Let's do the news, shall we?
The casino formerly known as the Atlantic City Hilton is becoming a 'locals casino.' Whatever that means.
The Atlantic City Expressway tolls might be privatized.
This is...bizarre.
Watch those Sea Isle beach tag prices.
No smoking ban for Cape May beaches. BOO. According to tweets from the meetings, locals opposed it. Really?! That strikes me as very odd and backwards.
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.
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?
NEWS! And lots of it.
If you're in New York, this could be your subway train:
FOODIES! Get your butts to Atlantic City for the Food Network Food & Wine Festival, which started yesterday. Don't worry that you're late on this. You can still grab tickets to hang out with celebrity chefs and drink and eat to your heart's content.
Believe it or not, I've never been to the event. There's always been something the weekend of the event (this year, it's a memorial service and a christening). I mean, how could I deny this little guy?
In the book, I have a two-page yarn about running down the shore. Yesterday started my marathon training (yes, I hate running in the summer, no don't get me started on how I got roped into this). The shore is a good place to go because boardwalks are some of the best running surfaces around.
The reason? There's give. You're not running on hard packed street or concrete. You're running on wood that gives.
The only wrench in the boardwalk running plan is when to go. Mornings aren't great because of all the bikes and surreys (which, yes, I've written about before). Mid-day is too hot, and night bring the evening crowds. So either get out super duper early or take your chances at night (and please, if you do, run with someone else).
Also of note: Sea Isle's boardwalk does not have boards. If you run on this at night, watch for the crabs that scurry across. They look silly.
Sunday is the women's World Cup Final: USA vs. Japan. I don't care how nice a beach day it's going to be, but I will be glued to the TV watching this match.
Here's where you can go to watch the game while you're down the shore:
Atlantic City: Game On. It's OK if you roll your eyes. This place is big and crowded and packed for big sporting events, but that is exactly where I want to be for a game like this (and where I will be, in fact. More on that later). You can't get more TVs in one spot down the shore.
Sea Isle: O'Donnell's Pour House. Good beer selection, big TVs, right near the heart of Sea Isle.
Avalon: I have two. First, the Princeton. Second, the Concord Cafe. The Princeton will have plenty of space, whether you want to sit or stand. I prefer the cozy feel of the Concord - but only if I have a seat.
Wildwood: The Shamrock. Space to stand, sit, play pool, whatever you want around the oval bar with plenty of TVs to watch the game.
Cape May: Cabanas or the Ugly Mug. Both have plenty of TVs and good bars with decent beer selections. I assume both will be packed.
I will be at Game On with the dude, who is very VERY conflicted about who he should cheer for. He's Japanese-American, and I understand his dilemma. He'll be wearing his team Japan jersey. I sorta tried to find a U.S. Women's jersey but no luck, so I'll probably just be sporting red white and blue.
Sunday is the first day of my shore vacation - HOORAY! It'll be split between Atlantic City and Avalon this year with a dash of Cape May thrown in. I. CAN'T. WAIT. I've pre-written next week's facts of the day, so hope you enjoy them while I'm doing absolutely nothing.
Looking for a cheap bike? Head to Sea Isle on Tuesday, July 19. They'll be auctioning off abandoned or unclaimed bikes.
The auction will be held at the Public Safety Building (233 JFK Boulevard). You must register between 9 and 10:30 am, and bring photo ID.
I've been to one of these types of sales, but in Collingswood. You can get some fantastic deals, depending on what others have left behind.
On Saturday, the dude and I drove down the shore early to sit on the beach in Strathmere for a few hours before my book signing at the Shamrock in Wildwood.
I was stopped at the bottom of the off ramp from the Garden State Parkway onto the causeway into Sea Isle when BUMP! The driver behind me rear ended my car.
I hit the shore last weekend for a book signing and a little R&R. Before settling my beach chair on the sand in Strathmere, we hit up McGowan's for some hoagies and a couple of bottles of water.
Good thing we had cash, because that's all they take.
"Cash Only" is common down the shore. So common, in fact, that "do you take credit cards" was on my standard form of questions asked to shops and restaurants I wanted to put in the book. Off the top of my head: Hot Dog Tommy's (Cape May), Red's Jersey Mex (Ocean City), Dead Dog Saloon (Sea Isle City), Charlie's (Somers Point) are all cash only.
