Get married on Valentine's Day

Once again it's time for the Atlantic City Group Wedding, where over 100 couples will say "I do" at Boardwalk Hall at a ceremony officiated by the exceptionally cool and fun Jean Muchanic (seriously - if you can ever grab a half hour with her, she's awesome).

The ceremony will be on Tuesday at 2pm.

Jersey Shore Music News - Take THREE!

The hits just keep on coming.

The organizers of The Bamboozle, which is putting on that big Asbury Park show in May, have announced that they're ALSO putting on a two-day festival of pop and country acts in Wildwood. It'll be held on August 24 and 25 (the Wild Half is August 26 if you're considering both events)

Doesn't look like they've named any acts yet. I'll keep you posted.

Good a time as ever to remind you about two more events:

1. Tomorrow is the every wonderful and lovely Miss'D America Pageant in Atlantic City (unfortunately can't go this year).

2. The Cape May Singer Songwriter Festival will be held on March 30 and 31 in Cape May. First time I can remember that it's not also the same weekend as the Ocean Drive races. Bummed about that too. Ah well.

Jersey Shore Music News - Take Two!

Completely missed this one when I wrote the last post: Phish will be playing Bader Field in Atlantic City (which was first used as a concert last summer for the DMB Caravan) on June 22, 23, and 24. Pinky Kravatiz, the all knower about Atlantic City, also says that Bader Field will be playing host to Metallica in June and Kenny Chesney in September.

Jersey Shore Music News

I was in Asbury Park on Friday as, yes, Bruce Springsteen was filming a music video. News came out shortly after this that his next album, Wrecking Ball, will be out in March. Here's "We Take Care of Our Own," the first single from that album:



Chills. Seriously - chills. Great song (side note: think he sent it to Obama for his 2012 campagin yet?)

Here's the full album song list.

He also did a surprise jam session at the Light of Day Festival in Asbury on Saturday night. Wish I'd been there.

But the music news doesn't end there.

The full lineup for The Bamboozle was announced this week, to ALSO take place in Asbury Park. This'll be a three day show - May 18 to 20. Highlights: Foo Fighters, Incubus, Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World, Bouncing Souls, BON FREAKING JOVI! Here's everyone.

Three-day passes are on sale now for $216. Single day passes will go on sale on Saturday. They're $65 for Friday, &75 for Saturday and $75 for Sunday.

That doesn't seem to pricey to me (though of course these prices are before you add in Live Nation fees, which can range from $14 to $24, according to a story about the prices. Yikes. That story also said that three day passes would be $190, but that's not what I saw when I logged into Ticketmaster to see).

The trick with this one is going to be where to stay. I did a quick search of my favorite places and they're all blacked out except for the Majestic in Ocean Grove, which has one room open on May 18. The festival is offering hotel combo packages, which is probably the reason for the black outs. If you are going to do one of those packages, I recommend the Berkeley just because it's right there in the middle of everything, and you won't need to take a shuttle.

My only beef with The Bamboozle is that they're saying it takes place at North Beach, Asbury Park. What the heck is that? It's Jersey Shore folks. Deal with it.

If I go, it'll probably be to the Saturday show, and I'll be begging to stay on someone's couch. Hey, a girl's got to pay to go to the Chicago Marathon this year. I'll take all the free couches I can get!

I'll be in Asbury Park again on Monday, and then next Friday, I'm flying to Tampa. Gee, I wonder which one will be warmer...

Brrrr....

I have a piece in today's Philadelphia Inquirer about Jersey Shore Polar Plunges. It covers events up and down the coast but focuses on Wildwood's event, which is tomorrow.

I feel bad for you guys - wrong time for a cold front to roll in, eh?

I'm headed to Asbury Park this afternoon and will be bundled up from head to toe. No plunging for me!

For your calendar: Slow Foods Fourth Annual Winter Festival

FOODIES! This one's for you. On January 21, the Washington Inn in Cape May is hosting the Slow Food Fourth Annual Winter Feast, which is put on by Slow Foods South Jersey Shore.

For $50 per person ($70 if you want wine pairings), you'll get a five course meal of local and in season (yes, in winter) foods, including lamb, a local fisherman's stew with roasted garlic aoili, shaved winter root salad and beach plum cheesecake.

