♪ From NJ PBS studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Prayana Vanossi.

Hello and thanks for joining us on Joana Gagas, Prayana Vanossi's off.

We've got your guide to the best Jersey spots to visit this summer when the heat rolls in.

Many New Jerseyans head to the beach, so which one should you go to?

We've got the reporter who's ranked them, and it's short of costume controversy.

And later, Revolutionary Road Trip, as we mark the nation's 250th year, we'll give you the guide to exploring the state's historical sites of the American Revolution.

But first, the boss has a new home where you've got the latest on what fans can expect at the new Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music.

That's not it.

Major funding for NJ Spotlight News is provided in part by NJM Insurance Group, serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

First Springsteen's music has always been rooted in New Jersey, but his impact reaches far beyond state lines.

Now a new $50 million center is working to preserve that legacy while also telling the broader story of American music.

The 30,000 square foot facility is on the campus of Monmouth University in Long Branch.

It's called the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music.

And we're joined now by its founding executive director, Bob Santelli.

Bob, it is so great to have you with us.

Thanks so much for taking some time.

I want to just start with I guess the easiest question.

What is the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music?

Well, we're really a hybrid of a museum and in archives as well as a performance theater.

So we tried to make certain that we accomplished all three dimensions in the actual fan experience.

So when you come here, you're going to learn the story of Bruce Springsteen, but learn that story through the sounds and sites of American music.

Talk to us about some of the sounds, some of the sites that we'll see.

The folks will see when they walk in.

You know, the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music is really divided into two places.

First floor is all about American music.

We have a permanent gallery that tells the story of American music in all this diversity and exuberance and history.

There's also a temporary exhibit gallery and that temporary exhibit gallery today will open with an exhibit called Chimes of Freedom, paid for the music.

Patriotism protests and the power of song.

In that exhibit we'll essentially explain how music has acted as an agent for political social change in this country.

Like it's starting to happen today again with Bruce's streets of Minneapolis.

But if you go up on the second floor, that's all about Bruce Springsteen's legacy.

It's a legacy, of course, that is steeped in American music from gospel blues, jazz, soul, punk, etc.

All of that in one floor but with a series of opportunities to explore the creative process.

So it's not just the history of Bruce Springsteen.

It's the story behind the making of Bruce Springsy and the great music that he made.

So many different points I want to follow up on, but let's just stay with the last one because you've had a prolific career yourself, but you started as a music journalist.

You were there covering the rise of Bruce Springsteen.

You were there as he became Bruce Springsteen starting at the Stone Pony and covering him beyond that.

How do you explain that kind of meteoric rise through the work that people will see there?

Every journalist and at the time I was just that, a journalist.

You know, you hope for the chance to be at a place where history is being made.

And I was fortunate enough, writing for the Esbury Park Press was music critic for the Esbury Park Press and living right under Jersey Shore as a musician myself.

And you got to see if you paid attention this incredible thing that I've not seen since, which is the rise of someone who's not just a rock star, someone who's not just an important musician, but someone who had a story to tell.

And of course, all of Bruce's music relates to stories.

There are stories about the common man, the working man, about love, loss, love gained.

And to see that happen is really a great opportunity and an honor.

The goal here for me, both personally and professionally, was to make sure that narrative, that grand narrative that Bruce Springsteen tells about himself and about America in general, is not only preserved but celebrated.

There's so much music that touches on the politics of the day as you're explaining right now for Springsteen's done it throughout his career.

So many others have as well.

And when I try to think about what is American music, it touches so many genres, there are so many influences.

Talk us through some of those voices and some of those greatest impacts, folks who have the greatest impact on American music.

The thing about American music is that it's really not American anymore, it's the world's right.

You can go to Chile and hear blues, you can go to Iceland and here Seoul, you can go to Russia and here at Hip Hop.

It is predominant throughout the world and the reason why it is is because this American music is our most important cultural resource.

It's the national identity.

