Amy Toensing

National Geographic: Jersey Shore

Old friends and summer residents of the small beach community of Ocean Grove meet in the afternoon to take a swim in the ocean and ride the waves.
   
Joey's Surf Club and Bar in Ortley Beach is a popular destination for twenty-somethings looking to show off their tan, toned bodies.
   
Visitors from New York City take a break from casino gambling and slot machines on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
     
  
Kids roam freely and safely in Ocean Grove, a small beach town in the northern part of the Jersey Shore. This town was settled as a Methodist retreat at the turn of the century and today remains a popular religious sanctuary as well as a summer vacation destination.
   
Evening falls on beach homes in Seaside Park.
   
A Contestant in an umbrella decorating contest held during a weekend to promote Asbury Park as a gay destination stands by his artwork on the beach in Asbury Park.
     
  
Boys feed crackers to seagulls hovering in an off shore breeze on Long Beach Island.
   
An aerial view of a typical beach housing development on the Jersey Shore where loyal and enthusiastic shore goers spend their entire two-week vacations every year.
   
A woman takes in the sun outside her beach rental home on Long Beach Island.
     
  
Storm clouds boil over the beach of Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge at the southern most tip of Long Beach Island.
   
A view of Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, where visitors come to soak in the sun, ride the Ferris wheel, eat saltwater taffy and stroll the boardwalk on a hot summer night.
   
The Enigma and Katzen, a husband and wife circus sideshow performance team, finish breakfast in their apartment in Seaside Heights. The tattooed couple travel the country performing their music and body art at various side shows and sometimes on television and in films.
     
  
Luring in a crowd, performer Danielle De Meux blows a ball of fire outside the Bros. Grim sideshow tent on the Seaside Heights boardwalk.
   
James Foster works as barker and ticket collector for the Bros. Grim Circus Sideshow July 26, 2003 on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
   
Friends enjoy the music of a guitar won at a game stand on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
     
  
A group of young shore visitors socialize and dance at the Temptations dance club in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, August 31, 2003. The Shore is a popular destination for young beach goers from New York and New Jersey. The club's cliental is dominated by men and women with manicured and done up physiques.
  
Two young women share drinks and good times at Joey's Surf Club and Bar on August 31, 2003 in Ortley Beach New Jersey.
  
Members of the Ortley Beach lifeguard team wait for team members to return with a row boat while training for an upcoming lifeguard competition.