i think it is some form of hibiscus. the tropical ones can have glossy leaves but i think the hardy ones do not(?).
it is difficult to see the detail of the flower but it appears to have the long stamens in the center and whorled petals around that, typical of hibiscus. i don't know of a camellia that resembles your photo.
i saw mandevilla recommended, also, but the flowers of that plant have a more tubular shape without the long stamens, if that is what i am seeing in your photo.

Thank you for the reply. As you probably know from my postings on the other forums, i haven't seen this up close, so I'm a little frustrated myself. My sister thinks it looks like a Troubador camellia that i found on a website:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/29863329/29864387NDKlrFqeBZ

I hope it's ok to post that here for you to see. I am going to give up for now, because I need to see the plant in person and see what the leaves and buds really look like. One person on another forum said that camellias are quite common around the NJ shore area. I will have to find the owner and ask - it might take some doing since most of the houses are rented out for the summer months when we are there. But for now, I'm going to stop obssssing LOL. Thanks again.

Anita

of course i meant obsessing... now i'm obsessing over spelling! Ha ha ha

It's a hibiscus. I grow both camellia's and hibiscus. Hibiscus flowers start with a unique flower bud on the end of a its own short stem. They also have that bud surrounded by pointed petals (like a little star). Camellia buds form at the union of the stem and the leaf without a stem on the flower. The buds are tight like acorns until they flower. The flowers on camellias do not stand out in front of the leaf. A hibiscus flower can, at times, be stretched out and away from the plant. Also, the veining on your leaf is not common to camellias. Finally, you'll see that hibiscus flowers end their life by rolling back up and camellis buds simply fall to the ground after using "browning" out. My two cents.