Back Bay Ale House

We were looking for a low key joint for dinner near Atlantic City during the New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge. After a little searching on TripAdvisor and Yelp, and some local food blogs, we decided to try Back Bay Ale House. The location, incredibly off the beaten path and on the bay - near the Atlantic City Aquarium - was hopping for a chilly night in October. However, There were still some indoor tables available, and we were able to snag a cozy two-top in the second floor dining room. There was also a patio on the second floor with seating and full menu service at the bar on the first floor.

We ordered the Corona Battered Fish, a beer battered fish served with fries, and the Cheeseburger in Paradise. Both were very good, and the atmosphere in the bay side dive was fun and relaxed. This was a great find in Atlantic City.

Greenhouse Cafe

We stopped at the Greenhouse Cafe on LBI for brunch during the New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge.

The little restaurant, located at the corner of 6th Street and Long Beach Blvd., was one of the few restaurants open during the late fall in this beach town. However, we were not disappointed!

We ordered breakfast - although the full lunch menu was available. We ordered the Almond Joy waffle and the eggs benedict. The Almond Joy Waffle was definitely the star of the show - the two of us were fighting over bites of it.

The eggs benedict was good, but definitely not the best I've ever had. But still satisfying, creamy and smokey.

We also ordered a side of sausage links and home fries. Both were amazing, and the two side orders were perfect for the two of us to share.

Best Western Plus Atlantic City West

The Best Western Plus Atlantic City West was a convenient hotel for us to stay in as the halfway point during the New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge. The hotel has plenty of parking. The wi-fi had good speeds. The breakfast was a standard continental breakfast that is served at all Best Westerns. We found the hotel to be clean and the staff to be friendly. For a one night stay, this was a very good hotel and we'd use it again as a halfway point when driving through New Jersey again.

Address: 701 Black Horse Pike, Pleasantville, NJ 08232
Wifi: Free
Parking: Free
Restaurant: No
Bar/Lounge: No
Smoking: Non-smoking
Hidden Fees: None
Free Breakfast: Yes

New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge

One weekend every year in October, many of the lighthouses of New Jersey host the New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge. The challenge is for you to visit all of the lighthouses on the list within a two-day period (and to climb them as well). It really does take all two days to do this. It was a great experience for us and something we'd recommend for anyone who enjoys lighthouses. Keep in mind, with all of the climbing you'll be doing, you'll need to make sure you are in decent shape before embarking on this. For 2014, the list included:

• Absecon




• Barnegat




• Barnegat Museum

• Cape May




• East Point

• Finn's Point







• Hereford Inlet







• Navesink Twins







• Sandy Hook




• Sea Girt







• Tinicum







• Tucker's Island










• Tatham Life Saving Station

• U.S. Station 30

Ironbound (Newark, NJ)

Written by Leann Pettit

Located inside the Renaissance Newark Airport hotel is Ironbound. The restaurant, partially attached to the hotel's bar, serves American fare, and very large portions.

We ordered the Fettucini, which is made with pesto and served with grilled chicken, mozzarella and tomatoes. The dish was very delicate and light, a nice meal pre-flight.

We also ordered the Roast Beef Melt, with American cheese instead of the swiss. The sandwich was much larger than expected, and definitely request more napkins from your waiter, you're going to need them, The sandwich is juicy and decadent, savory and rich and a whole lot of messy.

Battleship New Jersey

On the Delaware River in Camden, NJ, facing the Philadelphia skyline is the Battleship New Jersey.  This historic naval vessel allows visitors to explore most aspects of its interior, as well as the top deck.  During your tour, you'll see many signs indicating what everything is, as well as giving an historical context for it.  For any military geeks, this is definitely an excellent place to visit.  For those though who are a bit claustrophobic, being inside the ship may cause some issues.

Stone Harbor 95th Street Beach

The Jersey Shore has numerous beach options to go to.  They can be quite varied in terms of the type of sand, ocean and people you'll find at each one.  For Stone Harbor, NJ, you'll find a pretty sedate crowd, not a bunch of loud and obnoxious people that most people associate with the Jersey Shore.

This allowed us to have a relaxing few hours at the beach.  The waves came in very calmly here, which made it a great place to take a 5 year old without much ocean experience.  The sand was mostly soft, albeit a little bit "shelly".  There is ample street parking around the 95th Street area, as well as a bunch of small-town style gift shops.

Historic Cold Spring Village

In Cape May, not too far from the beach area, is Historic Cold Spring Village.  Featuring actors dressed from the 19th century, this quaint village gives visitors the opportunity to see what life was like back in this time period.

We traveled here with a 5 year old, and were surprised with how well things went.  The staff were very engaging and friendly with her.  They let her play with various props such as a shield, a chalkboard and a dunce cap.  We spent about 90 minutes here and she had a great time.

For adults, there's the opportunity to learn about the time period as there were various buildings representing different occupations from then such as being a blacksmith, teacher and soldier.

This is a great place to stop if you're in the area, especially with kids around 5 years of age.

Cape May County Zoo

Cape May County Zoo is a big, beautiful zoo, not to mention free. We traveled down to Cape May when the zoo announced two baby snow leopards had joined the exhibit with their mother.

For a free zoo, it was much bigger than we expected, and had a lot of animals. Not only did we get to see the baby snow leopards, but also monkeys of all sorts, bald eagles, turtles, red pandas, bears and more.

There is a $1 per person suggested donation. As we pulled in, there was a zoo employee taking donations, as well as mailboxes around the zoo for making donations.

We traveled here with our 5-year-old niece, and one thing we loved was there were not food stands or gift shops inside the zoo. In fact, food and drinks are prohibited in the zoo except in designated areas. There is one small gift shop that you must pass to get in and out of the zoo, as well as a carousel.

Uncle Bill's Pancake House

With locations all around the New Jersey shore, Uncle Bill's Pancake House is a great place to enjoy more than just at breakfast time. We stopped for lunch with our 5-year-old niece in tow and it was a perfect place for a picky eater.

We were thrilled to be sat in a booth near the bar, because in the corner a TV played cartoons (although halfway through our meal, someone changed it to Fox News). She was perfectly distracted so we could decide on what to order. Our waitress also brought over a coloring book and crayons to keep her occupied while our meals were brought out.

We ordered a short stack of pancakes and a plate of the sand dollar pancakes. Our niece loved the small pancakes that were just her size, and, because we could order them in multiples (like, 10), she and I could share (which we loved). They also had a number of different juices and a great kids cup.

We could tell we had picked a winner as we walked in because the parking lot was full (seriously full, people were parking on the street!), people were hanging out outside and in the foyer, and inside it was boisterous with laughter and families enjoying each others company. And boy were we right.