With this heat wave permanently parked over New Jersey, most people are driving down the shore to escape. While I love the shore, I don’t like it on the 90+ days. I’m a redhead, and I still have flashbacks of third degree sunburns back in high school. I need an alternative to the shore on super hot days.

Recently, we threw some bags of towels, bathing suits, and bag of digging tools for the sand into the trunk and visited a public beach at one of New Jersey’s lakes. The drive itself was lovely. We wound our way through rural highways of New Jersey past antique shops and farm stands. We ended up at High Point State Park , which is in the northwest corner of the state.

After paying $10 for parking, we changed into our suits at a stony bathhouse by the lake. It was clean enough for a public bathroom; it was stocked with paper towels and toilet paper.

The park was packed with extended families grilling ribs and hotdogs at camp sites surrounding the lake. We wound our way past the grillers to find a nice place by the water.

The boys dropped the bags and went running headlong into the water. The water was warm from the many weeks of hot weather, but there was a cool breeze in the air and shade from the surrounding trees. There was sand for digging, but you could also place a blanket on the grass a little further back. Children who tired of the water ran into the snack bar for ice-cream and swung from the nearby playground.

It was fabulous to have a refreshing dip in the water without the sunburn.

Here are some nearby lake trips to try:

High Point State Park

Lake Hopatcong State Park

Ringwood State Park

Got friends coming in for a vacation? Thinking about a Spring fling weekend in the city?
Need a nice hotel with twice the space, for half the price?

You’ll get just that if you opt to stay directly across the river in one of Jarl Haugdal’s renovated Jersey City buildings. The 40 year old entrepreneur from Norway has been buying up properties and sprucing them up for short-term rental.

You can stay in these fully furnished, luxury apartments—some with stellar views of the skyline– for prices that begin at $125 a night. Up to three bedroom apartments are available.

The website www.nyc-jc.com has a complete listing of the properties available and you can reserve on-line.

You’ll also have service from a concierge that can help arrange pick-ups from the train, or provide a Smart Car rental. You can order the place pre-stocked with your favorite foods, DVD’s, and reserve a personal trainer.

Haugdal—who lives in Jersey City– wanted to create an alternative to overpriced, cramped New York City hotel rooms, after working in the travel industry for many years. He’s even filming a new reality show that has him hosting Norwegian tourists on their first visit to our area.

What’s next? Haugdal is buying up properties at the Shore. You’ll soon be able to enjoy the beach from a hotel that feels like home, but treats you like a special guest.

NJ My Way VIP Members: You can try one of these neat alternatives to traditional hotels AND save 20% if you are a member of our NJ My Way VIP Club!  Click here to join and sample this, and many other great offers.

Need something new to do this summer?

Take the train to AC. Right now there’s a $29 one way fare on the new Atlantic City Express Service (www.acestrain.com).

When you get there, make sure you stay at the Water Club, (www.thewaterclubhotel.com) adjacent to The Borgata (www.theborgata.com). This relatively new, sleek and stylish hotel hot spot is still making waves as more people discover Las Vegas-like sophistication can be had in AC.

Start by soaking your stressed out soul in one of the hotel’s five pools. Then, eat at Bobby Flay Steak next door –you need to trythe signature Philly strip steak. Finish with the Baked Alaska. It’s pricey but may be the best beef ever.

Or head to the Pier at Caesars and book a candle lit booth at Buddakhan (www.buddakanac.com) where you’ll savor the roasted Ponzu Chicken with Buddha Buns.

Not a gambler or a gourmet?

Try a crab run. Beaver Dam Boat Rentals (www.crabulousnj.com) in Newport offers you the boat, the equipment, and leads you to the spot in the crab-infested Oranokin Creek to drop your traps.

Hitch a ride on the AJ Meerwald, En Jay’s original tall sailing ship will be berthed in Cape May at the end of the week. Some trips include a raw oyster bar, music, and –shiver me timbers—Jersey Pirates. (www.bayshorediscovery.org).

Or drop in at a lux boutique hotel in Long Branch. The Bungalow Hotel (www.bungalowhotel.net) features huge rooms and suites with first class artwork, flat screen tvs, access to private beach club facilities.

