This past weekend, I had thechance to spend the weekend in Asbury Park, NJ, thanks to Asbury Park Eventsand the producers of Sandblast (their annual gay beach party). For those of younot familiar, Asbury Park is a gay-friendly beach town on the JerseyShore. On the 3rdweekend in July, thousands of guys come to Asbury from NYC, Philadelphia andother areas for the weekend to party it up for a few days and enjoy the beach.
Here are 10 reason why you should, too (in no particular order).
Here are 10 reason why you should, too (in no particular order).
10) It's accessable!
Asbury Park is a 2-hour train ride on the NJ Transit from NYC. There's also a bus from Philly. According to locals, parking is quite manageable. There’s a shuttle that will takeyou from the train station to the boardwalk and the Berkeley for a dollar. My friends and I didn't know about it til we walked to the hotel. On our way home, we found the printed schedule the hotel gave us a bit confusing, so we opted towalk, which took us about 25 minutes at a fast pace.9) The Boardwalk!
You see families on the beach and boardwalk, but you see gays holding hands, too. I saw gay flags on just about all the storefronts. For Sunday's pre-beach brunch, we hit the Langosta Lounge on the boardwalk. My breakfast burrito was good, but my friends both got the fruity French toast which was the culinary win for the weekend.
8) The Beach!
Once our Philly friend arrived, and we hit the sand. The Berkeley is actually on the far side of the Paramount Theater/Beach Bar from the gay part of the beach, but the door-to-shore distance is only about 200 yards.
Note: admission to the beach is $6.
7) The BOYS!
Even on this random weekend, the beach was full of hot guys of all types: Jersey juice-heads; bear daddies from the City; local twinks and everything in between. And many of the straight guys holding hands with their girlfriends on the boardwalk looked good with their shirts off, too, their gold chains glittering in the sun. Don’t get me wrong: not everyone was an incarnation of a gay stereotype (plenty of guys sported tan killers board shorts). But this town definitely attracts a healthy variety of guys.
6) The Berkeley Hotel's Rooms
Asbury Park Events hooked me and a couple of friends up witha room at the Berkeley Beachfront Hotel, the host hotel of Sandblast.
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| image from bringfido.com. |
We had 2 queen-sized beds plus apull-out couch. The room was surprisingly big (ours was an L-shape, so it was larger than the picture above), and the décor was an impressivecontrast to the somewhat austere façade of the building. Plus, our room had an iPod dock (with universal auxiliary input for you Android queens).
5) The Berkeley's Bathrooms
Our bathroom was amarble paradise with great lighting for Grindr photos!  |
| Oo, we should try that again... |
4) The Berkeley Hotel Pool!
It's big and sunny with plenty of poolside seating. Plus, there are cabanas where you can enjoy your drinks from the outdoor bar! AND, it's where JustCircuit's pick for Best Pool Party '10 (Sunday's Riptide Pool Party) takes place.
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| To make awesome party: insert 800 men and 2 notorious DJs. |
3) The Parties!
Okay, so Sandblast's most renowned party is Saturday's beach party, which is awesome. A dance floor in the sun, waves crashing only yards away, the renowned DJ talent (this year: Joe Gauthreaux and David Marx). They're mixing things up by moving to the Aqua Bar, on the beach just in front of the Berkeley! And did you know this party's won the title of "Best Beach Party" from the JustCircuit awards for 2 years and counting (and you don't even have to get on a ferry to get there)! But what about Friday's "Lost at Sea" Oceanside Kickoff Party (featuring NYC dance floor favorite Corey Craig and Snaxx DJs Rich King & Gustavo... only a $10 cover!) and the "Shipwrecked" Afterparty (featuring DJ Max Rodriguez). And Sunday's "Riptide" Pool Party at the aforementioned Berkeley Hotel Pool (with another NYC DJ darling Steve Sidewalk and LA's Roland Belmares... 2 free passes for each Berkeley room reservation!) plus the Sand Blast Tea Dance w/ NYC's DJ Vito Fun (only $5 to get in!). Did I mention that most of these parties are 18+! And lesbians: they've got you covered with the Siren of the Sea pool party, Peek-a-Boo Reveu, and other female-focused events.
Take a look at this video and try to tell me you don't want to do all these parties! Okrrr!
2) The Culture
Need a break from the shirtless boys and the common-time beats? There's a full schedule of performances (including Xanadu! the Musical [seriously]), yoga, bowling (2 nights!), swan boat rides... even a free art crawl. And don't forget the free volleyball clinic and tournament!
1) I'll be there!
Obvi, the most important reason. Sandblast is too much fun for me not to go, and I can't wait to get back! This will be my first time staying for the entirety of Sandblast weekend. So if you see me out, say heeeeeyyyyyyyyyyy!
I have to say: I always have a good time in Asbury. Every place we went had a relaxed atmosphere. The Berkeley is a fabulous hotel, so when it gets taken over by a whole heap of gay men...
Sorry, I couldn't finish my sentence. I just kept thinking, Gay Cruise without the waves...
Did I mention the Berkeley still has rooms for Sandblast weekend? Yeah.
Special thanks to Brad Hurtado, executive producer of Sandblast, for setting up lodging for the weekend.
Click here for the Berkeley Beachside Hotel's website.
Click here to check out my first time in Asbury Park... RIP, Platinum Toes!
Stay tuned for my post on what happened during our weekend in Asbury Park.
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