Bid farewell to summer with my by enjoying this Jersey Shore Photo Diary of everything I got up to over my Labor Day week on the East coast.

Hello there, dreamers! I’m currently flying high in the sky on route from the Newark Airport to Cincinnati after enjoying a wonderful week on the East coast. The reality of returning to the office tomorrow after 11 full days off is starting to sink in and I want to revel in the memories I made a bit longer before my big return to the real world.

So today, I want to share with you a chatty, casual post as well as my NYC and Jersey Shore photo diary.

My Labor Day Week on the East Coast

The first few days of my trip out East I lingered around the northern New Jersey area as well as ventured into New York City for a Midtown meeting and some playtime. Then, my sister and I joined a friend’s family for a trip in Cape May. It was my very first time visiting the Jersey Shore and I had so much fun exploring the Cape May area as well as visiting Ocean City for a night on the boardwalk.

During my trip, I enjoyed a major mental break!

Aside from documenting things in my Instagram story, I did a really great job at avoiding the news, overlooking my growing email inbox and scrolling away on social media. I read. I enjoyed the beautiful scenery I laughed. I played countless games of UNO and Trouble for the first time in years. I took time for myself.

After what can only be described as a rather hectic summer, it felt so nice to wrap things up with some relaxation over the week of Labor Day.

Labor Day in general is a holiday that I think we all need and deserve to recognize. In the states, there’s steady pressure to constantly be working and pushing yourself to fit as much into your day as possible. All of that can lead to really wonderful and rewarding opportunities, but it’s also important to take time for yourself and enjoy living a little bit.

As tricky as it can be to step away, I always try to remind myself that the work will be there when I return and grant myself permission to disconnect. I sincerely hope you were able to mark the *unofficial* end of summer with a little relaxation for yourself!

NYC and Jersey Shore Photo Diary

For your enjoyment, here is my NYC and Jersey Shore photo diary.

Truth be told, I honestly didn’t plan on putting a post like this together so the vast majority of photos were snapped on the fly using my iPhone. I did bring a DSLR camera with me though, which came in handy BIG TIME when I woke up at the crack of dawn to take in the sunrise. But while flipping through my trip photos on the flight home, I thought I may as well share them with you as a nice way of bidding farewell to summer.

These are the new memories I made!

Photo Diary I South Orange New Jersey Fox and the Falcon Restaurant Martini #Travel #travelblogger — Trip trip started out by meeting up with my sister. We had a lovely dinner out in South Orange, New Jersey at the Fox and the Falcon Restaurant. They had the cutest martini glasses! (Tasted delicious as well, of course.)

Jersey Photo Diary I Train Ride into New York City #Travel #TravelBlogger — The view from my train ride into New York City.

NYC Photo Diary I Time Square in Midtown #Travel #TravelBlogger — While at large this trip was a vacation, I did have a meeting in Midtown. Here I passed by Time Square on my way to Rockefeller Center.

NYC Photo Diary I By Chloe in Rockefeller Center #Travel #TravelBlogger — It had been ages since I’ve been to By Chloe so I took the chance to visit their Rockefeller Center location for a tasty lunch!

NYC Photo Diary I Rockefeller Center Fountain #Travel #TravelBlogger — On such a beautiful day, I couldn’t resist making a wish and tossing a coin in the gorgeous Rockefeller Center fountain.

NYC Photo Diary I Ralph's Coffee Truck by Ralph Lauren at Rockefeller Center #Travel #TravelBlogger — I also had to stop at the darling Ralph’s coffee truck by Ralph Lauren.

Jersey Shore Photo Diary I Road Map #Travel #TravelBlogger — After my day trip to New York City, we hit the road for a car ride south to the Jersey Shore. Here’s my from A to B of the day.

Jersey Shore Photo Diary I Sea Isle City #Travel #TravelBlogger — Talk about a stunning change of scenery, right? Here was my morning view over coffee in Sea Isle City.

Jersey Shore Photo Diary I Cape May #Travel #TravelBlogger — Following breakfast, we hopped down to Cape May to enjoy their wonderful shops.

Jersey Shore Photo Diary I Sunrise Over the Atlantic Ocean #Travel #TravelBlogger #TravelPhotography — The next morning, I woke up at 6 am to watch the evolution of the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.

Jersey Shore Photo Diary I Sea Isle City Boat Ride #Travel #TravelBlogger #TravelPhotography — Late that morning, we took a scenic boat ride! I couldn’t believe how gorgeous the landscape was.

Jersey Shore Photo Diary I Ocean City Boardwalk Ferris wheel #Travel #TravelBlogger #TravelPhotography — That evening, we visited Ocean City for my first official Jersey Shore boardwalk experience. Of course I couldn’t resist a ride on the Ferris wheel!

Jersey Shore Photo Diary I Ocean City Shopping #Travel #TravelBlogger #TravelPhotography — For our last day, we popped into the Ocean City shops for a little afternoon shopping.

New Jersey Photo Diary I Breakfast at the Prestige Diner #Travel #Travelblogger #veganeats — On Labor Day itself, we were back up North for some seriously rainy weather. We skipped our plans of going to the pool. Instead? We popped over to the Prestige Diner where I enjoyed this vegan FEAST for breakfast!

Jersey Photo Diary I Sisters Cat #Travel #TravelBlogger — Since it was so rainy on Labor Day, I actually spent the bulk of the day indoors working on some projects with my sister’s handsome cat, Tom.

New Jersey Photo Diary I Trap Rock Brewery in Berkeley Heights #Travel #TravelBlogger — For the final dinner of my trip, my sister and I dined at Trap Rock Restaurant & Brewery in Berkeley Heights.

New Jersey Photo Diary I Newark Airport view of New York City #Travel #TravelBlogger — Sadly, the next day it was time to fly home. Here’s the city view before takeoff at the Newark Airport.

With Labor Day marking the bittersweet unofficial end of summer, it’s now time to head back to reality! our busy work and school schedules will all kick in and we’ll be working like crazy till the holiday season rolls around. Here’s hoping you made some wonderful summer memories like I did to treasure always! Summer 2019 was a wild one, but also oh so beautiful.

As always, thank you SO much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chilled out overview of what I got up to while on vacationing on the East coast and my first Jersey Shore Photo Diary experience. It was a great trip with lots of memories made.

Interested in seeing more of what I got up to this summer? Pop over to my Instagram to watch my “Summer” Highlight!

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