Jen on Good Day Philadelphia - sort of (plus an orange mohawk)

Hey, here's that Fox 29 segment I referred to in my previous post.



I had no idea they were going to do it - lucky for me a friend saw it and I grabbed the video.

Are you ready?

Hello new followers! Whether you came here through KYW1060, Philly Burbs or this morning's Fox29 broadcast, welcome. And if you came here from Fox29, how did the blog look on the iPad? I didn't see it - friend tipped me off.

Looks like we're going to have an OK weekend down the shore weather wise. Crowd wise, I'm sure it'll be packed. I'm sticking close to home this weekend, but will be down soon. I got the advance check for the new version of my book. I should probably get on that ;-)

We're the Best!

Hey, congrats to the South Jersey Shore. Six of the ten best beaches in NJ were from our section of the state. WOO HOO! Also - Atlantic City Boardwalk was named a best boardwalk by Travel + Leisure magazine.

It's fitting this comes out the day this BS article's published. What they're doing isn't shore towns working together to help each other. It's two counties trying to take the Jersey Shore crown when everyone at the Jersey Shore should be working together. It also shows the massive failure of NJ Tourism not doing its job. How can they let them do that?

I love all the beaches, but I hate how those two counties are trying to push out everyone else.

Sorry guys. You are not THE Jersey Shore. We all are, and we've got the best beaches. You need us. Won't you stop pretending that we don't exist?

Where to Watch the Stanley Cup

The Flyers have so nicely interrupted Memorial Day Weekend schennagins by going to the Stanley Cup. Game 1 is on Saturday, so here's my recommendations of where to go down the shore to watch the game:

Atlantic City
Game On! Most TV screens, hands down, plus usually a great and fired up bar crowd.
Firewaters. I love this place. Smaller, but they have 101 different beers, so you can sample around the world as you watch the Flyers CRUSH the Blackhawks. If it's too crowded, you can always pop over to Hooters, which is across the hallway, or up to Adam Good Sports Bar (all three are inside the Tropicana)

Margate
Maynard's. Great vibe any time, and I'm going to guess that the outside area will be open this weekend. It'll be rocking on Saturday. I've also been told that Robert's Place is a good bet, though I've never been.

Ocean City
Haha, just kidding.

Somers Point
The Anchorage. I watched some of the Olympics here. Great place to be, lots of screens.

Strathmere
The Deauville. If it's nice, you can sit outside and still watch the game. I've seen a few Phillies game here. If you're on Foursquare, check in here - they have specials.

Sea Isle
La Coasta. I'm not picking the OD because I think it'll get too crowded too fast with people who won't care about the game. La Costa has plenty of space and a big bar.

Avalon/Stone Harbor
The Princeton. I went back and forth on this one for the same reason I waivered about the OD. The question is: will they be charging cover at 8pm? I don't know. If they are, give the Windrift a try.

Wildwood
Owen's Pub. Not as insane as some of the other North Wildwood bars, and with plenty of TVs.

Cape May
Cabana's. Yes, there is a fun, down and dirty bar in Cape May. More spacious than the Ugly Mug, though that's a fine option, too.

Where will you go?

Memorial Day Run Up

Hey, it's almost here! Summer 2010, which will start on Friday - at least in shore season terms.

I'm not going to be there this year. Why? A few reasons. I'm away two days this week at Book Expo America (Wheeee! It's fun). I have stuff to do here, and to be honest? I'm not a big fan of the OMG IT'S FINALLY SUMMMMMMERRRRRR crowd. Call me cranky, but I do most of my research during the week when I can find parking spots and not sit in traffic.

Of course I'm jazzed for the start of the season. What are you looking forward to?

Dogs on Board!

I have a piece in today's Philadelphia Inquirer about dolphin and whale watching down the shore. If you've read my book, you know that I love whale watching. You also know that I got sick the first time I went. That was short lived. I try to go once a year now.

I learned something new in researching this piece - you can bring you dog on at least one dolphin watching boat. I have not brought Emily aboard...yet.

News from around the South Jersey Shore

The Claridge is getting a makeover.

Oh, this again.

Interesting use for trollies in Cape May.

Wildwood has to cut its school budget. So does Wildwood Crest. Hey guys - you wouldn't have this problem if you merged. Your town are ridiculously small. If property taxes are such a concern, why do you need to have separate school boards and - to look at the bigger picture - separate governments? Ugh. I'm having one of those days where I wish I didn't know so much about NJ politics.

Shore 2010

New Jersey Monthly's annual shore issue just went live, and should be available in stores soon. If you love the shore as much as I do, or you want to learn more about it, I urge you to get yourself a copy. It's my favorite issue of the year to work on. It's pretty, too, if that helps.

I wrote two pieces for this issue:
1. Stay in Style. It's a feature on cool places to stay down the shore, and I was part of a team that wrote this one. I covered many of the southern spots - The Chelsea (Atlantic City), Golden Inn (Avalon), Starlux (Wildwood), Caribbean (Wildwood), Sandpiper (Cape May) and the Beach Shack (Cape May).
2. A Swampy Phosphorescence. This is about that super cool and super secret new ride in Wildwood. An update as to what it is will go online on June 1.