I think that speaks to the loudest and the clearest to most Americans and even those who are in Americans but who look to America for its creative ideals.

I think when we talk about why American music, it's really because it's diverse.

It is, takes from all different walks of life.

If you go all the way back in time as we do in our exhibits, you'll find that there was this incredible creative, I don't know if you would call it action or what, but the idea was black and white.

You had music from Africa, you had music from Europe, and it comes together in America and sometimes a very turbulent way.

And what happens is, well, soul, blues, gospel, folk, jazz, rock, funk, hip-hop, and I could go on.

The 20th century is just America's music century.

And so this has been something that's unique to our country.

No country I don't think has ever had the musical impact on the world that we have had.

And so our whole peer is that we just tell a little bit of that story, get you a little bit jazz, so to speak, to go out and find more information, to listen to more music, to understand how this great American music form reflects the American experience.

Yeah, it's hard to talk about all of that without talking about your role in preserving some of this history.

You helped to create the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

You are also the founding director executive director of the Grammy Museum.

Do you see yourself as a visionary and maybe as someone now who was, forgive the pun, foreign to run this Bruce Springsteen Center?

You know, we made a film here.

It's called The Ties That Bind Bruce Springsteen's American Music Journey.

And then the film Bruce encourages everyone who's watching it to become a musical messenger.

And I take it literally, you know, it's an opportunity to send the message, to send the story to younger generations.

Yes, but also for people who might not be well aware of just how important and how great home music is.

Sometimes, you know, when we get we have so much music available to us that we don't appreciate it as much as we ought to.

But for me personally, I've been involved in the music, you know, I saw the Beatles in 1964 on the Ed Sullivan show like so many baby boomers like myself.

And it changed my life.

It gave me my direction for the rest of my life.

And so now what for me, what this is all about here is really to give back.

You know, I'm from New Jersey and from the Jersey Shore.

I went to mom at the university as a student undergrad.

I taught here.

And well, let's face it as a music journalist, I wrote Bruce Springsteen's co-tails for a long time.

So this is a chance to not only tell the story, but to give back to the people who made that story.

Well, you're giving back in a big way.

This is going to be, I know, just a huge and iconic place where so many folks are going to come to visit.

Feel a little bit of piece of that history, that new Jersey history.

And of course, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Sintelli, executive director of the Bruce Springs Teen Center for American Music.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Well, if you're from Jersey, you know there's no debating it.

Our beaches are the best.

But where there is this debate is over which of those beaches range supreme.

Well, that's where NJ.com comes in with its annual ranking of all 45 New Jersey beaches.

But I'll warn you, it creates some controversy.

So here, which ones top the list and why I recently spoke with one of the writers behind this year's list food and culture editor for NJ.com, Jeremy Schneider.

Jeremy, great to have you on.

You had the excruciating job of having to visit all 45 of New Jersey's beaches, you and your colleague is a bell forina.

So give us the lowdown top five best beaches in New Jersey as you rate them.

It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

Number five was Sandy Hook, the northernmost beach in the state.

No surprise high in the state, high on the list, supernatural, super clean, very well maintained lots of like hiking paths and biking and just lots of natural beauty.

So if you're looking for that kind of experience, beach, Sandy Hook is perfect for that.

Surf city and LBI was number four.

All the beaches in LBI are pretty great, but Surf City has a really good blend of a very nice beach without being overly crowded and really great things in the area to do once you're done with the beach.

Also in that vein, number three, Manisquan, which was, you know, maybe I'm a little biased because I grew up going to Manisquan as a kid, family there and so much of beach, like love for beach is your relationship to that spot.

Manisquan's always just been a nicely sized beach.

Well, Maniqr beach with some really, really excellent food in the area.

Buoys, sandwiches are awesome.

I like love getting pizza, Squontavrin and when we rank the beaches, we're factoring that in as well.

Number two is Cape May, which has been number one almost every year.

You know, if you've been to Cape May even once, you can understand why it's such a great beach.

It's just it's kind of its own thing.