Slow food doesn't mean snails (though that's the group's logo). It means eating local and fresh foods - I know a lot of readers do this anyway, which is why I think some of you might enjoy this dinner.

I'm so bummed I can't go.

If YOU want to go, get your tickets soon. Last year's dinner sold out.

Happy Halloween

BOO! Happy Halloween! Yes, I know it's on Monday, but since most people will be 'celebrating' this weekend, I'm posting about it today.

To get in the mood, here's a video from last week's Asbury Park Zombie Crawl. Pretty cool stuff.



Also, I've been re-organizing my office files for the first time since, well, forever. I came across the proofs from my very first headshot photo shoot, which were taken in March of 2005. Here's a creepy outtake:

Which is funny when you consider that the headshot I ended up using was this:

In the first photo, I look like a ghost. In the second? Model in a toothpaste ad. Shows you what a difference lighting makes.

News from Around the South Jersey Shore

Quick note: I'm working on getting my ebook ready to publish in November, so excuse the less frequent posting. But here's the news:

The Borgata is saying it lost $10 million because of Hurricane Irene.

At the same time, this is being considered for Atlantic City. Casinos and the actual city different much? Ugh.

So now Sea Isle is using those dumb parking kiosks, too? Boo.

Almost time for Ocean City's Quiet Festival.

Just combine! Stop being four towns and be one instead! That's the best way to save money, not stop gap measures like this.

Not the first place I'd pick for a shore wedding, but, hey, looks like it worked.

BOO!

Two Halloween-related notes for the upcoming weekend:

Friday kicks off the Asbury Park Zombie Walk. Now in its third year, this thing is HUGE. I wish I could go and be the one person not dressed like a zombie who the zombies can chase (My ex boyfriend did this. I'm not that original).

Last weekend, Moreys Piers opened its new Terror on the Boardwalk attraction. GOOD IDEA! Seems a great way to continue their season, so if you like to be scared, check it out.

1:49:55

This weekend, I ran the Ocean City Half Marathon and was finally - FINALLY - able to bring Emily down the shore with me. This was a shot from Sunday morning as I took her on a walk before the race. Yes, I know I'm breaking the law. No dogs allowed on the boardwalk, ever, except for the Doo Dah Parade. But this is October down the shore when the tourists are mostly locals, and the rules are relaxed a bit. No one said a word about Emily, except that she was a cute dog (which she obviously is).

The race went much better than I expected. I gave my boyfriend the Garmin GPS watch and told him to go - he's becoming an excellent runner, and is faster than me, so I wanted him to give a new PR (person record, in runners terms) a shot.

I was surprised by the race, too. For a second year event, it was well organized. My only quibbles were small:

1. The race starts on the boardwalk by the Music Pier and goes south over the Longport Bridge and back. No one was really there to direct the runners on which side to run, so it was a little confusing as people started to turn around and go back over the bridge. Some volunteers directing runners could help.
2. Some aid stations had plastic, not paper cups. Paper cups are preferred because you can compress them and make them easier to drink out of of while running. Some aid stations also had people shouting that they had Gatorade when it was actually that tan knock off stuff that's gross. Don't say it's Gatorade if it's not.
3. The boardwalk wasn't shut down, which I understand, but a few volunteers to keep bikers from knocking into runners could have helped. I saw a few bikers on the north end of the boardwalk who cut off runners and didn't care. Not good.
4. Some of the mile posts were missing. For those of us who were running without GPS watches, this would have helped.

Like, I said, very small quibbles, and I'm sure the race will get better - and more popular - each year.

For me, it was a fantastic race because I beat my PR by over three minutes. This is a HUGE deal because that PR came before I got hurt, and I never though I'd be able to beat it again. My official time was 1:49:55, so I also broke the 1:50 mark - another milestone I never though I'd achieve. I think not having the Garmin helped with this, and even though some runners might not have liked this, having no time clocks on the course helped too. I had NO IDEA how fast I was running, and might have been tempted to slow myself down if I did now. Awesome, awesome day.

