Childhood Days in Keansburg

Kaitlyn's quite lucky to be here in Greensboro. There are plenty of things to do; from the Children's Museum to the Science Center to the Zoo (well, it's not in Greensboro, but close enough), there's always something for us to do with her.

When she gets older, there will be all of the above, plus Wet N' Wild water park, Greensboro Grasshoppers baseball games, all of those parks and playgrounds that we continue to discover and so on and so forth. There isn't a shortage of activity, to say the least.  

That was the case when we were kids. There was always something happening -- whether it was bowling at the old Strike N' Spare, pitch-and-putt at Green Knoll, the occasional trip to Dave's Auction for some ice cream while stale cigarette smoke filled the air. 

But, for the money, nothing beat Keansburg. Sure, there were places with bigger amusements (Wildwood), more name recognition (Atlantic City), more games of chance (Seaside Height), but there was something about Keansburg. 

I remember driving in the van with the family, meeting Aunt Jo Ann and Grandma in one of the many storefront gambling halls playing video poker and skeeball for tokens that I would inevitably use on baseball cards. We'd stroll across the street to another, maybe the one with the candy wheel and try to win value packs of Reese's Cups or another sugary treat. Walk to the amusement area and wonder why the rides weren't working, not realizing that my family was (for a few years, there) the only one walking the amusement area. 

It's apparently making a bit of a comeback, which is good. I'd like to bring Kaitlyn down to Keansburg one day, when she's old enough to play the games on her own. It was a big part of growing up, so why shouldn't it be a part of Growing Up Kaitlyn?