It almost doesn't feel like the Jersey Shore.

It's kind of a vibe of like us.

Charleston meets a Key West meets a Cape Cod, but it still has a Jersey feel and it's just beautiful Victorian architecture mixed with really, really great sand and a lovely talent.

But number one this year has been number one of the past and they're back at the top talking Beach Haven LBI, the southern most part of LBI.

You have the Beach Show, which is a fun place to stay in and party.

You got the holiday snack bar, which is delicious and just have the best beach.

It's super family friendly too, right?

Yes, I think that's, you know, there's some places on this list.

I would not want to bring a family beach haven't's perfect if you want to bring your family, but still have some fun.

They strike that balance really nicely.

It's not it's not a it's not as buttoned up as say ocean Grove, but it's not as crazy as Wildwood.

Okay, so as I go through your list, there's some that are a little controversial and we're going to talk about them.

You say Wildwood, I'm going to quote, I'm not here to be smirch your Jersey Shore memories, but I am here to tell you this beach stinks.

Why is wild but wildwood so bad you put it at number 40.

I every year I get flack for where I put wildwood.

Every year I go to wildwood with a fresh mind like trying to see it and look I actually when we do this beach tour we I like to stay at a hotel at least once I stayed at a hotel in Wildwood Crest.

So I could spend more time in Wildwood.

The talent is lovely.

There's great restaurants.

The boardwalk is elite, but the beach itself the actual sand.

It's objectively bad.

It takes too long to get from the boardwalk to the water.

It takes so long that they have beach taxis.

I'm sorry this is in New York City.

I don't need a taxi.

I'm at the beach and the sand itself.

I'd get it if it's like a really long walk and then you get there and it's like a paradise, but it's just not that nice of beach ones.

You even want you to make that pilgrimage across the sand.

If you love Wildwood, I know a lot of people do.

I get heat for this every single year, but just like from a pure beach perspective, it's just not a very good beach.

Yeah, I know some people who are going to come and find you and it might try to fight you, but let's go.

Let's look into the 30s.

You've got a hide on the sand because it's so big they won't be able to find me.

You put long branch, point pleasant and dull, and are all in the low 30s.

These are some of the core childhood memories of mine.

So I'm curious why you rank those there.

Really like low middle of the pack here.

Well, I think that part of that is look and again, being I think we said this before we started recording being in the worst beach New Jersey, you're still one of the best beaches in the world.

And there are so many beaches that eventually I mean, like there is going to just have to be some stuff that goes like in the lower part of the ranking.

Those are beaches that are very popular and they're and that's part of the issue.

They're so popular that it's hard to find good space when you're there.

It's it's a more crowded experience and you know, some of these beaches that are go higher up on the list.

It's easier to get a more supported experience and look.

Everyone wants something different at a beach and that's a and that's a beautiful part of the Jersey shore.

The New Jersey experience.

There is a beach for everyone, even the last beach on the list has is someone's favorite beach.

But you know, give it to us.

Yeah.

Give it to us.

The last beach on the list.

What is it?

But it's Atlantic City.

I'm sorry.

I have an affinity for Atlantic City as a city and it does have a nice boardwalk and there is something we said about being able to leave the sand and go gamble.

That's that's just cool.

How many places have that?

But the actual beach, the actual sand, the actual beach scape there is depressing.

Much like a lot of Atlantic City, unfortunately.

There's development that's kind of looks like Desolate and like it's been abandoned.

The actual sand is not well maintained.

One of the few free beaches New Jersey, which is cool, but also here it's that shows you get what you pay for.

It's not a cleaned beach.

I'm not saying.

I was going to say raise your hand if you go to Atlantic City for the beach.

My hands not going.

Yeah.

I'm going.

I mean, I, it's a great food town.

It's a very fun boardwalk.

I've been to concerts on the beach there.

But no, it's the beaches.

And like someone has to be last in Atlantic City is.

It's bounced around a little bit and look fantastic.

