Getting to Sand Blast Weekend - Asbury Park Gay and Lesbian Party Weekend

Drive:

From Philadelphia

I-95 North to I-195 East to Route 18 North to Route 66 East to Route 35 North. Go two traffic lights to Sunset Ave. Turn right onto Sunset Ave for 2.3 miles directly to Ocean Avenue. Turn right on Ocean Avenue and you will be in front of Convention Hall and then the Fifth Avenue gay beach.

From Brooklyn

Take the I-278 (BQE) West across Brooklyn, then cross the Verrazano Bridge and through Staten Island. Merge onto RT-440 SOUTH for about 7 miles. You will stay on 440 and cross the OUTER BRIDGE CROSSING and then look for the Garden State Parkway South.

From Manhattan

Take the Lincoln or Holland Tunnel from Manhattan to the New Jersey Turnpike South. After you pass Newark Airport you’ll begin looking for EXIT 11 which is the Garden State Parkway South.

From the Garden State Parkway:

Take the Parkway to Exit 100 (Ocean Grove) and follow the signs for Route 33 East (Corlies Ave).
Follow Route 33 East to the end, approximately 5 miles. The last 1/2 mile changes to two lanes. Proceed over the railroad tracks to the intersection of Route 33 and Main Street. The traffic light marks a "T" in the road, where your options are right or left turn only. The "Ocean Grove" sign landmark will be directly in front of you at the light. Make a left onto Main Street.

IN ASBURY PARK

Follow Main Street for a couple blocks to the traffic light at the intersection of Main Street and Cookman Avenue. Make a right.

COOKMAN AVENUE is Asbury Park’s main shopping district and is lined with bars, restaurants, antique stores, mid-century modern furniture stores and clothing retailers selling Diesel, True Religion, FCUK and Ben Sherman to amazing new-ish lines you will want on your body including Priape, Rebel Spirit, Modern Amusement and Minoritees.

Proceed down Cookman 6 blocks to Ocean Avenue, which runs alongside the boardwalk and beach. The well-known dance club Paradise is on your right in the building topped by the sign that reads "EMPRESS".

Turn left on Ocean Avenue and pass Asbury Avenue, then First Avenue, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Avenues. Park your car anywhere in this area and then head to the boardwalk.

The Lost At Sea Friday Night Kickoff Party will be held from 7-11pm in the two balcony bars of Convention Hall which is located on the boardwalk at Fifth Avenue. Come join the party!

Sand Blast! The Road Trip Dance On The Beach will be held on the Sixth Avenue Beach right next to Convention Hall.

The Berkeley Hotel is the HOST HOTEL and is on Sixth Avenue just across Ocean Avenue from the boardwalk, walking distance from ALL Sand Blast Weekend activities. The Hotel Tides is on Seventh Avenue four blocks from the beach.

It’s SO Easy To Get To Asbury Park

Whether You Come By Car, Train or Bus

This Trip To The Beach Is Just 70-100 minutes from NYC & under 2 hours from Philly.

All details below:

Train: NJ Transit

Getting to Asbury Park is easy by train. It’ll take just under two hours door-to-door by train from NYC. Trains from Penn Station to Asbury Park leave constantly all day and return just as frequently.

Below will be the train schedules to Asbury Park for Friday and Saturday, July 17th and 18th and return train schedule for Saturday and Sunday.

Buy your round trip tickets from any of the NJTransit machines or from a live ticket agent in Penn Station. Don’t wait to buy on the train because it’ll cost $5 more. You don’t have to specify when you’re returning on Saturday or Sunday because your return ticket is good for any train.

Friday, July 22, 2011
New York Penn Station to Asbury Park
Your train is called the North Jersey Coast Line

DEPART NYC / ARRIVE ASBURY PARK:

The 3:44 arrives 5:26 102 minutes

The 4:14 arrives 6:00 106 minutes

The 4:54 arrives 6:30 96 minutes

The 5:26 arrives 7:04 98 minutes

The 5:41 arrives 7:22 101 minutes

The 6:13 arrives 7:56 103 minutes

The 7:08 arrives 8:54 106 minutes

The 8:04 arrives 9:52 108 minutes

The 9:38 arrives 11:30 112 minutes

The 10:18 arrives 12:20 122 minutes

The 11:18 arrives 1:14 116 minutes

The 1:00 am arrives 2:53 113 minutes

Saturday, July 23, 2011
New York Penn Station to Asbury Park
Your train is called the North Jersey Coast Line

The 7:07 arrives 8:58 111 minutes

The 8:07 arrives 9:58 111 minutes

The 9:07 arrives 10:58 111 minutes

The 10:07 arrives 11:58 111 minutes

The 11:07 arrives 12:58 111 minutes

The 12:07 arrives 1:58 111 minutes

The 1:07 arrives 2:58 111 minutes

The 2;07 arrives 3:58 111 minutes

The 3:08 arrives 4:58 111 minutes

The 4:07 arrives 5:58 111 minutes

The 5:07 arrives 6:58 111 minutes

The 6:07 arrives 7:58 111 minutes

The 7:07 arrives 8:58 111 minutes

The 8:07 arrives 9:58 111 minutes

The 9:07 arrives 10:58 111 minutes

The 11:07 arrives 12:58 111 minutes

The 1:00 arrives 2:53 111 minutes

RETURN TRIPS ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

Trains depart Asbury Park’s station at 45 minutes after every hour starting 7:45 AM to 9:45 PM.

The final train to New York of the night is 12:01 AM.

UPON ARRIVAL IN ASBURY PARK

There are usually taxis waiting at the train station to drive you to your destination in town. The fare will be somewhere between $4 and $6 and you may be sharing a cab with another customer. That’s how it’s done here!

If you can’t find a taxi call TOPS TAXI at 732.776.7711 or SURF TAXI at 732.774.5500 and they’ll come pick you up.

WALK FROM THE TRAIN INTO DOWNTOWN
On the OTHER side of the two railroad tracks is Asbury Park’s shopping district. If you’d like to check out the downtown shops simply cross the tracks, pass by the Train Station and cross Main Street.

To your right will be COOKMAN AVENUE which is lined with coffee shops, bars, restaurants, antique stores, mid-century modern furniture stores and clothing retailers selling Diesel, True Religion, FCUK and Ben Sherman to amazing new-ish lines you will want on your body including Priape, Rebel Spirit, Modern Amusement and Minoritees.