You can't really blame these places. Accepting credit cards can be expensive for merchants, with monthly fees and then a cut of each sale going toward processing costs. If you're an established shore business, you don't really need to take credit if you don't want to.
Now, some of these places, like Charlie's and Dead Dog, have ATMs on the premise, but your better bet is to bring cash or hit the closest Wawa. The Wawa ATMs don't charge you a service fee (though if you're not a PNC customer, your bank most likely will charge you for using an out of network ATM).
To answer the kid who searched "do fake ids work in sea isle city" and found this blog:
NO.
That is all.
Ocean City touts its family friendly feel, and for good reason. The boardwalk is clean and attractive and largely devoid of the raunchy tshirt shops you'll find at other Jersey Shore boardwalks. The ride piers have some spills and thrills but nothing over the top. The town plans tons of kid and family centric events.
And the feather in their cap: Ocean City is a dry town - so dry that you can't even BYO to the restaurants.
The last part of that has been a controversy brewing in town and a group of restauranteurs try to have the law changed to accommodate people who want to bring beer or wine to dinner.
As I told the Patriot-News, I don't see this happening any time soon. Once you allow in even a trickle of alcohol, you start to lose the family friendly image. If Ocean City hadn't marketed that so much? I don't think it would make a difference. But when it's part of your message, changing that could affect who comes to your town.
Yes, I feel for the restauranteurs, but they had to know going in what the situation was. And it won't necessarily stop complaints. I live in a dry town that allows BYO and even there some of the restauranteurs grouse that they can't sell alcohol.
Anyway - I linked to that article in the Patriot-News because it had to do with this post. Later today I'll throw up some links to the media coverage the book has gotten so far. I'm a little stunned - I knew I'd get SOME coverage, but not this much! It's also been interesting reading the comments people are leaving. The Patriot-News one says that, per usual, Sea Isle is left out. Sigh. Of course I can't mention a place in every town in every interview. I hope they take a look at the Edible Jersey feature I have coming up...
Triathletes! Spots are still available for Sea Isle's Tri for our Veterans, which takes place on May 28, the Saturday of Memorial Day. You can sign up for the full tri, which is a sprint tri, or the duathaon.
Money raised from the tri benefits the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund and Sea Isle City's VFW Post 1963. It is also a lasting testament to the work Matt McCulley did in raising funds to help those who served our county. He was not a vet himself but said, "I have only one goal: to give something back to the veterans who have fought in our previous battles and those who fight in today's wars."
I think about Matt almost every time I'm down the shore. He is sorely missed. So if you have a slot in your race calendar, sign up for this one.
Just before I left for Cape May on Friday, my publisher's publicist emailed me to say that he was holding a copy of my book in his hand. My reaction? "GIVE IT TO MEEEEEEE" (we get along, if you can't tell). I should have a copy today (?) or tomorrow.
So it was fitting, then, that I hit most of the towns in the book this weekend.
The trip didn't start out on the best foot - literally. On Friday morning, the dude broke his toe. This meant, we thought, no running for him, and no real walking around. So instead of driving right down to Cape May, we stopped first in Sea Isle, and I took him on a short bar tour (where I did not drink, of course, since I drove).
First stop: Dead Dog Saloon. This is one of those old, worn in bars that's packed in season but a cozy place before the summer madness begins. The second floor was closed. The Phillies game was on. I think everyone at the bar were Sea Isle friends, most reuniting for the first time since they shut down their shore homes last year. Two of those groups asked us where our Phillies gear was from (Spring Training). Very chill and relaxed crowd, which will change soon as people pack both floors of the place. If you do eat there, get the nachos. I am sad to report, though, that the women's bathrooms no longer have ash trays in the stalls. No one smokes in there, and I don't support smoking (duh, I run), but it was one of those old throwback details I liked. Ah well.
Then we hit the OD, simply because the dude had never seen the place. It was pretty empty with a younger crowd around the bar. The bartender and I tried to explain what the place looked like during the weekly No Shower Happy Hour parties. A bit hard to do without jamming a couple hundred more people in there.
Next it was south through Avalon to the Concord Cafe, which sits right on the Avalon/Stone Harbor border. I thought it would be busy but not as jammed as it was. We had to wait 20 minutes for a table, but it was worth it for those buffalo cheese fries. Our bill with alcohol came to just over $25. Another reason this place is so popular. A very high recommendation.