For supper, go to the boondocks. Sample the crabcakes that everyone is buzzing about at the Red Bank’s new unassuming restaurant Boondocks Fishery & Grill (1 Marine Park (732) 747-7177). Here’s a recent review at http://www.redbank.com/2009/06/29/move-over-mobyshere-comes-boondocks.

Tell everyone you know to subscribe to NJ My Way by entering their e-mail addresses in the box on our homepage www.njmyway.com. Everyday you’ll get plenty of info on great stuff, exclusive giveaways, and the best New Jersey has to offer!

It’s your escape place - but when you live here year ‘round… it’s home.

Just like anywhere else—life on LBI means running to and from the kids sports activities, getting them off to school, dealing with sometimes difficult neighbors and going to work everyday.

By the end of November, not a head passes by my window, not a beach chair drags on the pavement, not a sound from happy beach goers. Everyone is gone.

Then come the storms; during a nor’easter the rain can beat down for days on end ,the wind once whipped my front door off its hinges. When the skies clear, the summer people come down to check on their houses and often proclaim how much they enjoy the solitude of the place in winter.

Inexplicably, my family enjoys the storms and understandably, the quiet after a busy summer of people who insist they love LBI like no other place on earth. Our part-time neighbors sometime leave trash by their cars and toss beer bottles and cigarette butts on the beach. We are a half block from the beach and have returned home to find someone I don’t know parked in my driveway, rinsing off with my hose!

On the other hand so many people we see year after year, smile and say hi, take their trash home with them and even pick up some that doesn’t even belong to them.

Once the sun sets on summer, I inevitably miss the shoobies from the south and the bennies from the north. We need all of them to support our local businesses.

Like any small town, we have our complainers. The people who raised their homes but don’t want their neighbors to add another floor, the people who watch for people walking their dogs on the beach without a leash so they can call the cops, the people who complain about the lifeguards, the school system, the guy who has a windmill and the guy who put a fence up 6 inches over the property line.

But LBI has something you can’t find anywhere else on earth… sunsets for every season.

Red and orange glows of fall, crisp clear blues and green of winter, the blazing sun that seems to fall into the bay during spring and summer. Then, there’s how the beach sparkles in the winter sun after a rare snowfall, cross country skiing on the beach is peaceful and breath taking.

Our surroundings can give us an inner peace, a sense of calm and fill us with unimaginable joy if we just let go the rest of it. That’s what I try to do, every single day I drive the bridge across the bay, I open my windows as my gaze catches a glimpse of the ocean and I am thankful to have the privilege to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

This NJ My Way column was authored by 1010 WINS Reporter Alice Stockton Rossini, who calls LBI home 365 days a year.

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High above the snowy back roads and frosted treetops of Vernon, the relatively new Grand Cascades Lodge (www.crystalgolfresort.com/content/categories.asp?sid=13&cid=169) has everything a luxury hotel should include with one exception; an overflow of guests. On a recent visit, there appeared to be very few stay-caters.

Could be the Lodge has been stung by the recession. Or maybe– you just haven’t heard that this huge Aspen-like structure even exists.

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If you’ve got a few dollars stashed for an out-of-town vacation, you might consider a closer to home extended weekend. There are some excellent discounts and weekend packages available.

Skiers will be heading next door to Mountain Creek (www.mountaincreek.com ), and the cold weather has helped make this a great season. Indoor snow bunnies can remain toasty by the fire in the hotel’s lobby, with broad wood beams and natural stones framing the impressive setting.

Down the very long hall, (everything here is faaaaaaaaaaaar apart) you can dine at the wine lover’s amazing Restaurant Latour – Here’s our take on the place; www.njmyway.com/content/view/132/69, written before the hotel opened.

There’s a cool rainforesty pool embedded deep in the basement of the hotel which will no doubt help stimulate that rosy glow, after a day in winter sunshine. And there’s a first class spa in the nearby Minerals Resort, which is part of the same giant playground.

We confess, we didn’t get a first-hand look at any of the rooms at the lodge, but we’ve been told by reliable sources that they are as pictured on the website—and they’re an improvement on the basic family-friendly accommodations at Minerals.

