkeley and Carteret divided the region in two. The split was further defined in the Quintipartite Deed of 1676, which divided the province into East and West Jersey. East Jersey was held by Carteret.

Willliam Penn and eleven other Quakers purchased East Jersey from Carteret's Widow in 1681. In both Jerseys a rising number of landowners held a resentment against authority, causing the proprietors to surrender voluntarily their governmental powers to the crown in 1702, although still retaining their land rights.

New Jersey's independence from New York was recognized, but authority was vested in the governor of New York until 1738, when Lewis Morris was appointed governor of New Jersey. Under the royal governors the same problems persisted--land titles were in dispute and opposition to the proprietors culminated in riots in the 1740's.

East Jersey was dominated by Calvinism, implanted by Scottish and New England settlers, while in West Jersey the Quakers soon developed a landed aristocracy with strong political and economic influence. Anti-British sentiment gradually spread from its stronghold in East Jersey throughout the colony and took shape in Committees of Correspondence.

**Committees of Correspondence provided the political organizion necessary to unite the colonies in opposition to Parliament.

Although the Tory party was to prove strong enough to raise six Loyalist battalions, the patriot cause was generally accepted, and in June, 1776, the provincial congress adopted a constitution and declared New Jersey a state.

History taken from www.infoplease.com

SANDY HOOK BEACH

Beauty from the Heights

The view is Sandy Hook Peninsula seen from Highlands, NJ where Twin Lights Lighthouse sits. One of our favorite restaurants in Highlands is WindanSea. On a clear night you can see the Empire State Building with its lighted top while dining on the outdoor terrace of this restaurant--from New Jersey!

Sandy Hook is the site of mid-week free summer concerts. The beach is full of people, chairs, people in chairs..you get the idea. It's a big blast!! We stay afterwards to watch the sunset...a brilliant display of pink, blue, gold and lilac.

The picture shows the bay stretching out to the ocean where they greet each other at the Sandy Hook Peninsula.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Ocean views,river scenes,sandy beaches,pleasant people
Cons:Beach traffic in the summer!
In a nutshell:Our beaches are worthy!

Intro Updated Mar 22, 2007
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Comments (37)

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suvanki Feb 15, 2009 at 4:19 PM

Great tips and pics Veronica! I'm hoping to visit NJ next year for my Big Birthday celebrations! Best Wishes, Sue x
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Nemorino Jan 2, 2009 at 2:23 PM

I've only ever been to New Jersey to visit friends, and I took my daughter over there when she was 13 to go to summer camp with their daughter. (This was over two decades ago.) I see from your tips that NJ has lots more to offer that I haven't seen.
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racon-tour Aug 25, 2008 at 4:57 PM

Veronica, great write-ups on Sandy Hook and Fort Hancock. It's one of my favorite places to wander and explore, and you captured it very nicely.
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Cielo_Algaeed Apr 25, 2007 at 5:27 AM

Great tips Veronica! We're heading to NJ this July to visit my family. Will take note of your things to do tips :-)
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spgood301 Mar 24, 2007 at 8:41 PM

I am indeed in Philly, Veronica...the only place separating me from home is, well, New Jersey. Thanks for the NJ history lesson. Were NJ's insurance rates that high back in colonial days too? ;-)
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Pawtuxet Mar 22, 2007 at 7:38 AM

I'm back w/ more ratings for a very well done page on a state that seems to have much more to discover. We're hoping to explore more w/my son&daughter-in-law this spring. Wonder what we'll find this time. Thanks for a really good page.
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deecat Jan 8, 2007 at 1:05 PM

So refreshing to hear positives about New Jersey. Love the beaches, lighthouses, Museum, rivers, Cape May, Birding opportunities, and the park. Appreciated info on Beach clubs, The Jug Handles, & Ft. Hancock.
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Faiza-Ifrah Nov 28, 2006 at 7:22 PM

this is one of the best pages i have visited. you have put lot of details into each tip. my family will be in new jersey in december. we will have christmas at my sister-in-law. from ur tips, i think nj is a summer state though :-)
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penumbra Sep 8, 2006 at 11:46 AM

I could never get enough of the New Jersey beaches.
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booty007 Jul 29, 2006 at 7:39 PM

My DAd was stationed at Fort Hancock in the middle 60's. I was 12 and I had two brothers and a sister, so we explored quite a bit. My Dad was the Post Chaplain at the time. we lived in #16.