Another reason to like this race: it felt like a town effort. Lots of local volunteers and businesses pitched in. Where else are going to see this in the finisher's area?

And this, too.

Any race that ends with free Mack & Mancos gets two thumbs up. And yes I know that my boyfriend is photobombing the picture. I should have expected that.

After we'd showered, we took Emily onto the beach. The water was exceptionally warm, and the sun came out just in time.

She ran herself ragged - literally. She snoozed the entire way home. And maybe I did, too (wasn't driving!)

News from Around the South Jersey Shore

Hey I'm back! I'm sorting through a TON of emails, so let's put up some news in the process.

Check out these Shore made duck decoys.

The Ocean City bike path is riding ahead.

This is bad. And so, of course, is this.

The Beach Theatre was demolished today. BAD MOVE CAPE MAY.

The West Cape May Lima Bean Festival is on October 8. I'm NEVER in New Jersey for it. Bah.

North Wildwood plans on removing the seawall.

A sit in in Sea Isle.

Boardwalk Empire's second season premiered last night. Here's more about AC from the 1920s.

The Ocean City Half Marathon is on Sunday - and yes I'll be there, probably wearing purple.

I will NOT be at the Asbury Park Relay Marathon this year, but if you are, please note that the start time has been moved from 10am to 7am. Early birds will like that one. If I could run the race, I would.

This is awful - and I will have much more to say about this at another time this week.

My trip was fun. I was underwhelmed by OBX, but that's not a big shocker, is it?

All the Way from Cape May

I took this photo last night at Congress Hall's full moon party. Lovely night, lovely sight.

Almost as soon as I returned from Wisconsin, I turned around and headed down the shore for an assignment. I'll be posting about both trips soon. Hint: boy do mid westerners love their Bloddy Marys....

Oh, and I saw this in Cape May as well, specifically in the parking lot for Higbee Beach. Make sure you read the license plate.

Jersey Shore Fact of the Day 95: The Atlantic City Airshow is tomorrow

It's almost Thunder Over the Boardwalk time!

The annual Atlantic City Airshow is tomorrow, and it will fill the skies over the Boardwalk and casino with planes from U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team, U.S. Navy Super Hornet, and a lot more. Check out the details here.

My two tips:

1. If you can, go today. It's their practice day, and the crowds will be much smaller (estimates are that the Wednesday event draws 750,000 people). There's no schedule for practice because that depends on the weather, but if you're in town or thinking about sneaking down, this could be a reason why.

2. If you go tomorrow, do not plan on leaving right after the show. Atlantic City (and Ventnor, Margate and Longport for that matter) are paralyzed by traffic when the show is over. So make other plans (dinner anyone?) to avoid that crush.

And enjoy! I'll be in Cape May working tomorrow. Maybe I'll catch sight of a few planes on my way home.

Jersey Shore Fact of the Day 93: Watch the Globetrotters, Please

The Harlem Globetrotters are playing tonight in Wildwood, and as a promo to the event, took a ride on the famous Tram Car. The recording was changed in their honor (temporarily) to say "Watch the Globetrotters, Please."

The Press of Atlantic City has a great story about it, with video.

Guster in Asbury Park

There's a reason I'm sleepy today.

Last night was the big Guster show at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. Could I have gone to their show in Philadelphia? Of course. But it's the Stone Pony. It's Asbury Park. Worth the drive.

First, I met up with my friend and fellow writer Caren Chelser first to talk about writing, life and so I could see her six month old bambino. We strolled him right over from Ocean Grove to the Watermark on the Asbury Park boardwalk.

Oh hai, summer me.

Watermark is close enough to the Stone Pony outdoor stage that you can hear the concerts from the deck. That's where I heard Jack's Mannequin, who is co-headlining this tour with Guster.

I left Caren and her baby/hubby behind to get a good spot near the front for Guster. What a great venue, and thank goodness we missed the rain.

I can't find the setlist online yet (yes I was too busy acting like a moron to write it down, though they did play "Two Points for Honesty." Yes, honestly.) But I did find this setlist for a 2002 show they did at the Paramount Theatre, also in Asbury Park in case you'd like to go into the way back machine.

