I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Big day for bikers tomorrow. No, not motorcycle bikers, but peddle-themselves bikers. This weekend is the MS 150!

The City to Shore Bike Tour starts in Lawnside, NJ and ends in Ocean City. You can ride one way or both -- my mom has done this ride before, and she's peddled back. And been very tired on Sunday night. There's a bus if you want to ride back on someone else's power. Check out more information here.

Dixie Picnic (819 8th St., Ocean City, 609–399–1999) is running specials for bike riders -- show your bike helmet for proof of participation and get 10 percent off any breakfast or dinner entre. They're also having an "early riser" Sunday Breakfast, opening at 5:30 am to fill your belly before the trek home. Whenever you go, try the Upcake. Yummy.

I'll be headed down the shore in a more traditional way tonight -- by car -- as me and the boyfriend are going to The Quarter at the Tropicana (2831 Boardwalk, Atlantic City) for dinner at Cuba Libre. They're running a "15 Tastes of Cuba" menu at their Atlantic City and Philadelphia locations, and I have been looking forward to this since we made the reservation a few weeks ago. I went to college in Tampa, which is a great spot to learn about and learn to love Cuban food. The boyfriend's never tried it, so this is a great way to introduce him to one of my favorite cuisines, and taste them again myself. We might sneak over to Firewater, which is also in the Tropicana, to watch the end of the Phillies game. I have tried not to get my hopes up, but I drove past a sign yesterday that said something along the lines of "Don't Give Up, You Gotta Believe," and I swear I got teary. I remember what it was like going to the playoffs in 1993, and please please PLEASE bring that feeling back to the Philadelphia area.

Anyway...then it's back down the shore Saturday (do I even need to tell you how many miles I've put on my car the last few months?) to Cape May to work on an article for New Jersey Monthly. I'll also be checking out their Oktoberfest celebration. You can read more about that here. This humidity is supposed to go away to make for a beautiful weekend, whether you're peddling down the shore or hoisting a beer in Cape May. Still plenty to do down the shore!

What I'm Listening to: Soundtrack to Garden State
What I'm Reading: The Stylist by Cai Emmons

What is South Jersey?

I've been following Allison Winn Scotch's advice on how to make this blog more popular by finding other shore blogs, and came across The Jersey Side by John Shabe, and his post about what actually is north and south Jersey. You can read about it here.

I have a few things to say about this. Before delving full time into the world of freelance writing, I was editor of SJ Magazine, and we said that we would cover anything south of Trenton (the only time I ever stretched this line was to interview Zach Braff. Yes, he's from north Jersey, but would you pass up the opportunity? I think not). After a year at that job, and reading through New Jersey Monthly's attempt to dedicate an entire issue to the topic (sorry guys -- I absolutely love writing for you, but when you say the only decent restaurant in south Jersey is in Tom's River, I have to take you to task...but that was in 2005, so there's been time for change), I gave up trying to figure out the distinction. Even the Daily Show tried to chime in by interviewing my then-boss (Rob Corddry's a very nice guy, FYI), but that was more for yucks than an attempt to define the regions.

I think it depends on where you live. If you read through the comments on Shabe's blog, you'll see that north Jersey folk are giving us places like Six Flags and the Driscoll Bridge. Ask 100 people from this area if we think that's south Jersey, and I bet 100 of them will scream no. And maybe 10 would give you the finger.

Why write about this on a shore blog? Because I had to make a call re: north versus south Jersey for my book. It's not about the entire coast. I did that for a few reasons. First, I couldn't find another book that hyper focused on the areas from Atlantic City through Cape May, which gives my book a distinction in the guide book field. I don't think that, if you're going to visit the shore, you're going to go from a north Jersey to a south Jersey town. I wanted to focus the book on where people from my area -- Philadelphia, and its Pa. and NJ suburbs -- go on vacation. LBI was on the cusp because I know a few people who go there, but it was ultimately cut because it didn't have a strong enough connection to the rest of the region. It didn't fit.

I could also argue that the book covers places you would get to via the Atlantic City Expressway. You can chime in, too, on whether you think I made the right call or not (and please do so through the comments, or email me at jenmiller27 [at] gmail [dot] com), but so far I've learned this: I have met a lot of people who are saying thank you for writing a book just about just this region because some of the smaller south shore towns have been glossed over by other shore travel guides. If I had to cover the state's coastline top to bottom, I might have done the same. But I'm glad I had the chance to dedicate so many pages to a region so many people love.

Anyway, that's my north Jersey versus south Jersey ramble for the evening. And if you happen to be one of my editors at New Jersey Monthly and are thinking of doing another issue about just that, I hope you at least give me a chance to write about dining in south Jersey. I do live in Collingswood, after all.

News from Around the Jersey Shore

This isn't good: the new tower of the Borgata, to be called the Water Club, caught on fire this weekend. Original projections put the opening at late 2007, which was then bumped back to 2008. Who knows what this will do to their plans to add 800 new luxury rooms, plus a two-story spa, to the property.