If you go, let us know, and we’ll pass along your findings. From what we can tell, the Grand Cascades is a special hotel, and nothing we’ve seen up and down the state comes close. Now, if only the guests would arrive…

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The Hotel Tides (www.hoteltides.com) is what every Jersey shore resort needs, but few have; a charmingly hip boutique hotel with a pool, high quality restaurant, and a spa.

Owners Robert Doran and Martin Santomenno have converted one of Asbury Park’s historic hotels into this deco-inspired twenty room mini-resort. It’s two blocks from the ocean and a short drive from this something-new-everyday downtown.

Walk into the lobby and you’ll see a shimmering wall of water, backdrop to a Buddha statue. This is the focal point for an elegant bar and seating area where you can toast the sunset. The lobby also showcases amazing paintings and sculpture by Jersey City artist Natalie Giugni, (www.nataliegiugni.com). The owners plan to rotate artwork and use the hotel as a gallery for interesting exhibits.

“We want this to be like a hub of culture for the community,” said Robert, as he proudly took us on a grand tour.

The dining room—which will soon open for dinner, has ceiling and walls made of the original tin.

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The rooms are decorated with quality fixtures and each has a private freshly renovated bath. Each bed is topped with Egyptian cotton sheets, and a luxury comforter.
Rates start at $175 a night.

Readers of NJ My Way can get a third night free, if you reserve two nights. Just mention our newsletter when you call for your reservation.

We think the Tides are turning in Asbury Park. Try this hotel where past and present combine to make a perfect fall weekend getaway.

You may be reading this from your laptop as you “work from home” this morning at the beach house. Or you may be considering heading down the Shore to soak up the first real sunshine of the season this long weekend. Consider us your guide to the summer season, with plenty of ideas and new sights to keep you busy off the beach.

Atlantic City is popping with new construction; it is re-inventing itself as a destination for everyone, including non-gamblers. You’ll want to make waves at The Water Club, the trendy new hotel about to open adjacent to the Borgata. Designed around a huge spa, the guestrooms are enticing with great views and voluminous showers.

And do not overlook The Pier At Caesars, which is absolutely one of the best shopping centers in the entire state.

For the kids, there’s a new tropical rainforest exhibit at the Atlantic City Aquarium. They’ve got a variety of wildlife from jungles around the globe, and some hands-on freshwater pools for close-up encounters.

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Asbury Park is another Shore town rebuilding itself. Although the spectacular Esperanza condo project was put on hold last winter, beachfront developer Madison Marquette is moving forward. Convention Hall refurbishment continues with the expected opening in the arcade of a new clam bar and the Irish pub Caroline O’Toole’s.

Another Shore restaurants that looks very promising is Gertrude’s in Ventnor. Owner-chef Neil Elsohn used to run the Water’s Edge in Cape May, considered one of the state’s best until it closed in 2003.

Further north you can bet the ponies at the state’s newest Off Track Wagering hotspot in Toms River. Join the crowd at the sports bar and restaurant operated by the McCloone family, just in time for the Belmont Stakes.

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Back down south, Cape May’s touristy Washington Street Mall has a $4.5 million facelift that should impress even the seasoned veterans of this Victorian resort. The official ribbon cutting is June 21, but you can enjoy it now. And the town’s classic beachfront movie theatre — a rainy day tradition — has a new interior.

But let us hope for not too many rainy weekends this summer. We are taking a long weekend, and will not publish Monday. But we will be back in your mailbox Tuesday.

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Keep your secrets in Vegas, but tell everyone New Jersey’s gaming and resort town is getting better and better.

This summer’s big news is a luxury hotel: The Water Club, about to open adjacent to the Borgata. The centerpiece of the $400 million dollar hotel is a two-story spa overlooking the ocean, plus five heated indoor and outdoor pools. The rooms feature custom designed beds and showers made for two. It’s scheduled to open next month.

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Caesar’s will soon open Qua — the concept is social bathing in a Roman bath and spa treatment similar to the Las Vegas counterpart.

Not to be outdone, Resorts is throwing a party for itself over Memorial Day weekend, to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The hotel/casino is planning a huge fireworks display, performances by Natalie Cole, skydivers, and an outdoor block party.

Another big splash is the Olympic sized indoor pool at Harrah’s, surrounded by a million bucks worth of landscaping. There’s entertainment and nightly parties.

