Finally, after another bike ride and lunch in Ocean Grove, we headed to the first house. 79 Wall Street is a mile from Ocean Avenue in Long Branch. There used to be a pier there that I could walk to - more amusements, a real hang out for teens, and a great place to live at that time in my life.

Next, we drove toward Fort Monmouth to shoot the next house, but no luck. The (Private) Security guard at the gate told us nobody at all can gain access to the fort, which closed less than a month ago, unless "you want to buy it". It's apparently for sale for $100 million. I can't imagine what use any organization can get from this huge facility with hundreds of buildings scattered over several square miles of suburban New Jersey.
So we drove around a bit to see if there is any way to access the property from the back, where it borders the Shrewsbury River. It didn't look promising, but I'll do a little more research via Google; there may be a way to paddle by and get a shot of the backyard at some point.

This brings up one of those life lessons about seizing the moment. I wish we had stopped there on the way back from the summer trip; the fort closed with no warning, but would have been accessible last summer.