Speaking of destroying casinos, the Sands will be imploded on October 18 at 9:30 pm. If you've never seen a building to boom, it's incredible. I watched the demolition of Veteran's Stadium -- amazing.

The ever-hysterical Don Polec took his camera to Busch's Seafood Restaurant (8700 Landis Avenue, Sea Isle City, 609-263-8828). They've been making the she-crab soup for 125 years, and only three people have ever known the secret recipe. Yum.

What I'm Listening To: Awake is the New Sleep by Ben Lee

Historic Smithville

As promised, here's a link to the Smithville piece for New Jersey Monthly.

It's an interesting town. Both me and and my editor were perplexed about the addresses -- every store and restaurant has the same one. The only difference is the "shop" number, which explains why the addresses look a bit repetitive in this article.

You can read about the history of the town in the article, but let's just say that it didn't look this way when Fred and Ethel Noyes founded it. I'm not sure if I would recommend staying overnight in Smithville -- you could shop the place in a day. But it has a quaint, village-esque feel, and I liked watching the roosters roam the property like so many power shoppers. I loved the SmithvilleBakery (615 E Mossmill Rd, Shop 20, 609-652-6471). It was probably the most colonial looking thing in the bunch.

In another housekeeping note, I just signed up for Goodreads.com. I love it -- makes me think about what books I have and should maybe look into re-reading. If you'd like to check out what I've got, or want to 'friend' me, click here. I have a myspace page, too. That's here.

What I'm Listening to: A Different Light by Sherwood.

Housekeeping

A few housekeeping notes:

-I wrote an article about Smithville, NJ (which is right outside of Atlantic City) for the October issue of NJ Monthly. If you're a subscriber, you should have already gotten that issue in the mail. I'll post a link once the article is online.

-Irish Weekend was fun. It was entirely too crowded on Saturday night to get into any of the more popular bars (and I wasn't too jazzed about paying a $5 cover), so we ended up at Casey's on Third (301 New York Avenue, North Wildwood, 609-522-7759), which had a band and a lot of people watching the Phillies game. Then we headed to Owen's Pub (17th Avenue, North Wildwood, 609-729-7290), which allowed a little more breathing room, another Irish band, and plenty more people watching. I didn't see the parade, but did see the Clydesdales walk by the house where me and the boyfriend were staying. Damn, they're big animals.

-Not shore-related, but still cool: Rachel Weingarten, author of Career and Corporate Cool, is running a fab contest on her blog. If you buy a copy of her book on September 25 (that would be tomorrow) between 9 am and 5 pm, send your online receipt to backtocool@careerand corporatecool.com, and you'll be qualified to win a slew of cool prizes, including iTunes and Sephora gift certificates, magazine subscriptions, gift baskets from Phyto and so much more. Check out more info here. I'm not qualified because I already read the book -- highly recommend it to anyone looking to kick start their career, or give their own corporate life a kick in the rear (helped me out when re-evaluating my goals). And the book is not a boring business book, so check it out!

What I'm Listening to: The Weight is a Gift by Nada Surf.

Irish Eyes are Smiling

Last night was the start of Irish Weekend in North Wildwood. This year marks the 16th anniversary of the event, which, from what I hear, is tamer than in years past. Yes, you can bring the family and not worry about too many drunks stumbling across your path. Unless you're out at night. In that case, it's expected. I'm going down late for the festivities -- Saturday -- and will be wearing my green tank top (and probably hoisting at least one pint of Guinness).

The Courier Post did a pretty good job summing up the events (though I'm not sure I agree with the hotel situation). Check it out here. If you're going, expect crowds. Lots of them.

And the sun. It's going to feel very summery this weekend, which is why me and the boyfriend are going to hit the beach before changing into our green garb (yes, after a shower -- I don't want to stink up the bar). Is Sunday really the first day of fall? Depends on how you look at it. Still summer for me, it seems!

What I'm Listening to: Music for the Morning After by Pete Yorn.

News from Around the Jersey Shore

I'm not the only one who loves the shore in September. Here's a fantastic essay about just that from Amy S. Rosenberg at the Inquirer.

Remember those fancy boats used at the Cape May-Lewes Ferry? They didn't go over so well.

More on the fight to get Strathmere out of Upper Township. They want to join Sea Isle City, which makes sense to me. They're on the same island. And I put them together in one chapter in my book. I'm sure they're considering that in their decision.

Ocean City might not be using rain forest wood to repair the boardwalk after all.

Casino revenues may be down, but NJ Transit ridership is up in Atlantic City.

Speaking of Atlantic City, seven of the 11 casino hotels will have smoke free gaming floors. They'll have dedicated smokers' lounges, but now I can breathe if I happen to blow five bucks on the slots.

A preview of a new casino hotel coming to Atlantic City.

Check out this great article about Cape May from Sunday's New York Daily News.

A short round up of what's going on this weekend at Wildwood's Irish Weekend.

I'll be at Irish Weekend, so check in tomorrow for my preview of how to get your luck on. No book updates, but hopefully I'll have something to share soon!

What I'm Listening to: Preston & Steve on WMMR.