**UPDATE** I wrote THREE pieces. Whoops. Check out some NJ-related summer reads here.

This is the World's Largest Elephant

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I put on quite a campaign to get Alex & Luke, two Canadians driving all over North America, to come to New Jersey (because, you know, THEY don't have their act together to do such a thing).

They spent Mother's Day Weekend in Atlantic City and, before they left on their next adventure, visited Lucy. Catchy song. I'm glad they had a good time!

ZING!

"MTV's surreality show Jersey Shore is already one of the nastiest things a bunch of New Yorkers has done in New Jersey since Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in Weehawken."

I haven't always agreed with the Philadelphia Inquirer's take on that nasty show from MTV, but that line is prize worthy. I couldn't have said it better myself. Worth reading the full op/ed here.

Really, Wildwood?

Really, Wildwood? Booze on the boardwalk? How many ways can I say "mistake?"

That's all.

Chat Stew

Hey, I'm giving a talk! If you're in the Collingswood area on Thursday at 7pm, I'll be chatting about freelance writing and the Jersey Shore at the Collingswood Library.

I'll be selling and signing books, too. They make a great father's day gift or "thank you for letting us crash at your shore house for free, so instead of beer I'm going to buy you this book about the place we all love and hold so dear" gift. Or something like that...

News from around the South Jersey Shore

"It Pays to be Nice!" At least that's the name of a customer service seminar to be held in Cape May County.

Time to get ready for the World Series of Birding! The official event will be held on May 15.

Oh, Atlantic City government...

Oh, AGAIN Atlantic City. Sigh.

Oh, CAPE MAY! Jebus, what's in the water down the shore this spring?

Whoops. Stay on the road, people.

The Chelsea in Atlantic City is hosting job fairs.

The Beach Bar at Bally's will, as of May 28, be called Sammy Hagar's Beach Bar. Yes, THAT Sammy Hagar.

We're waxing down our surfboards....We can't wait for June

I post this because I'm very tempted to shut down the office and hit the beach today. Not yet...not yet.

Retro Shore Commercial

Since the current New Jersey administration is being stupid enough to cut tourism funding this year (for some reason, the equation that $1 spent on tourism = $36 of revenue doesn't add up to them), I'm sharing an 1980s commercial with you today.



There will be no ad campaign this year, and that word of mouth idea? Well, NJ Tourism isn't even on Twitter, and the twitter feed for "The Jersey Cape" - whatever THAT is - has no followers. That's a GREAT start on a word of mouth campaign.

I guess they're going to sit back and let reality TV speak for the rest of us. Dolts.

Half Marathon Weekend (without the half marathon)

If you're going to bail out of a half marathon because of heat and injury, there's no better place to do so than down the shore. Or up the shore. I'm not sure what I'm saying about getting to the Asbury Park/Ocean Grove area just yet. Because there was no "down" about the driving.

I stayed at my dad's place in Wayne, Pa. on Friday then drove across to the shore (maybe, though it sounds odd) and landed in Long Branch right at 8:30a.m. Place was jammed, and HOT. I'd driven to Long Branch in a sun dress and sweat shirt, but the sweat shirt came right off.

Even though I knew I wasn't going to run, I still picked up my race packet at the expo. I wanted to put my head down and cry when I picked up the actual packet and the volunteer wished me good luck. A muffin and coffee from Turning Point Cafe helped with that.

Then it was to Ocean Grove, where I stayed at the Majestic, a lovely hotel I booked through bedandbreakfast.com. My dad and step-mom had stayed there last year. I dug it then, and I dig it now. I was allowed to book just one night through bedandbreakfast.com, which was key since I only wanted to stay one night. Site - and hotel - highly recommended.

I spent most of the day on the beach. I know it was hot and muggy at home, but it was a PERFECT beach day. PERFECT. Plus, since it was pre-season, there weren't many tourists, you didn't need a beach tag, and people brought their dogs. It was lovely, even if the water was frigid. Spray on sun block is a single girl's best friend - no doubt. NO BURN! I did walk down to the Asbury Beach to see how crowded it was. The answer, of course, is plenty. I stopped at the Beach Bar, which overlooks the beach and had free music, for a beer. Perfect cap to a beach day.

Then that night, I headed to a fundraiser at the Watermark in Asbury that was timed with the Kentucky Derby. Hence the hat.

I deserve some props for this - I wore that hat the entire night. Why? Well, it was sort of fun, and I had awful hat hair underneath!

Then it was off to dinner at Trinity and the Pope, a brand new cajun creole restaurant in downtown Asbury Park. SO GOOD. Crazy busy (it was, after all, opening night), but very good. I highly recommend it.

Slept in on Sunday then hit the beach in Asbury Park for the rest of the day. It was colder because of a stiffer sea breeze, but still nice. Great crowd, too.

I was sad to come home. It was such a great trip in such a different place than where I usually go. Hearing the trains while you're on the beach, is such a different experience, as is that drive home to Pa. (had to pick up the dog) instead of up the Atlantic City Expressway.

Do I wish I could have run the half marathon? Of course I do. But if I had to do something else for the weekend, this was exactly what I needed.