What could be better than a breakfast buffet. How about a breakfast buffet at a pub! Even better! We enjoyed our breakfast Saturday morning at Country Lakes Pub & Grill in Browns Mills. While we were there we were thinking bout our friends, Bob & Marie. They created an Irish pub in their add-on room in their Florida home! We also visited Historic Smithville and The Village Green on Sunday. Although Smithville has existed as a community since the American Revolutionary War, most of the community remained very rural until the 1960s when the Smithville Towne Center, a tourist attraction containing over 80 shops, opened. The Towne Center was expanded to include numerous rides and other shops named "The Village Greene", which was the centerpiece of a large planned community developed since the 1980s. Around the 1960s, the owners of the Smithville Inn decided to expand the site into a historical attraction, similar to Colonial Williamsburg. Several historic buildings from around South Jersey were brought to the site, restored, and converted into shops and attractions. In 1990, the constructionbegan on the second part of the Smithville Towne Center, named "The Village Greene", which includes more stores and other activities, such as paddleboats, miniature golf, a carousel, an old-fashioned steam train, and several other attractions.
On the carousel, I saw a first ... I have never seen an Ostrich on a Merry-Go-Round before. Have you? While we were in Smithville, I was on the hunt for a sign. The sign is for a friend, it says "welcome to our campsite, where friends and marshmallows get toasted at the same time." Charlie was on the hunt for a cinnamon bun. His hunt was successful at the Smithville Bakery, mine was not successful. We left The Village Green and were Atlantic City bound, but decided to detour to Shady Pines Carefree RV Resort. Located less than 15 minutes from the lights, sounds and scents of Atlantic city, Shady Pines RV Resort provides a peaceful retreat from the sensory overload of Atlantic City.
We stayed for just a quick tour, but would bring our RV back for a longer stay, for sure! Before we ventured to the boardwalk, we stopped at New Jersey's tallest lighthouse (171 ft) and the country's third tallest masonry lighthouse, The Absecon Lighthouse. Visitors enjoy strolling the 2-acre property, visiting the Keeper's Cottage museum and gift shop, and climbing the 228 steps to the top of the lighthouse. The top of the lighthouse offer guests magnificent 360 view of the Jersey shore. Construction began in 1854, with the light first lit on January 15, 1857. The lighthouse was deactivated in 1933 and although the light still shines every night, it is no longer an active navigational aid. The lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Historic American Buildings Survey, and the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.
There are more than a dozen casino resorts in Atlantic City. It may come as no surprise that one of Atlantic City’s greatest draws is its casinos. Atlantic City gaming action comes in virtually every variety, from high-stakes poker table to the penny slots if that’s your thing -- there’s something fun for everyone in our casinos. The hardest part will be choosing which of the casino resorts in Atlantic City to visit first! Bally's; Borgata Hotel & Casino; Ceasars; Golden Nugget; Harrah's; Resorts; Revel; Showboat; Tropicana; Trump Plaza and the Taj Mahal; just to name a few! We tried to take our picture, but quickly learned no picture taking in the casino floors! Oh, well ... We are not high rollers anyway! We did enjoy the sun, sand, bustling boardwalk, and the awe-inspiring Atlantic Ocean. This is one party place you don’t want to miss. Everything you could possibly want is right here within walking distance, from shops to five-star restaurants to casinos, attractions and great shows.
Construction on Atlantic City’s world-famous boardwalk began in 1870, and from then on it has become an icon in America as one of the few beaches with boardwalks. Stroll along the Boardwalk and enjoy ocean views on one side and shopping on the other, ranging from high-end retail to saltwater taffy shops. We took a drive to another Carefree RV Resort in New Jersey, Long Beach RV Park. Located just 8 miles from Long Beach Island, it is a straight shot to the island and back to the resort for a relaxing evening of events and activities at this property. Located off the main road in the scrubbie pines of New Jersey, it offers something for everyone! Don't have an RV?
You don't need one to stay at Long Beach Carefree RV, because they have rental cabins for you to enjoy! On the side of route 539 in New Jersey we saw a large rock. It is rumored to have been in the sandy, rockless Pine Barrens by a tractor trailer truck transporting boulders, then the story varies a bit ... Some say the rock was headed to Long Beach Island to be part of the new jetty, or to Barnegat lighthouse.
Over time there was graffiti written over the entire rock--and it was a complete eyesore for travelers to observe. Then someone started painting the rock. It was painted mysteriously for years (and finally revealed to be mostly the work of Edward Gillesheimer.) He used to change the rock rather frequently. It would be painted with various scenes in accordance with the season or holiday at other times it would just be a solid color. Ever since 9/11 it has manifested into a patriotic theme painted by others. One weekend of the 4th of July, the rock was vandalized. Some losers spray painted it a crappy blue and covered it with a lot of poorly made peace signs. A week later it had been repainted as a flag. The blue has run a little bit, but it was back to it's original state. The area is adorned with many many US flags. The entire area is well maintained and very inspiring. We went to meet a friend on his boat at a marina in Burlington.
We enjoyed looking at all the boats and their unique names.
We also learned about Burlington Island or Matinicunk Island, as the natives called it. In the 1600s, it became the first site permanent European settlement on the Delaware River. The Indian name “Matinicunk” means “Island of Pines.” The first murder in recorded New Jersey history took place on this island in the 1670s when two Indians murdered two Dutchmen. Fast forward to the 1900 when the lower section of the island, was developed into a family picnic resort. A pier was built along with tables and a large open pavilion. Sand was deposited upriver from the pier to form a beach. At the north end of the property, the city erected a wire fence. At this location, the resort managers built a large bath house and an ice cream stand. Reportedly 4,000 people visited the island in a single day during the 1902 season. By 1907, the park owners convinced George Potts, owner of Rancocas Park in Mount Laurel to move his better amusement rides to the island to enhance his revenue stream. Meanwhile, park management erected some swings to entertain the daily guests. In 1917, the owner sold the island property and amusement park.
The new owners moved quickly to erect “Island Beach Park,” an elaborate amusement park complete with a large wooden roller coaster called the Greyhound. The park even featured a miniature railroad complete with replica Reading R.R. camelback locomotives. This new park became the toast of the river excursion crowd, attracting thousands. At times, the river pier would have six and seven steamers waiting to unload its human cargo. Still others came by train and would take the little ferryboat, the “William E. Doron,” to the island. In 1928 a disastrous fire all but destroyed the amusement park. A second fire in 1934 finished the job. Although one ride still survives: the restored carousel at Seaside Heights.
After the 1928 fire, the carousel and its shelter was purchased and it was moved from the island and shipped to Seaside Heights. After the 1928 fire, the destroyed amusement park owners sold the lower half of the island for sand mining. In 1955 dredging operations began, which was completed in 1969.Sand-mining destroyed most of the artifacts and sites from the Dutch and early English occupation of the island. After removing the sand from the island, it left a large lagoon. Title to this 97 acre lagoon and the land surrounding was given back to the City of Burlington. In 1971, the city had the mouth of this basin closed off from the river. The 300 acre island is off limits to everyone now. We saw a white squirrel earlier in our adventure, today we saw a white deer. I wonder what white animal is next?
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