There is even a luxury hotel for your dog or cat. Atlantic City’s Pet Hotel and Grooming is a hotel and full-service salon for your furry friends. They’ll happily pick up and drop off your pet at your hotel.

They even have a special offer for our subscribers; mention NJ My Way and you’ll be able to add a free night to any two night stay, through the end of June. Coming soon: luxury pet suites for high four-legged rollers.

So save your secrets for Vegas, but bring your cash and your pets to our seaside strip where everyone feels like a million bucks.

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We know there’s more to our state than mall hair and smelly refineries. But even many Jersey-savvy folks know little about the culture that once revolved around dredging for oysters near places like Bivalve and Shell Pile, on the Maurice River off Delaware Bay.

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Capt. Bill Mylett and his crew aboard the A.J. Meerwald don’t want those days to be forgotten. So as part of the Bayshore Discovery Project (www.ajmeerwald.org) they sail the state’s waters as a floating classroom. Their three-masted vessel is a restored oyster schooner that in 1998 was designated New Jersey’s official tall ship.

When built in 1928, the Meerwald was one of 500 schooners harvesting the rich oyster beds of Delaware Bay. The industry as well as the way of life built around it were destroyed in 1957, when disease killed 90 percent of the oysters.

To remember those days at its home port of Bivalve, the Meerwald takes groups of students — from grammar school to college — on cruises to explore the marshy waters of the region. Kids help raise sails, test water quality, muck around for oysters, and hear about the local culture that died with the oysters.

The ship also takes student groups when it travels around the state, and sails off on public cruises from various New Jersey ports. Those are less educationally formal and aimed at adults who like being on the water, under the sun, in a big sail boat.

“We teach about the ecology and culture of Delaware Bay,” Capt. Mylett said, standing on the gangway before lifting anchor for a public sail in Burlington. “I see some couples brought a bottle of wine, and they’re just going to have a nice sunset sail.” Click NJ My Way to see this group hoist sail.

The Meerwald will be in Burlington through Saturday, when it returns to Bivalve. It will run its programs from there until it docks in Cape May in late June. For most of July the Meerwald is scheduled to be in Jersey City. Details at the ship’s website.

From the Maurice River to the Hudson. A reminder that in New Jersey you get a view of the Manhattan skyline, and of old oystering shacks in the marshes of Bivalve.

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Want to make this a Valentine’s Day to remember? Check out some of New Jersey’s better bed & breakfasts — no, they’re not all in Cape May — and enjoy a weekend retreat, just the two of you, with a little help from us.

If you mention NJ My Way when you call for V-Day weekend, our friends at five of the finest B&B’s will give you ten percent off your room rate. 

We dare you to find a place hipper than Frenchtown right now. Book your room at the lovely Widow McCrea House (www.widowmcrea.com) and use your savings to shop at the trendy boutiques and antique shops in this old river settlement (www.frenchtown.com).

Or go upscale rural at Dancer Farm (www.dancerfarm.com) in New Egypt. You’ll be cocooned in this 250-acre equine homestead and vineyard that fetes guests with wine and chocolates. You can get an on-site massage, too.

If you like the horsey theme but want to stay further north, the Holly Thorn House (www.hollythornhouse.com) in Whitehouse Station is in the midst of horse country, with plenty of great restaurants and shopping on scenic Hunterdon roads. Or stay in by the fire, play a game of billiards, and enjoy this transformed old barn.

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Got a hankering for the Shore, but not the schlep to Exit Zero? Cross Barnegat Bay (that would be exit 63), and spend the weekend on Long Beach Island. Our friends at the newly renovated Williams Cottage Inn (www.williamscottageinn.com) welcome you year-round into their chic Victorian hideaway. No lines, no parking wars — warm  up from your quiet walk on the beach with a dip in a steaming tub for two.

And in South Jersey, the Isaac Hilliard House (www.isaachilliardhouse.com) offers a small town atmosphere in an 18th century residence. Innkeeper Phyllis Davis will cook a custom dinner for guests who stay in and spend their evening at the inn’s candle-lit dining room. Just let her know ahead of time.

Book your room now, ‘cause they are filling up. And don’t forget to mention NJ My Way. It’s our Valentine’s Day gift to you.