Over Fourth of July weekend, a couple friends and I headed to the Jersey Shore. My roommate’s family rents a house on the bay in Seaside Heights every year, and the past two years we were able to tag along for the weekend.

We got there Sunday afternoon and headed right to the beach; the weather was beautiful: It wasn’t too hot or windy. The only downside was the ocean was freezing! As you approached the water you could feel how cold it was just by the temperature dropping from the water. I stuck my feet in a couple times, and then finally a little later my friends and I dared each other to go fully in, so we just took a running start and dove into a wave. Once you were in for a little bit, you adjusted.

After a couple hours soaking up the sun on the beach, we decided to head back to the house to relax a little bit before dinner. We had a delicious dinner of chicken Parmigiana, penne vodka, garlic bread, meatballs and more.

Once dinner was over and we helped clean up and do dishes, we got ready for a night out at the bars. There are plenty of bars to go to in Seaside Heights, but the one we like is called Beachcomber — made famous by MTV’s hit show Jersey Shore. Since it was a holiday weekend, the bar was pretty crowded, but we still had a good time.

The best part about staying at a house on the bay is you have the choice to pack up and head to the beach or just spend the day floating in the water in your backyard. On the Fourth of July we decided to spend the day on a giant float and water mat relaxing in the bay. It was nice because we didn’t have to worry about packing things and making sure we had everything we needed for the beach; if we needed something, we could just hop out of the float and grab it!

That night we decided to have a laid-back night at the house playing games like Can Jam, Corn Hole and Flip Cup so we could be prepared for when fireworks started. On the bay, everyone was shooting off their own fireworks, so they were constantly going off all around us. My group didn’t set any off, so we just enjoyed the show, which was spectacular!

Overall, it was a fun Fourth of July spent down the shore with close friends.

— Mary Melnick, social media and editorial coordinator