The Arrival of Summer (and Silton)!

From a local’s perspective, there is always a change of atmosphere on the Jersey Shore after Memorial Day weekend. There’s more of everything, good and bad. There are definitely more fun things to do, but there’s more congestion (people and traffic) too. To really enjoy it you need to learn to take things in stride. Accept that it’s going to take a little longer to get from point A to point B. Accept that the lines at the supermarket, and every other store for that matter, will be longer. Accept that it might take longer to get a table at your favorite restaurant. Accept that some people are going to drive like idiots and more people will be driving way too slow in the left lane of the Parkway (and that typically they will have NY license plates).    :-)

The ultimate test of patience in Monmouth County may be the pick up and drop off of your child at one of our local institutions, Silton Swim School. Silton has seemingly been around forever. We are huge fans of Silton in our family. It has a well earned reputation as one of the best swim schools in our area. Our son has been attending the school every summer since he was 4 and he’s become a great swimmer because of it.

Today I picked him up from his second day at the school/camp this summer.  My first memories of Silton are from when I was renting houses on First Avenue in Manasquan for the summer with my friends back in the '90’s. It was a thorn in my side at the time because the traffic in that area was ALWAYS crazy at pick up and drop off times. I did my best to avoid the area during those hours but back in the pre Waze/GPS days that was easier said than done.

Every year our son complains all winter and says he has no interest in going to Silton again, right up until the first day drop off. But after we pick him up after his first day he’s always ecstatic and tells us how much he loves it there. It’s like a scene right out of Groundhog’s Day.

The instructors really challenge the kids. They’re in the pool for three sessions over the course of three hours and it’s definitely a workout. In between sessions they have games and activities to keep the kids occupied and entertained. 

But they are definitely strict with their rules. Parents are not allowed to stay and watch. They cannot stay in the parking lot and wait for their children either. The kids can’t bring snacks. Just water. At first, when our son was 4, my wife and I were a little concerned. But after we saw the results in the first couple weeks and how much he was enjoying the challenge we were totally onboard. Every year he makes new friends and he always likes his instructors. We love the fact that they push him and challenge him. We feel that it’s good for him, especially in the summer when things can get kind of lax.

But when I talk about the need for patience with regards to Silton, I’m referring to pick up and drop off. First let me say, they do an amazing job with it! There are literally hundreds of cars coming onto and leaving their property within less than an hours time and they run it with military precision. When you pull into a spot, you need to pull out in the direction you are facing or you can totally screw up their system and potentially cause an accident. Sometimes you pull in and just miss a spot up front and get relegated to a spot in the rear of their property. When this happens it can add 10-20 minutes to your exit, but it is what it is. If they didn’t run things as efficiently as they do you’d probably be back there for an hour. But they have their systems in place, for everything. And if you’re not willing to just give in to it, my advice would be to find another camp or swim school. We will probably send our son there until he ages out. He will be the strongest swimmer he can possibly be as a result and that’s something he can carry with him his entire life. If all we need to do is open windows and the sunroof on a sunny day and sit in a little traffic delay for awhile it’s well worth it. I, like many, could use a reminder to be a little more patient, especially during the summer on the Jersey Shore.

Have a great summer everyone!!