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Feed9 Fun Family Trips
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Ocean City
Best. Boardwalk. Ever. (Plus one awesome elephant)
Stepping onto the boardwalk in Ocean City confers a pleasant sense of dislocation: Can this really be 2012, or have you and your family traveled back to a safer, gentler time, when fun meant pedaling a surrey along the boards, sharing a box of caramel corn and taking in the ocean views from the top of a giant Ferris wheel? (With nary a drink in sight—OC is a dry town.) This is a Shore spot that’s happy to show off its vintage good looks and share its old-fashioned good times—including concerts overlooking the ocean and an amusement park that caters to families (Gillian’s Wonderland) and the best homemade donuts on the Jersey Shore (Brown’s). A visit to Lucy the Elephant—the famous turn-of-the-20th-century building in close-by Margate that looks like, yes, an elephant—is the perfect way to supersize your trip. oceancityvacation.com; lucytheelephant.org
Frenchtown
Canal-Side Charm Meets Outdoor Adventure
It may not be as famous as nearby Lambertville (or New Hope across the river in Pennsylvania), but this strollable town known for its Victorian ambience is every bit as charming and also offers a wealth of outdoor adventures for families, from walking or biking along the canal to tubing on the Delaware (don’t forget to grab lunch from the justifiably Famous River Hot Dog Man) to sightseeing from on high courtesy of Alexandria Balloon Flights in close-by Milford. And if a day in the great outdoors (or the great Frenchtown shops) has you searching for a comfortable place to spend the night, check in at the National Hotel New Jersey, where comfort (along with high style) is always in good supply. frenchtownnj.org; delawarerivertubing.com; njballooning. com; thenationalhotelnj.com
Tuckerton Seaport
Waterside History Comes to Life
If you and your family have a nautical bent or a passion for history, Tuckerton Seaport is sure to float your boat. At this 40-acre re-creation of a working maritime village on the shores of Tuckerton Creek in Ocean County, you can tour a fully operational boatworks, learn about shellfishing at Parson’s Clam and Oyster House, marvel at decoy-carving by master craftsmen, check out the historic Hotel deCrab, hang ten at the New Jersey Surf Museum, visit a circa-1835 sea captain’s house, peek into the 303-year-old Andrew Bartlett Homestead (the oldest house in Ocean County) and admire extraordinary examples of folk art (such as glassblowing, basket weaving and painting) at the Jersey Shore Folklife Center. Still haven’t satisfied your inner seafarer? Consider getting your sea legs back on a voyage aboard the seaport’s classic charter boat, Wasting Time. tuckertonseaport.org
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