Progress

Today's a good day, folks, for a few reasons:

1. I appeared in a Philadelphia Daily News article about the BS show on MTV and how it's awful. It is the first interview I've given about the subject, and I said what I really wanted to say: ‎"I'm going to throw a party when they're all either bankrupt or in porn."

2. I finished my last major research trip for the book today

3. Three chapters are fact checked, with fact checked information put into the manuscript, which means...three of six chapters of the book are almost done.

PHEW! Oh, and 4. I got to spend a few hours on the beach after the last research trip was done.

Can't forget that last one. Important!

Now here's where I'm going to ask you for some help. New in this edition is a "48 hours" section at the end of every chapter. It's where I will tell you what to do if you only have 48 hours in each shore town. So what are your must dos?

Fictional Me

A few months ago, Terry O'Brien asked me if it would be OK to include a fiction me in his next murder mystery saga to be published in Exit Zero. I said sure, and then forgot about it.

Well, it's out. Enjoy.

From Martha

Thanks to everyone who listened and called in to Martha Stewart Living Radio! I loved the stories the callers told, and it's nice to talk to people from all over the country who love the Jersey shore as much as I do.

Caller Debbie, if you're reading, please get in touch with me! Debbie grew up in Ocean City and married a Mac & Mancos pizza guy. I'd love to talk to you more and maybe include that story in the second edition of the book, which will come out in Spring 2011.

Tune In

On Tuesday morning, I'll be talking about classic Jersey Shore foods on Martha Stewart Living Radio, which is an XM/Sirius show. I'm scheduled to start yammering at 7:30am. So if you have satellite radio, make sure to tune in on your morning drive!

Scenes from a Jersey Shore vacation

I'm back from the beach. I'm not weeping, but I'm close to it. What a wonderful week - sunny and hot almost every day, with good friends and family around for the week. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I hardly recognize myself in the mirror given how tan and blond I am after a week in the sun.

This didn't start as a work trip, but it will end as one. I haven't done a Jersey Shore vacation since 2006, and this week reminded me WHY this is a vacation destination. I remembered why I fell in love with the region, and what you want to know when you're down the shore for the week. This is exactly what I needed right before I start the sprint to the book deadline. It's going to change the book, in a very good way.

Speaking of change...I'm starting a full time job on Monday. Don't gasp! This is a good thing. It won't affect any shore coverage. It might mean more since I'll have more time freed up to do fun work, not work work. Freelancing has been a challenging and rewarding career, but an incredibly stressful one. So when a great job fell into my lap, I took it - after a lot of thought, but I took it. So we'll see how it goes!

And the winner is...

....Eric Cortes! I used a random number generator to pick our winner - number 18 was Eric, so he wins the tshirt that will look like the one below:

That's not Eric's t-shirt. That's mine. They gave me one for running the contest. It's on top of the laundry basket that holds my clothes for the next week. On Saturday morning, I am going on vacation. Where? Down the shore. Might not sound like a surprise, but the last time I did an honest to God week down the shore in the height of summer was 2003. I am bringing my computer, but I don't plan on working other than my Saturday morning meeting.

I'll be back on July 24, which is when I'll explain why I've been pretty quiet on the blog. Big changes coming...but good changes.

CONTEST!

As you may or may not know, I'm a sponsor of the awesome "Jersey Doesn't Stink" campaign, which is out to set the record straight about our lovely Garden State.

As such, I'm running a Jersey Doesn't Stink contest on this blog. Wheeee!

Here's all you have to do: in the comments, post your story as to why you love New Jersey. The winner gets a free Jersey Doesn't Stink t-shirt. (I'll pick the winner through a random winner generator rather than make the decision myself - easier that way).

You have from now until 5pm EST on July 16 to enter. All you have to do is comment below. That's it. And keep it clean folks. Remember, the Marples are reading.

If you tweet your answer, make sure you include @NJdoesntstink (the campaign) and @jerseyshorejen (me) in your tweet.

So go ahead. Tell me why you love NJ.

News from Around the South Jersey Shore

HBO's Boardwalk Empire (series about prohibition times in Atlantic City) will premiere on September 19.

Gambling revenues are down again in Atlantic City.

I'm late to this one, but it's still nutty: P. Diddy's event essentially shut down the Pool at Harrah's over July 4th weekend.

This one's for the birders.

A few Flyers prospects hung out in Stone Harbor.


Who wants to name a snow leopard at the Cape May County Zoo????

I have the best fans

You guys rock!

Southern Comfort

A few people have asked me if the Jersey Shore would pick up tourists this summer from the oil spill in the gulf. Well, here's your answer.

Instead of grousing about how an actual tourism campaign would have brought even MORE tourists here this summer, I'd like to welcome the Southern visitors to our shores. I hope you enjoy. Might I suggest my book as a guide? Also - those guys wearing speedos? They're Canadian. Don't want you to think we're that ridiculous.

Holiday Weekend!

You ready?

This is one of the biggest weekends of the year down the shore. Plus, Monday is an official holiday, making it a long weekend for most folks. I'll be home - we have a big ol' family tradition of invading my uncle's pool and eating all his food. Pool + beer + food + family = awesome in my book.

Oh, and then there's that book thing that's due in September, so I'll be socked away in my Bat Cave for a good chunk of the weekend.

But I did get down to Ocean City today for more research. While my feet didn't touch the sand, I did stop at Mack & Manco's for a slide of heaven (with birch beer, of course. I may or may not have ordered a second slice).

What are your Fourth of July plans?