Southwest Buys AirTran

Word came out today that Southwest Airlines will be buying AirTran.

This could be great news or a disaster for the Atlantic City International Airport. AirTran is a major flier out of Atlantic City. Ever since Spirit Airlines lost its mind and started charging to CARRY ON bags, I along with a lot of other people have stopped using the airport.

If Southwest takes over the routes and keeps flying out of Atlantic City? That would be phenomenal. But they haven't pledged to keep all the routes open. If they leave Atlantic City, the progress the airport has made will be seriously jeopardized.

I hope they stay. It's a good airport. Plus, wouldn't it be fun to see what kinds of ads they'll do for Atlantic City?

News from Around the South Jersey Shore

Will the Golden Nugget be coming back to AC? Maybe.

Cape May County's looking ahead to winter and prepping for more storms.

The Sea Isle "lighthouse" is no more.

Cape May convention center. Again.

But where are the pictures of the bachelors from this Cape May event?!?! I hope Exit Zero is on that.

And, finally, HBO's Boardwalk Empire has been renewed for a second season. I watched the premiere on Sunday. It's gorgeous, but I'm not much into gangster shows, so I don't think it'll be a weekly thing for me (and that has nothing to do with HBO telling me I couldn't go to the AC premiere because I'm only a freelancer...)

Photo of a photo shoot

I had my picture taken in Ocean City yesterday, and what a gorgeous day. Not only was it warm, but it was a great sky for the Ocean City airshow. The ocean was way too rough for swimming, but the surf was fun to watch. Reminded me how powerful the ocean was.

When I got onto the boardwalk around two, I thought it was way too hot for pictures. But as soon as I stepped into the shade, it was almost too cool. That's the big difference between summer and fall. It's almost here - glory days down the shore.

Picture Perfect

So you see that picture of me on the left hand side of the blog?

Time for it to say bye bye. It's a good shot, but too wintery looking for a book that most people will read in summer.

I'm having new pictures taken on the Ocean City boardwalk on Sunday. Start time is about 3pm, and we're hoping to set up around Shriver's and the Music Pier. If you have a book you need signed, this is probably the best time to get it done.

Naked Guy

On Friday, I took the day off with one goal in mind: to sit on the beach for the entire day while talking to as few people as possible. Hey, it happens. I needed a day post-book to recharge.

I reached both goals with the bulk of my beach time spent on Higbee Beach.

I love Higbee. Two years ago, I took Emily there every day while on vacation in Cape May. It's a tiny beach on the Delaware, so the waves are small. It's quiet. The only people you'll usually see are locals, other dog lovers and birders.

Higbee also used to be a nude beach. That ended in 1999. Someone on Friday apparently didn't get the memo because he got on the beach, dropped his stuff, dropped his pants, and ran into the water.

Shocking? Maybe. But I was so blissed out on sun and beach that I didn't really care. Plus, he was far enough away that I didn't see the details. When he came back onto the beach, he toweled off, put his pants back on, and left.

I guess he, too, knew exactly what he wanted to do that day.

(Naked dude not featured in photo)

The End

The book is done, boxed and ready to be mailed. Goodnight everybody!

News from Around the South Jersey Shore

"Stone Harbor police charge two men with hiding cocaine in pizza boxes." Yes, but But whose pizza boxes did they use?! The travel guide writer needs to know!

Police find a guy in Sea Isle with an air rifle in his car. Jeez, what's going on down there?

It's fall, which means it's time to check in with our birding friends.

A Cape May team won the people's choice award at Saturday's Red Bull Flugtag. I was there. It was awesome - except for the event being billed as a Philadelphia event when it took place in New Jersey. Idiots.

AGAIN with the parking meters. Cape May, I love you. But sometimes you're tedious.

Photo Day

The text of the book is one read through away from being done, so today I'm working on the photos: sorting, editing, captioning. Here's a selection that haven't made it on the blog yet. Enjoy.

25,000 reasons to run the Atlantic City Marathon

Well, this is an incentive: anyone competing in any Atlantic City Marathon Weekend race - be it the 5k, 10k, half or full marathon - you can enter into a contest for $25,000.

That's CRAZY! And a crazy good (albeit expensive) way to promote a marathon that, last year, changed hands. If you sign up for a race, you'll get your bib with a tab that you drop into a canister from which the winner will be pulled.

If I wasn't going to a friend's wedding that weekend, this prize might prompt me to sign up for at least one of the races, though probably not the half because I'll be running this one on November 6. But hop in a 5k for a chance at $25K. Why not?

Poor Lucy!

Poor Lucy! Due to an errant wedding tent, Lucy's tail is busted, as I reported on the blog before. Problem is, this pachyderm doesn't have a lot of money and a very high "wind deductible" (no, I am NOT making it up), she hasn't been able to have her tail repaired. I give her handlers props. That white thing on her tail? It's a bandage. Pretty funny, though still sad.

What can you do?

1 Visit. Your entrance fee will help.
2. Eat at Bella Luna, a restaurant that has been set up SOLEY TO HELP LUCY.
3. Help me plan a fundraiser. Seriously. I think I can do this. When the second edition of my book comes out in the spring, maybe I can do a fundraiser at Lucy where all proceeds from book sales will be donated to our favorite wooden elephant. Maybe then we can add something onto that - buy the book and you get 10% off in the Lucy store (those sales ALSO help Lucy). And then maybe a local business (hey casinos! I know you do this!) will match the money raised from book sales. So if I raise $50 from selling books, they'll donate another $50 on top of that.

Do you think that could work? It would sell books and maybe get some more people to Lucy. I have a very Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney "we're going to save the farm" vibe going on here. Maybe it's because I did a whirlwind shore tour this afternoon. Maybe it's because I'm tired from working a day job and writing the book at night. But maybe it could work.

But...c'mon. Doesn't it look fun?

Hello, Thy Name is Earl

I'm not a meteorologist. I've written about one and dated another, but that doesn't make me a weather predictor, so I can't tell you where Hurricane Earl is going to go.

This picture is a good reference for me right now, enough to say "hey, let's all be careful out there, OK?"

Ann Delaney, who lives very close to the ocean in Stone Harbor, has tips on how to get ready. If you're down the shore today (as I will be - whee!), you must be careful of riptides. Here's a good primer on what to do if you're caught in one.