At one point in the show, they brought out a disco helmet. This doesn't capture its detailed awesomeness, but it does show its effect.

Fun show, great venue, wonderful town. Thanks Guster.

Jersey Shore Fact of the Day 88: New Beer Festival Coming to Atlantic City

The Golden Nugget (a.k.a. what was Trump Marina) is hosting a Craft Beer Festival on September 17 and 18.

September 17 is being billed the "All American Craft Beer Tasting," while September 18 will be Oktoberfest. The Saturday event is indoors; Sunday event is outside.

Sounds cool. The brewery lineup is pretty good, too: Flying Fish, Left Hand Brewing, Yards, Long Tail, Allagash, Hofbrau and Leinenkugel are just a few. Tickets are $49 a person.

I'd go if I were in the area - September 17 kicks off a week plus long vacation that is not in New Jersey. I love the shore, but I can't help but work when I'm there. So this will get around that, and I'll be visiting parts of the country I've never seen before. Should be a fun time.

Let's Talk about Races

I'm in my third week of marathon training. I don't know WHICH marathon at this point (I'm signed up for Philly but am being tempted away by the Bucks County Marathon, a first year race limited to 500 people), but it means I'm running. A lot.

And there are some shore races to compliment my training. Here's what's on my radar:

Captain Bill Gallagher 10 Mile Island Run. 41st running! I did this race in 2009 in misery (first race after shoulder surgery, wasn't trained, etc). I'll be down the shore this weekend and went back and forth about this one, especially considering the 5:45pm start time. Final decision is that I'm not going to run it. Instead, I'll be doing the No Shower Happy Hour at the OD. Because I'm an adult that way. I will, however, be running on the beach that morning.

The Wild Half, first year half marathon in Wildwood on August 28. Looks like a great course with lots of nice items thrown in (free weekend admission to the Moreys parks being a big one), but let's talk about the timing. August 28? With a 7:30am start time? Late August is a stretch for someone like me who hates summer running, but I've been getting out there on Saturday mornings. The thing is, I START my run by 6:30am. By 7:30am, I'd be cooking. I want to make the call about this depending on the weather, but they don't do day of sign ups. This is a maybe. Thing I DO like about this race: participants and their families can camp for free on the beach on August 26 and 27. That's a major cost reduction for anyone traveling to the race.

Ocean City Half Marathon on October 2. I'm signed up for this one. Boom.

LBI 18 Mile Run on October 9. I was JUST about to sign up for this one then decided to go to Vancouver for Travel Classics conference instead. Bummer. But hey - Vancouver!

Asbury Park Relay Marathon on October 16. I was signed up for this one, and had a great team of runners with the wonderful name of "Tramps Like Us." Then we got a wedding invitation. For a Sunday wedding. No "save the date" warning. Sigh. Tramps Like Us will still be running so cheer for them!

Atlantic City Marathon (and associated races) on the same day. I hear this event is getting better every year.

What shore races are on your radar?

DMB Caravan Review

The following is a review of the DMB Caravan by my brother, Mike Miller, who went to all three days of the music festival.

The Dave Matthews Band Caravan in Atlantic City surprised a lot of people including myself, a DMB vet who has been to over 30 Dave Matthews Band performances. On the surface, the asking price of $195 for the three-day pass was reasonable for a fan like myself. Attending three straight DMB performances alone would cost you this for a spot on the lawn at the Susquahana Bank Center. But add in the value of other quality acts and even the occasional DMB fan got their money worth.

Bader Field played a perfect playing ground for this unique road show. It was spacious enough to hold the three stages for the 39 acts, but was not too big where it was a hassle to float from one band to another. The spacious abandoned airfield also allowed for one key element – plenty of bathrooms. The free water stations were plenty and even when you had to wait and extended period of time for some H20, it didn’t seem that bad as they were all located within earshot of a stage so that you could at least enjoy some music while you waited.

Transportation was not as big an issue as I thought it would be. I did not take the shuttle buses that the festival offered back to the Philadelphia area for $35 a day nor did I bite on getting a hotel room that I thought were overpriced. Instead I was one of the few that took the train from Cherry Hill to Atlantic City and back every night. Every night I walked into the train station to see that the next train would not be for a few hours my heart sunk only to be filled with joy that they announced an extra train due to the demand. Sure I still got home at 2:30 AM every night, but I only paid $12 round trip each day. In the long run that saved me at least $23 a day, good enough for three beers at the show. And what is a DMB concert without a few suds in you?

