Along a certain stretch of the Jersey Shore, the t-shirts seen advertising Nuns' Beach seem to be just another bit of satirical beachwear targeted at the tourist trade. But the beach in question is very real, as are the nuns who have flocked to the popular surfing spot for the last 75 years.

Nuns' Beach is a one-block strip of sand in Stone Harbor, N.J., a hamlet 40 miles south of Atlantic City. The beach is attached to a facility owned by the Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a teaching order based in Pennsylvania. Each summer, the property fills with nuns weary from nine long months in the classroom.

When the sisters hit the sand dressed in their summer habits -- a light-weight material in blue and white -- they stand out amid the sea of flip flops and tank tops. The nuns even don bathing suits, with certain restrictions.

"Not a bikini," said Sister Anne Pierre.

"No, no," agreed Sister James Dolores, shaking her head. "We wear one-piece suits, with the little skirt sometimes."