Bruce brings the song.

Terrible beach.

All right.

You've got Bayhead, Manalok and Deal and Brighantine also in that bottom five.

Yes.

Some of the ones that are 17 for LaValleck.

That's another childhood memory for me.

Ocean Grove number 11.

The real question I have though is how much hate mail do you get and do you now need a security detail when you go out because people are so mad at how you rank their beaches.

We've been doing this long enough that I think people are no longer as offended.

They know what I mean, like, and we purposely as we do these rankings, we are we are consulting the rank rankings from the previous year because we don't want anything.

Things change over a year, time over time, but we don't want something jumping from last or first.

We don't want something.

We don't want to be too volatile.

But look, people, people get mad, but also people sometimes like get a, you know, like, thanks for ranking us so low, this will keep people from coming to the beat so you don't have to share it.

And I'm like, yep, then I say that's what I was going for.

I was just doing you a favor.

But yeah, I keep my head on a swivel when I go to Wildwood and keep the bennies away, right?

Speaking as a speaking as a bennie.

Well, there you have it.

Jeremy spoke again.

I had to do it.

Jeremy Schneider, food and culture editor with NJ.com and this star ledger.

Thank you so much.

PBS viewers have gotten the glimpse into countless unique destinations all over the country with Darlie Newman.

She's the host of Travels with Darlie, a show that brings you an inside look at the food and culture of so many different places across the US.

And with the nation's 250th anniversary this year, she's taken her experiences and crafted a guide for all of us focused specifically on locations that were pivotal during the founding of our nation.

It's called Revolutionary Road Trip and Darlie Newman is here with us now to talk about it.

Darlie, so great to have you on the show today.

I want to talk to you about your book first and this Revolutionary Road Trip hidden stories from America's founding journey.

What inspired you to write this book?

So I have spent the past few years actually traveling around the original 13 colonies, going to sites related to the American Revolution.

And these are all places that travelers can visit to learn about the past.

And the 250th was coming up and I thought, wow, there's so many stories I'm collecting in filming this that I can't put into the show and that hadn't made it into the history books.

So I decided to document those stories and that is Revolutionary Road Trip.

So you can read the book and learn but also actually be inspired to travel to these locations in New Jersey and far beyond.

Can we talk about some of these locations?

What stands out to you most about New Jersey?

I know there are so many.

So let's just pick top few that really had an impression on you.

So well, New Jersey is a crossroads of the American Revolution and so much occurred within New Jersey that it really changed the shape of America.

Princeton, New Jersey is a great destination.

It's one of the chapters, the first chapter in my book.

I mean, you can visit Princeton University's campus where there was a battle with Alexander Hamilton thought on what is now the campus.

And Nassau Hall is still there.

It was there back in Revolutionary War times.

And there's great stories about what happened during that battle related to art, related to Hamilton, related to artillery and cannon fire going through Nassau Hall.

So lots to learn over near the University is also Princeton Battlefield State Park.

There are costumed interpreters there that really share insights into what life was like for everyday people during the Revolutionary War, which I think is important to learn sort of that side of the story.

So lots to learn out in Princeton.

Of course, great places to eat and drink like the Yankee Doodle Tap Room where you can grab a pint and look at a Norman Rockwell painting while you're taking a sip of beer.

Take us into Morris Town.

I know there's a whole lot of history in Morris Town as well.

Morris Town is super interesting.

First of all, if you want to again take a look at Revolutionary Era Art, you can go to Morris Museum.

Lots to learn there.

And the National Historical Park is a great site where you can go inside a George Washington's headquarters.

You can learn about that long, hard winner there in Morris Town.

And I just think like when you're go to these sites, they're so family-friendly.

If you can take a tour with a park guide or a ranger, they really contextualize what happened during this time period.

And Morris Town is so interesting as well.

For many people, it's an easy train ride or an easy commute.

If you want to meet locals who are reenactors, go to Glenlark Brewery as well.

