There’s nothing quite like a little tiki party in the snow in Sea Bright. 

In this case, the tiki had come undone on the old Donovan’s Reef lot. That was the winter after Hurricane, or rather Superstorm Sandy. The whole Donovan’s scene back then was like something from the Wizard of Oz, except for the witches shoes under the house. 

The tiki bar? Well, it was in the parking lot for some time. But the fenced in scene, while surreal, was iconic, just like the spot. It was also more accessible before it got even more popular and fancy in its highly anticipated years’ worth of rebuilding. 

This shot is a stark reminder of what was left in the winter of 2012 and the beauty in the simplicity of the snow-capped scene against an orange sky. This, in all its quiet, cold and tattered splendor, was the summer spot where all Rumson-Fair Haven area people flocked for some tiki fun, sun, food and drink. It was pretty simple back then. The place, the space and the no-frills good times in a modest drink-laden hut on the beach. 

R-FH Retro first looked back at this scene in February of 2015, when Donovan’s was expected to reopen the summer before. It’s back now, has been for several years now, and the return came as much more than a hut and a small building. Miss the simplicity? Miss being able to get anywhere near the place? 

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