Then it was onto our final destination: The Beach Shack in Cape May. Friday was the first night they were open for the summer season, so let's consider some of the oops to be first night jitters. They put us in a room next to the Rusty Nail, which is a great bar, but not exactly what you want to sleep next to if you have a 10k in the morning (if you book here, make sure you ask to stay in the building away from the bar if this is a concern). They were great in moving us, but the room we moved into was very musty and dank. Again, I imagine it's because it was the first night and not everything was up and running yet. I still think it's a great property, and it needed to stretch a bit to be really ready. I zonked out as soon as we got into the new room, so it served its purpose.
Then the 10k, the Great Cape May Footrace. When I came back from Wawa getting pre-race food (hash browns) and fuel (coffee and gatorade), I opened the room door to see the dude lacing up his running shoes. He was just going to test how it felt.
Well, testing lead to actually running the race, and he swears he felt fine. The 10k course is flat with a lot of twists and turns through the more residential area of Cape May with a trip through Coast Guard housing. It doesn't go through the heart of Cape May, so if you're looking for a scenic run, this is not it. But after recent obscenely crowded races (Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, Broad Street Run), hilly races (Bird-in-Hand Half Marathon) and insanely windy races (Asbury Park Half Marathon), this course was a nice change. Kudos to John Cooke, president of the Cape May Chamber of Commerce, for asking for my feedback after the race (I do this now, so I guess I'm an expert). Next year, expect paper instead of plastic cups at the water stop.
I finished with a 49:45, which is not bad and inching closer to my pre-injury times. I finished 5th woman and 3rd in my age group - but that's out of 210 runners, so take that with a giant shaker of salt.
Post race food (burger and boardwalk fries) and drink (extra spicy bloody mary) was back at the Rusty Nail. I'm glad to see they got the bonfire issues figured out - last time I was there, the city had said they didn't want bonfires at the outdoor bar, but it was lit and running on Saturday. It was nice eating at outdoor picnic table, even if the weather wasn't exactly cooperating.
Then it was up to Atlantic City. Now, I hate shopping. Hate it with a passion that boils my soul, but we stopped at the Atlantic City outlets anyway to visit the Nike store. My haul:
Yum Yum's is one of those ice cream spots that routinely has a line stretching out the door and down the block. It's right in the middle of downtown Sea Isle, and the ice cream is darn good.
Make sure you get a cone because at the bottom is a gum drop. They started doing this to prevent ice cream from dripping through the bottom of the cone. People liked it so much that the gum drop has stayed, even if cone technology has improved.
And now I want a gum drop. Way to go, blog.
Yes, you read that right. Charles K. Landis founded Sea Isle City after visiting Italy. Odd, but true. He bought the land after that Italy trip, and made Sea Isle a borough by 1880.
Some of those buildings from the 1880s are still around...on Landis Avenue, of course.
I'll have an update for you on this weekend's half marathon - hopefully by later today...
Resorts allegedly fires older cocktail waitress who were deemed not good looking enough in new, skimpy 1920s themed uniforms. Yeah, THAT'LL end well.
The casinos are about to face compliance checks that they're ADA compliant. Really? The casinos rely on seniors in wheelchairs playing slots for money. When I first toured Resorts, the PR guy boasted that there are no stairs between their bus depot and the casino floor to accommodate older gamblers. Sheesh.
Big rodeo in Atlantic City this weekend. Of course people are protesting.
Cape May-Lewes Ferry is adding a fuel surcharge.
Firefighters deliver baby in Wildwood.
First, it was pizza boxes. Now coloring books. What's next? A beach ball?
Apparently I missed Sea Isle City Girl's Weekend. Who knew? Also, there's apparently a website called www.seaislerevitalization.com. Scratching my head over that one. In a slip of an island with many million dollar plus homes...what needs revitalizing?
Behold! The Colonial Mills Ridgevale Stone Harbor Chair Pad, available at Walmart. No, this isn't really shore related. But neither was this.
Lucy's getting a new tail!
Surprise surprise: once again, Gov. Christie skips out on the GOVERNOR'S Conference on Tourism. I already ranted once this week. Don't have another one in me.
Do it for the turtles: like this group on Facebook.
Not to knock Stone Harbor, but isn't mid-March a little late for a polar plunge?
Revel in Atlantic City is moving along.
A little out of my blog range, but it's too funny not to share: it's no longer illegal to build sand castles in Belmar. Phew. I was worried.
