Discovering New Jersey's Pine Barrens
Cathy Antener has had a fascination with the New Jersey Pinelands since moving to this area from Monmouth County, New Jersey, in the late 1970s. A career in the Ocean County Parks and Recreation Department enhanced her knowledge, and in 1998, she created PineyPower.com, a website covering just about everything about New Jersey's Pinelands. With its extensive information, photos and calendar of events, the website has grown to over 150 pages and has become a favorite for thousands of fans of the Pinelands across the country and even the world. Cathy has taken her knowledge to another level: for the past several years, she has offered guide services for bus companies and tour operators bringing visitors to the Pinelands area. She organizes and narrates full-day tours for groups from fifteen to fifty, sharing her knowledge of the area by offering narrated tours of the cranberry and blueberry harvests, Pine Barrens, wineries and Pinelands coastal areas. She also assists a local master basket weaver in teaching the ancient art of basketry to groups in the area.  Cathy frequently explores the million-acre Pinelands preservation area, where she might canoe, hike, visit museums or just enjoy the local restaurants and shops and chat with its colorful and friendly residents. Since Ocean County contains so much Pinelands area, Cathy sits on the Board of Directors of the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce, an active tourism-based organization of over five hundred members.