Eye Opening

We arrived at Rebuild Our Shore HQ this morning at 6:45, not necessarily bright eyed and bushy tailed, but ready to do what is needed/requested.  With sister in law Donna along for the day we headed to a local diner for a fortifying breakfast sangwitch: pork roll, egg & cheese on a roll.  Not foods we typically eat but when in Jersey..................thanks Scott for the treat!

We met up with Cassandra, head Goddess of the North Ocean County Bucket Brigade, and headed 'over the bridge' to the barrier islands.  After a short stop at the staging area and loading cleaning buckets into the van, we headed to Seaside Park to set up.  Another trip to Ortley Beach nearby for more supplies and the giant, cantankerous grill, we head back to Seaside Park.

Cleaning buckets and other supplies are stationed along the road. The grill eventually fires up and we serve hot dogs and burgers to folks working on reclaiming their homes.Donna's humour is contagious and before long everyone waiting patiently for hot dogs and burgers are laughing and joking with each other.  Listening to their stories and getting a small understanding of the  road that lies ahead of them is humbling.  We know our seemingly small efforts of the day are going along way, yet wish there was more we could do.

We passed by streets on Orltey Beach where the majority of homes are gone.  The piles of debris, two stories tall, had been removed yesterday in an effort to open and test gas lines later this week.  Six weeks later and the evidence of devastation is still evident.  Water lines on garage doors, appliances tossed like feathers, chairs, tables, cushions lined up along the curb, mail boxes uprooted and more.........................




















A few pics here and more on our FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/JoiseyGirls4JerseyShoreRelief

Street in Ortley

Cassandra's Storage

Water line at Cassandra's storage

Large FEMA trucks hauling deris away

Seaside Boardwalk

Boardwalk

Jet Star in the ocean

Jet Star

Seaside Beach

Beach sand in the wrong place

Interior of boardwalk arcade

Boardwalk arcade interior

Arcade

One of many debris piles

Our set up

Bucket Brigade

Donan at the grill!

Donna entertaining the folks!

2001 Memorial

We are continually amazed at the grassroots efforts underway to assist everyone and anyone as the process of rebuilding the Jersey Shore picks up speed!