A lot of people hang out there after they've done their day job and they have all these bea that are named after different sites and locations that are relevant to our history.

So lots to learn out and more sound as well.

If anyone caught that there was just a quick glimpse of the Skylar Hamilton house, right?

Anyone who's a Hamilton Efficient Auto will recognize that.

You know those big names at the time are super fun to kind of call out as we travel around and there was a romance blooming with Alexander Hamilton at that house and the again a costumed interpreter is on site kind of guide you through the story and it really brings it to life.

We think about the American Revolution a lot of times we think about the battles but there were so many occurrences including bromance is budding during the time period as well.

Yeah.

In North Jersey again in Union County there's a lot to see what do you have for us there.

So I found a lot in Union that's a whole episode of Travels with Darlie it's a revolutionary road trip episode Liberty Hall Museum home of New Jersey's first elected governor William Livingston that is a great place to discover history and so beautiful to walk around the grounds.

You're looking at footage from um called Well Parsonage and we went to Boxwood Hall, Connecticut Farms Presbyterian Church, there's a historic cannonball house again.

Like a lot of sites that people wouldn't think about that are located in close proximity to everyday places you may drive by in New Jersey, which I think is really really interesting and also great places to eat and drink with history as well like the stage house tavern.

They've been serving travelers since the 1700s so it's been a gathering place for quite some time and then my travels I did find a number of these colonial taverns that are still operating today and I think that's really neat for people to be able to eat and drink in the past as they travel as well.

If you get on to south Jersey there is there's so much again you're in close proximity to Philadelphia but over in New Jersey you can take a step back in time and feel like you've stepped into the past.

Hadn't field I think is one of the best sites to visit with Indian King Tavern.

It is not a working tavern but if you go inside you can learn about tavern life during that time period and they have a lot of replicas of what you would have had to eat or drink and what the different rooms would have been like for people actually frequenting these taverns in colonial times.

There's a great story about the Grand Witch tea burning New Jersey had its own tea party, which you can learn about in South Jersey as well.

And again, all these sites, like Pomona Hall and places Redbank Battlefield is super fascinating.

There's ongoing archeology happening there and they're continually learning about the past.

That's something that I found super interesting when I was traveling to these sites.

Again, a lot of people think of this history as history, but we're still learning new things every day, including places like RedBane Battlefield.

I have to ask about you just personally, because you have this travel show and it takes you to places that maybe you wouldn't otherwise go to.

Did you become a history aficionado by doing this show?

Was it already a part of you?

I'm curious your development through the show, through everything that you've seen and experienced.

You know, I really did fall in love with history by doing this show.

I think it's so great to travel to sites to learn about the past.

It is that power of place.

And being I did two episodes on Alabama Civil Rights Trail, I got to interview women who lived through the movement as children.

And I met Rosa Parks's protege.

She was 12 years old, sleeping on Rosa Parks's couch.

And hearing her share firsthand information about what happened during the time period, that living history really made me fall in love with history and want to learn more and want to share the stories that we can all learn so much from.

So especially during this time period of the American Revolution, I feel that when you travel these locations, it really does bring it to life in a different way.

And I think we can all relate to the past when we are able to stand in these locations where so much happen, these battlefields, use historic homes.

Now a lot of them are parks and preserves places.

And it's the people on the ground that when they convey their passion for what happened and their passion for knowing this information and sharing it, it really does just bring it to a whole new level.

Well, you have brought it to a whole new level for us and folks can go and check out the book, check out your episodes so that they can put their own tour together, "Darly Newman Host and Executive Producer of Travels with Darly" and author of Revolutionary Roadtrip.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

That's going to do it for us.

For the entire team here at NJ Spotlight News, I'm Joanna Aguiz.

Thanks for being with us.

We'll see you next time.

RWJ Barnabas Health.

Learn more at rwjbh.org.

[laughs] Is that?

Wow.

[laughs] It's gonna be okay.

[laughs] [laughs] [laughs] [laughs] [laughs] [music]