The Everywhere blog

Want to get the goods on New Jersey? Come check out the travelogue of Everywhere member Chris Piazza.

Chris Piazza lives on the New Jersey Shore with his wife and children and has been sharing his photographic skills and insider knowledge of this area. Even if you've never visited Jersey, it's easy to get a great sense of the feeling of the Jersey Shore through his shots and descriptions.

I particularly love Chris' photos of classic, nostalgic Jersey sites awaiting renewal:

Like all of us here, Chris is also a true travel enthusiast with some wonderful stories from his trips. We recently asked him to share a bit more about his travel history and aspirations, so here are his tales of destroyed negatives and broken bones:

What makes your home region a good, or bad, place to travel to? Spring Lake, New Jersey has been my home for the last twelve years. I have grown to love this retreat on the shore that had previously been a summer destination for me. After my wife and I were married, we decided to live in this year round community. Being four blocks from the Atlantic Ocean is spectacular, especially when there is a good sea breeze and you can smell that salt air.

To stay in town, you will have the opportunity to choose from a number of bed and breakfasts and small older hotels that give a flavor of the Spring Lake of old. However, gone are the days of the grand hotels that bordered the ocean during a bygone era. The largest of these was the 500-room Monmouth Hotel most recognized for its great red dome. The hotel faced the wrecking ball in 1975.

Today, one of these majestic beauties still stands - the Essex and Sussex Hotel - that was converted to units for those aged 62 and older. The refurbished hotel helps gives the feel of what it must have been like in the glory days during the 1870s when wealthy Irish businessmen from Philadelphia settled here - giving the town the nickname, The Irish Riviera.

(Photo: Essex & Sussex)

Favorite place you've ever visited? Hands down, my favorite place to visit was the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, with Maui being a very close second. As my current hometown would suggest, I love being close to the water. Visiting Hawaii brought being close to the water to a whole new level with the beautiful landscape, incredible hiking and tropical weather.

The pinnacle of the visit to this island was our hike in the Waimea Canyon. Mark Twain had referred to the Waimea Canyon as "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific"; Its beautiful hues were most likely the elements to which Twain was referring when coining the name. The vistas of the canyon remain a vivid memory as we took in the view from one of the many pools near the peaks that towered over the canyon. I would like to say that I have a collection of photos to share from the visit to the canyon, but in our haste to develop our photos on Maui, we brought our film to a one-hour photo shop. When we arrived to pick up the film they informed us that the developer jammed and the negatives were damaged in the processing. It is a sad thought that to this day still stings...

Any places you've visited where you all you wanted to do was leave? There is hardly a place I have ever visited that did not have some qualities that made me want to explore more. However, extreme cold tends to want to make me go in the opposite direction. A two-week stint in St. Paul, Minnesota where the temperature never climbed above 20 below zero was probably the one time I can recall when I wanted to hit the road. But don't get me wrong... I love the Twin Cities and lived there for two years. However, I much prefer the summer months when the land of 10,000 lakes comes alive. But the "allure" of freezing hands and blue lips make me want to avoid the winter months.

What is the one dream place you would like to travel too? At the end of the day, somewhere in the south Pacific tops my list. Based on the legendary beauty of one island in particular, my winner is Bora Bora... Staying for about a month without a Blackberry in an over water bungalow in what some have called the world's most famous island, sounds like my idea of paradise.

What's the strangest thing that's happened to you while traveling? Nearly six years ago I had a running injury and was given crutches to help me get around. My last stop while traveling was Denver in July. I went to dinner at the Denver Chop House and as we were leaving the restaurant, one of my crutches got caught on the top step (no fault of the restaurant). I must have looked a bit like a pole-vaulter flying through the air as I landed flat-footed on the concrete.

The less than skillful landing resulted in a broken hip and an ambulance ride to Rose Medical Center (not a bad place to stay if you break a bone!). The next morning I had what they call an "open reduction and internal fixation" meaning a plate a four "pins" were inserted to hold everything back together. (BTW - "pin" is another way of saying "we are going to put these really large screws in your leg and it's going to hurt...")

It would be an understatement to say this was not what I had in mind for this trip. But, hey, I survived and don't set off too many metal detectors at the airport...

Anything other travel advice or comments? Avoid going to Disneyland the day after Thanksgiving... My sister and brother-in-law, as well as my parents, moved to Orange County many, many years ago. Personally, I enjoy visiting the "Happiest Place on Earth." But the day after Thanksgiving really tests your endurance for lines. At the time, we had our 18 month old daughter. After two rides we left...

And before I forget... Avoid traveling with crutches if you can help it!

Thanks Chris!

Be sure to check out all of Chris Piazza's photos for more great shots and captions from the Jersey shore, the Catskill Mountains, and throughout California.

"Love a great steak & cheese? How about some Italian sausage with onions and peppers? Top it off with an ocean breeze and you've got the Midway Steak House on the Boardwalk in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.... before long the aroma of sizzling steaks cooked to perfection will be wafting through the air. YUM! Summer is almost here"

"Made famous by the song by Brue Springsteen "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy), " Madame Marie still sits on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park off of 4th Avenue."

"Even when a hurricane was brewing off of the coast, it did not deter this angler from surf fishing on the beach in Spring Lake, New Jersey."