Prince Harry New Jersey | Keep Calm and Harry On

A sentence I never thought I would say: Prince Harry visited the Jersey Shore this morning. It was quite lovely to wake up in my own bed and drive a mere 30 minutes to greet the young prince this morning as he visited the Seaside boardwalk – an area brutally damaged by Hurricane Sandy. However he had one very significant detour prior to gracing us with his presence on the boardwalk – he helicoptered to Mantoloking to meet Governor Chris Christie, touring damaged homes and greeting first responders. Oh, and it was better than I could have imagined because the Governor gave His Royal Highness an official Chris Christie fleece – the constant for Jersey residents as we rode out the storm six months ago.

Upon arriving in Seaside, Governor Christie showed Harry the infamous roller-coaster submerged in the ocean; the ride was finally removed almost the moment the prince departed. Then came the cuteness – Harry played classic boardwalk games with a group of twenty-five young children from Seaside Elementary School. My former high school science teacher turned Seaside principal, Chris Reichel, said he asked teachers to select the students who would be the best fit for fun and games with the prince – and he was blocking a gaggle of female teachers from jumping on the bus this morning. While the older children were well aware of what was going on and were excited he said, the younger ones were a bit more overwhelmed by all the press. Mr. Reichel told me that one young student asked Prince Harry, “where’s your crown?”

When asked about the seeing New Jersey in recovery mode, Prince Harry said: “They’re fantastic, its American spirit.” He then elaborated on the resilience of the Jersey Shore, “Everyone getting together and making things right. Its fantastic, its really good.”

Harry, I could not agree more. Please, feel free to visit whenever you would like. I know a great pizza place to take you. Needless to say, I am thrilled he visited the area that I call “home,” and am hopeful that his visit will bring attention back to the shore – six months may have passed, but Hurricane Sandy is still a daily struggle.

Captain Wales has officially landed in New Jersey for the final East Coast leg of is United States tour – I would know, he sat six rows in front of me on the flight in from Denver.

This weekend was nothing short of spectacular as the soldier prince shined in his element – among his military family at the Warrior Games. On Saturday, Prince Harry participated in an exhibition sitting volleyball match, jumping in to lend a hand to the UK team (who eventually won the exhibition), while Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor assisted the U.S. team.

The announcer must have taken his funny pills that morning as he ripped into the young royal several times; calling him out on his inability to stay seated, “stop showing us your bum!” Speak for yourself, announcer man.

On Sunday, it was off to the US Air Force Academy for the cycling competitions, where His Royal Highness said a few words, started the first race (with no help of the failing air horn) and then presented medals later in the day. Again, these Colorado announcers are hopped up on funny pills as the day’s MC asked Harry if he wanted to borrow his cell so he could call his grandmother and wish her a happy mother’s day; Harry replied – she’s seven hours ahead! Harry then urged the American competitors: “if you see a Union Jack shirt coming up from behind, let him through.”

As we saw yesterday, a picture is worth a thousand words. So, here are some of my best from the athletic events..