Year in Review

What a shore year it's been. Here's a few highlights from 2009.

In January, we said goodbye to the Golden Nugget, a classic dark coaster that had once reigned supreme on the Wildwood boardwalk.

In February, I tested out the ACES train for the first time. It prompted a lot of media interest, and sparked NYC-based coverage. But we would learn later in the year that the train lost $6 million.

The same month, I also ran pictures submitted by a guy named Bill who would, soon after, become my boyfriend (awwwwwwwww).

In less awwwwww news, February also saw a shore gal become a Playboy centerfold.

In March, the Beach Bar at Trump Plaza was named one of the sexiest beach bars in the country.

I also dropped my PR for the Ocean Drive 10 miler by over 16 minutes. The success in this race lead indirectly to me signing up for the New Jersey Marathon.

April brought my first trip to Boogie Nights at Resorts, an experience repeated -- not to the same level of success -- for my sister's bachelorette party in November.

The Gillians started construction of Funland in Sea Isle in April, bringing amusements back to what has largely become a bar town.

Late April also brought an early blast of summer to the shore, inspiring sunburn all over the tri-state region.

I spent a chunk of my weekends in May working on a story about upscale shore bars, which was the first time I spent a stretch of time in beaches north of LBI. It lead to my love of Asbury Park. That article ran in June in the New York Times. It was my favorite shore article of 2009 -- followed closely by this piece that ran in May in Go! magazine.

Later in May, Ocean City took the "best beach" crown from Wildwood.

I proclaimed my love of Bloody Mary drinks in June, which prompted a lot of debate about who has the best.

Dusk opened to great fanfare in late June. The success was marred by the tragic death of owner DJ AM.

In July, Time magazine named Wildwood as one of its 50 authentic American experiences of 2009.

Mid-July, I underwent surgery that removed a cyst from my shoulder, but left me in a lot of pain. Not only did I have to cancel my birthday party, but I wasn't able to work out or run for a month. NOT GOOD.

As a result, August was pretty light around the blog, though I did run the Captain Bill Gallagher 10 Mile Island Run. NEVER AGAIN.

September brought more bad news for Atlantic City, this time for the Pier Shops at Caesars...

...and the Chelsea.

I suffered a personal blow, too -- in September, Bill moved to Minneapolis because of his job. We eventually broke up. I didn't really write about it because, well, it's painful. But this is a year in review, so there it is.

In early October, I hit the beach with my best pal for one last gasp of summer.

Later that month, I ran on a two-person relay team in the first annual Asbury Park Relay Marathon. My team came in third for the open mixed relay!

In November, I posted pictures of the new HBO series, Boardwalk Empire, which should hit the small screen in fall 2010.

The shore was also hit with a major nor'easter.

Which brought us into December, signing up for a marathon, and getting ready for 2010.

It's been an up and down year. I feel good about 2010. I'm already working on summer shore stories, and the weather can't get colder than it was today. Thanks for reading along!