On the eve of the first post-Sandy Memorial Day Weekend, area residents express excitement of returning to the Jersey Shore this summer.
View full sizeNew Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, right, talks to Carla Pilla, of Seaside Heights, N.J., while Robert Hilton, left, executive director of the Jersey Shore Convention and Visitor's Bureau, holds a sign today in Seaside Heights, N.J. For Jim Henkel and others in the region, going back to the Jersey Shore for the first summer since Superstorm Sandy is almost more of a pilgrimage than a vacation.
The 43-year-old Easton resident and a group of his friends have been planning trips to the beach and are as excited as ever, he said today, the day many consider the official start of summer.
“I think a bunch of us have been itching to go down there,” Henkel said, adding the devastation from Sandy only makes him and his friends want to visit more. “I think one of the reasons we will go down as a group is to support the shore.”
Gov. Chris Christie declared the shore is officially back on the “Today” show as cast members of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” made appearances and the band Fun performed.
“Anybody who lives in New Jersey, the Jersey Shore is in your heart,” Christie said. “This means everything to our state.”
However, the recovery process is not complete.
Christie said about 80 percent of the shore will look as it did last summer, and acknowledged more work needs to be done to fully recover.
Others from the Lehigh Valley and northwest New Jersey spoke fondly about the shore and affirmed their intentions to visit regardless of where the recovery stands.
Mo Morelli said visiting the beach is a family tradition.
“I have a house in Lavallette. It’s my gram’s,” the 24-year-old from Phillipsburg said. “I go, like, every summer.”
Morelli said he and his family consider themselves lucky because his grandmother’s house didn’t suffer more than $500 worth of damage from Sandy.
Unlike Morelli and Henkel, this summer will mark Alyssa Tanico’s first time to the Jersey Shore. Although she never seen the beach pre-Sandy, she said she’s still looking forward to going.
“I want to see it even more now,” said Tanico, 24, of Easton. “I like that it’s a new start for them.”
Jason Stoudemire, 38, of Easton, said seeing the Jersey Shore can’t come soon enough.
“I wish it could be tomorrow,” said Stoudemire, who hasn’t firmed up an exact date when he’ll be visiting.
Sammy Trout knows the Jersey Shore as more than just a vacation spot. A mason in Seabright, Trout has seen first-hand the effects of Sandy.
“It’s a disaster down there … a lot of demolition,” said the 64-year-old Easton resident, who frequently commutes to work at the Jersey Shore.
Despite the destruction, he said he has many fond memories of the area, particularly boating. His father owned a boat, and now he does, too.
“I was brought up on a boat,” Trout said.
Like others, seeing Sandy’s damage won’t keep Trout away from the shore, he said.
“The shore’s the shore,” Trout said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.