Major metropolitan areas don’t often cater to the nature-loving crowd, but that doesn’t mean you can’t camp while getting your urban fix. Why would you try, especially when visiting New York City? Because camping in the NYC area is about a quarter of the cost of your average Manhattan hotel room, and that’s a room that’s likely going to include one bed and not near enough room for a family.

My family of four is 3 months into our year-long RV tour of the United States and we recently made a 2 week stop in the Big Apple. We were surprised to find that New York City actually offered the most convenient big city camping experience thus far, and camping allowed us to experience a big bite of the city without breaking our itty-bitty budget.

The secret? We didn’t actually camp in New York City.

Short of pitching a tent in Central Park and hoping you don’t get busted by park security, the closest camping is going to be found outside of Manhattan. (OK, there is camping in Long Island, but that doesn’t count, nice as it is.) Jersey City, New Jersey is home to the Liberty Harbor Marina and RV Resort. The word Resort really should be in quotes. It’s a parking lot.

Actually, it’s a parking lot with a small lawn near the restrooms where you can pitch a tent if you’re camping old school style.

The real appeal of this location is its, well, location. It’s a five-minute walk from a PATH station, the subway system that connects New Jersey and lower- and mid-Manhattan. A ride is just $1.75 per person, even less than a genuine subway ride on the MTA system. The trains come often day and night and deposit riders at the World Trade Center or at several stops throughout midtown. At $60 a night, this is a great way to experience the city with a family.

Photo by Britt Reints

The name Atlantic City might bring to mind images of dazzling casinos, wild bachelor party weekends, or over-tanned twenty-somethings making a situation out of nothing. In any case, you’d be almost right, but add a layer of grit and desperation to dull any old time glitz you might be expecting. What you end up with is a day trip destination at best, and mostly so you can say you’ve been there, done that, and knew better than to buy the crappy t-shirt.

I was not impressed with Atlantic City.

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Entering the Garden State

From the jokes (You’re from Jersey?  What Exit?) to Joe Piscopo (“I’m from Joisey”) to The Sopranos to Jersey Shore, no state is more joked about and more poorly represented than New Jersey.  Fortunately, Uptake has seen it fit to allow this “Jersey Boy” to try and clear up some of these misconceptions and myths and give you a peek at all there is to see and do in New Jersey.

I will not kid you, it is a daunting task, and trying to plan out where to go and what to cover first was more of a daunting task than anybody that doesn’t hail from the Garden State is likely to believe.  Why is that?
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As I write this, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are belting out full albums in Madison Square Garden, New York City – The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle on Saturday, and The River on Sunday. Meanwhile, 90 minutes away in his hometown of Freehold, NJ, people are gearing up for the influx of fans and groupies.

Bruce Springsteen

Whenever The Boss is ’Working on a Dream’ in the vicinity, his admirers not only purchase E Street Band & Bruce Springsteen tickets, but also bus tickets for the Jersey Shore.

Being so close calls for a pilgrimage to Springsteen-ville in Freehold and Asbury Park, and a chance to check out all the names and places which appear so frequently in his lyrics.

I was born right here on Randolph St. in Freehold
Here, right behind that big red maple in Freehold
Well, I went to school right here, got laid, and had my first beer in Freehold
Well, my folks both lived and worked right here in Freehold
I remember running up the street past the convent and church here in Freehold
Chased my daddy down in these bars, first fell in love with this guitar here in Freehold  - Freehold lyrics, by Bruce Springsteen

If you happen to be a concert travel addict on one of the buses heading for Springsteen-ville, listed below are all the places connected to The Boss which you shouldn’t miss. Read More »