The festival was not all roses and peaches. The biggest problem was the dust and dirt. With the amount of people that attended the shows on any given day, there was always a dust cloud that, combined with suntan lotion, created a dirt paste that would take two post-concert scrubbings to get off. All this dust also caused problems breathing at times, though it was not totally unbearable.

One foreseeable problem was the crowd. For the most part, fans do not go into a DMB concert until right before the band goes on and instead enjoys the parking lot atmosphere until the last second. I myself am a culprit of this. And with the temptations at the many casinos within walking distance, I honestly thought that there would be a low crowd until right before DMB took the stage.

To my surprise, the majority of the crowd was there for the entire day. And it made the festival better. This gave the smaller acts that played in the afternoon, such as TR3 and Fitz and the Tantrums, a livelier crowd and in turn made the fan experience that much better.

Concert goers were also more exploratory than I expect too. I am a huge Guster fan so I made sure they were one of the bands I got to a bit earlier to get closer to the stage. Not only was the entire crowd digging their hour set, but as I was walking after their performance, I overheard quite a few people saying “I’ve never heard of Guster but I am glad I came over to see them.”

As I said before, I’ve been to more DMB shows than my parents probably would like. I’ve seen them up and down the east coast and usually have to defend them to an average concert goer when they play an unreleased song instead of playing Crash or Ants Marching. That being said, Night 1 was lackluster at best. I’m not sure if it’s because this is their first show of the year, but at the end of the show I was left standing saying “that was it?” even though their rendition of Led Zeppelin’s Good Times, Bad Times was great. The energy from the stage was great, but the performance seemed a bit rusty.

The second night they were getting their act together a bit better with the help of a few friends such as Vusi Mahlasela guesting on Everyday, Warren Haynes on #41, and Leon Mobley on Two Step. But this band could do a bit more.

For the final night the band brought the house down. It was one of the best mixes of hard hitting fan favorites and older and unreleased tunes that brought a punch. To the opening notes of Seek Up off their first album Remember Two Things to the crowd leaving the venue singing the refrain of the final song Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again) it is hard to say that out of all the shows the Dave Matthews Band has played in the New Jersey/Philadelphia area that this was not one best that they have played.

In the end I must say that if this festival becomes an annual event, I would be torn as to whether I would enjoy it or not. For a one-time thing this was great. But doing this year in and year out could play itself out, especially since I am sitting here a week after the festival and still feel tired just thinking about those long days.

Jersey Shore Fact of the Day 61: Miss America is Missed by the Downbeach Community

In the July issue of New Jersey Monthly, I looked at what role if any Miss America still plays in the Atlantic City and Downbeach community (that's the catchall term for the towns of Ventnor, Margate and Longport, which share the island with Atlantic City). What I found surprised me. You can read about that here.

I've pitched this story three times. Maybe four. I forget since every time I get my shore pitches ready for magazines, this one is in it. I'd like to write a longer piece about this someday. I've been toying with pitching a book, but Frank Deford's There She Is: The Life and Times of Miss America is so good that I don't know if I could top it. Then again, it was written 40 years ago...hm.

Would you read a serious non-fiction book about Miss America?

Jersey Shore Fact of the Day 60: More than just DMB in AC this weekend

The big music to do this weekend in Atlantic City is the DMB Caravan. But that's not the only music show in town this weekend:

O.A.R. tonight at the House of Blues
Peter Frampton tonight at the Borgata
Boyz II Men tomorrow at the Hilton
G. Love & Special Sauce tomorrow at the House of Blues
Robert Plant tomorrow at the Borgata

And we've got a D-list appearance, too: Cheryl Burke at the Pool at Harrah's. If you don't know who that is, that's OK. Really.

If you're in the Wildwood area, stop by the Shamrock from 5-8pm. I'll be hanging out and signing a few books - they've added on extra Happy Hour drink specials for the occasion!