Emma Caban, 26, and Jen Patella, 26
Emma: One of our guy friends was leaving for Iraq the next morning—Sgt. Joseph R. Davies of Long Branch. I went to elementary and middle school with him. He’s a sergeant in the army and it was his last night of a two-week R&R in Jersey before he had to go back to war for his third tour, so we had a little going-away party at Boathouse Bar and Grill.
It was bittersweet. He’s one of the mission leaders. He takes a group of guys out to fight. He says it’s tough. It’s hard to be away from family all the time. And it’s frightening. He’s lost a lot of friends out there. But he’s very proud of what he’s doing, what the soldiers are doing, and he was looking forward to seeing his men again.
He’s doing it for his country, so we had to celebrate that. While he was over there on this tour, he missed his little sister’s wedding. That was hard for him. And he’s lost a few more friends. We keep in touch over the Internet. He can’t talk about much that’s happening over there. It’s hard for me to watch the news. I tend not to do it. We’ll be there for him when he comes back this August.
Jen: We have fun just being a big group of friends. Some of us prefer Jack Daniels. Some of us prefer Captain [Morgan]. And some of us prefer Miller Lite. But it’s not really about drinking for us. I always leave my drink somewhere and forget about it.
Emma: Four of the six of us were sorority sisters at Monmouth University. Jen, Rosetta, Kelly, and I were in Zeta Tau Alpha together. Michelle dates one of our guy friends. Well, she used to. Kristen we know through Kelly.
Kelly and Kristen are married and expecting babies by the end of the summer. The rest of us are single. Interested fellows can find us at the Jersey Shore. Come find us. Seriously.
I work for a nonprofit in Long Branch that refers people who need assistance to organizations that can help them. I only get to the Shore maybe on a Saturday or Sunday, and that’s very condensed. Jen, Kelly, Kristen, and Michelle are all teachers, so they have summers off. I’m very jealous of my teacher friends.
Jen: It’s very sad to have to say goodbye to the students for the summer. But it’s nice to have two months off to revamp and feel refreshed for September, when you get a new bunch. We hang out with a ton of other teachers, and it’s not like we work together—we’re all in different districts. In the summer, probably every week we’ll get together like that. It’s nice to be outside.
Emma: We live by the Shore year round. In the summer it’s definitely a party scene, a very young atmosphere. Every other license plate you see is from New York. I don’t like that you have to pay for the beaches. But it’s good, it brings money to the towns.
Jen: It gets crowded in the summer. It’s harder to get places. Parking’s terrible. But it doesn’t stop me from going out. And it’s great for local businesses. A lot of places are closed for the winter and just open up for the summer.
Emma: At the end of the summer, you have your reunion with the locals. It’s a calmer atmosphere. By then it’s okay to wear flip-flops anywhere you go. You can tell who’s from the Shore and who isn’t by the way they dress. I’m from Long Branch, and we used to have the boardwalk with an arcade and a water park—that’s all gone. There was a little ice cream spot and a pizzeria on the pier, but our pier burned down and was never replaced. So I guess there’s not much recreational activity by the beach for younger people.
The morning after the photo was taken, I had a summer fair for the nonprofit I work for, so I didn’t stay out late. Our friend had an early flight to Iraq, too. I think we all left around midnight. Didn’t get too crazy.
We know where to go where there aren’t too many 21-year-olds. But we do love Bar-A [Bar Anticipation in Lake Como]. It’s one place in the summer where you’ll find 21-year-olds, 30s, 40s, and 50s just in one place.
Jen: Boathouse is a really relaxing, comfortable atmosphere. If you want to be outside, go to Bar A. We go to 507 [507 Main in Belmar] sometimes for dancing. We usually go when DJ Delany is playing or DJ Jersey Joe. And there’s a band in the back.