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Not too long ago I found this blog about a guy's adventures in loving the United States Postal Service. More specifically, I found it when this entry was posted, and I thought, I love roadtrips and adventures, and I am also a chronic letter writer and package mailer! Certainly I have a story to share!

So I wrote to Evan, the blog's author, wishing him well on his final exams and letting him know of my enthusiasm for all of the things he writes about. The initial back and forth went something like this--

me: Hey, ohmygoshIlovetheUSPSandroadtrips, also here are some vague details about this place I lived for a while in northwestern New Jersey whose post office closed earlier this year
Evan: Oh, you mean here?

Evan knows his post offices.

I have probably driven past hundreds of post offices on my adventures, but I pondered a bit about any that are particularly meaningful to me. Aside from the aforementioned, now-closed Johnsonburg post office, I mainly do my USPS business at the Island Heights office, which aside being the most convenient location for me is probably also my hands-down favorite.

Island Heights is a teensy borough surrounded by Toms River, with lovely old Victorian homes and a short boardwalk along the river. The post office is located along the Barnegat Bay, which the Toms River empties into. It's big enough that they always have the breast cancer awareness stamps that I like to buy, but small enough that the lines are never overwhelming. The Toms River Post Office is always a lot busier and is also a pain to get into with all of the traffic pattern changes in downtown TR. Island Heights is about the same distance and is much more peaceful.

Some of that peace is probably because the post office is the waterfront location. It's very quiet, and the Barnegat just stretches out ahead of you as you walk up to the small building, which isn't particularly impressive or attractive but does its job. I believe the current building was dedicated under Eisenhower, though the USPS established itself in Island Heights in 1879. I love the view of the barrier island, with each beach's water tower creating the occasional blip on the horizon, and the view of the Mathis and Tunney bridges connecting the island to the mainland. I love the smell of the brackish to salty air and the consistent breeze. Oh, and I love mailing people things. It works out rather well.