Guilty Pleasure on the Jersey Shore

We couldn't very well make travel plans to the International Pickle Day festival in New York without visiting our friend Tom. Tom recently traded his condo digs in New York City for a house in Red Bank about an hour south on the Jersey Shore. In addition to having an incredibly well-preserved main street, with more ice cream parlors and places to buy "sliders" (mini hamburgers) than you can shake a pickle at, Red Bank is close to all the other traditional attractions, such as Asbury Park and here, the charter fishing fleet.

Red Bank is also close to Atlantic Highlands and the Mount Mitchell overlook. On a clear day, you can see the Manhattan skyline. And since you can also see the spot where the Twin Towers once stood, the site has been turned into a 9/11 memorial. Our original plan was to take a high-speed ferry across the bay into Manhattan on Sunday for the pickle festival. But not so many ferries run on Sunday afternoon, so we decided to drive. You'd be surprised how many cars are trying to get in and out of the Holland Tunnel on Sunday. That part was not so fun.

Also near Red Bank is the biggest Whole Foods I'd ever seen. I would happily trade ours just for the bulk aisle. Our friend Larry and I spent an exhausting part of the afternoon shopping for dinner: curried fish fillet with fresh tomato chutney, curry-roasted cauliflower and Indian-style zucchini fritters. Oddly enough, there was a Dairy Queen (DQ to those in the know) right next door. We were forced to make a detour for an afternoon snack that had "Jersey Shore" written all over it.

"Don't tell your wife," Larry whispered.

Don't worry, Lar. I won't.