Why I Prefer the OBX to the NJ Shore,....

And it isn't because of Snooki and The Situation,....

More like "Avalon, Crueler by the Mile."

Chris Freind recently opined on my childhood summer stomping grounds:

Without question, Avalon is one of the best beach towns on the South Jersey coast. Jutting a mile further out in the Atlantic than other shore points, its cool ocean breezes and pristine beaches make for a fantastic family vacation.


That is, unless you happen to cross the Avalon Beach Patrol, who seem to relish acting like storm-troopers.


Avalon, like most governments, has laws and regulations on the books that make darn near everything a violation.


Games on the beach? Can’t do it. Throw a ball in the ocean? Nope. Have a gas grill on your deck? Don’t even think about it.


All against the law, but virtually never enforced.


Government should never have ordinances which are selectively enforced.


This breeds contempt for the system and leads to widespread abuse by overzealous wannabes on a power-trip.


There are many good things about Avalon, but, as is always the case, they are overshadowed by the bad. The city fathers would be wise to eliminate all but the necessary ordinances, and start remembering who makes the town what it is.


As is the case with most shore towns, beach tags are required. This policy has long irked the vast majority of beach-goers, who believe they more than pay the cost of beach preservation by the many taxes and fees levied on them. And they also believe, not unjustifiably, that the beach belongs to everyone, and no one should have to pay to use it.


Disdain aside, most comply. Incredibly, though, that wasn’t good enough for the Avalon Patrol.

As I said, I grew up going to Avalon every summer through the 70s and early 80s.  Then work and other such life situations intervened and I found myself traveling abroad as much as locally.

Then something strange happened a few years ago: the Blue Bloods of the Main Line, apparently tired of their over-development of Ocean City, decided to buy up everything not tied down in Avalon and make it "Bryn Mahh-by-the-Sea."  My old haunts are now art galleries and $100-a-plate restaurants.  Wawas and 7-Elevens infest Ocean and Dune Drives. And if you cannot provide the official Merion Cricket Club handshake, you might as well keep driving north to Sea Isle City, or you'll be the next victim of the Main Liners' Imperial Storm Troopers,....um, Avalon Beach Patrol! 

Gimme the quiet and warm waters of Corolla, NC any day!

So,..Its Not Just Me?

Gov. Christie Worries 'Jersey Shore' Bad for Garden State

MTV's reality hit "Jersey Shore" has created a situation, so to speak, for the Garden State. So says Gov. Chris Christie.

The Republican governor said Sunday that the bawdy reality series is a "negative" for his state because it doesn't depict the New Jersey he knows. For starters, most of the uber-tanned, hair-gelled stars of the show aren't even from Jersey.

"What it does is it takes a bunch of New Yorkers, who are -- most of the people on 'Jersey Shore' are New Yorkers -- takes a bunch of New Yorkers, drops them at the Jersey shore, and tries to make America feel like this is New Jersey," Christie said on ABC's "This Week."

The second season of "Jersey Shore" begins this week, but Christie urged anyone who wants to get a real taste of his state to book a trip instead of watching the show.

"I could tell people, they want to know what New Jersey really is? I welcome them to come to New Jersey any time. The Jersey shore is a beautiful place, and it's a place that everybody should come on vacation this summer," he said. "We've got another six weeks or so of summer left. Come to New Jersey."


As a kid and into my late teens, I practically grew up "down the shore;" predeominantly in pre-Main Line snobbified Avalon. The types of losers seen on this show were the kind of a-holes you either saw in "Childwood" during Senior Week or in places Sea Isle City and the beach towns north LBI!

That said, as much as I miss the Jersey Shore, you can't pull me away from the Outer Banks anymore! Sorry, Gov. Christie!

I Guess Penny-Pinching Lower Eastside Jews and Drunken Southie Irish Aren't As Entertaining?

'Jersey Shore' back for a second season on MTV
by Lynette Rice

MTV announced late Friday that it has ordered a second season of Jersey Shore, its controversial yet wildly successful reality show about a group of youths who rent a beach house. The network ordered 12 more episodes that will begin airing this summer. The plan is to follow season 1’s Pauly D, Mike, Snooki, Jenni, Sammi, Ronnie, and Vinny as they “escape the cold northeast and find themselves in a new destination,” according to a network statement.

“Our audience has fallen in love with Jersey Shore and its amazing cast who have really grown together as a family,” said Tony DiSanto, MTV’s president of programming, in a statement. “That bond gives the show its heart, and we’re thrilled to reunite these friends.”

More outrage from the NIAF here

Son of a Beach,...

Sandy laurels for South Jersey
Seven of the Top 10 N.J. beaches are in Cape May County

By Jacqueline L. Urgo

Inquirer Staff Writer

WILDWOOD - Wildwood, where Jersey Shore enthusiasts can enjoy the state's widest beach and never purchase a beach tag, was the big winner yesterday in the Garden State's first Top 10 Beaches contest.

The Cape May County resort, with a beach that measures nearly a half-mile at its widest point, was voted best beach overall in a survey sponsored by the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium, a coalition of environmental and tourism groups. More than 15,000 people cast ballots online and at regional events between February and April.

South Jersey beaches, nearly all of them in Cape May County, trounced their northern competition on the Top 10 list. The poll asked participants to rate towns along the state's 127-mile coastline on the basis of several characteristics including water quality, access, and aesthetics.

Neighboring Wildwood Crest came in second, followed by Ocean City, North Wildwood, Cape May, Asbury Park in Monmouth County, Avalon, Point Pleasant Beach in northern Ocean County, Beach Haven in southern Ocean County and Stone Harbor.

Survey respondents also named Wildwood the best beach town for events and tourism. Wildwood Crest was named tops for family vacations and Island Beach State Park, in central Jersey, was voted best for ecotourism, according to the survey, released at a news conference in Sandy Hook timed to kick off the Memorial Day weekend.

"People come to the Jersey Shore for the beaches and this proves that when people look for a good beach, they look for the factors that we offer in Wildwood," said Wildwood Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr.

"We're fortunate and proud to have the widest, cleanest and safest beach in the state. And it's free."

Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood and Atlantic City are the only beaches in the state that don't require visitors to purchase a beach tag. The cost of a daily tag elsewhere ranges from about $5 to $10; seasonal tags sell for an average of about $20.

Troiano said the only complaint the town of 5,000 year-round residents ever receives about its beaches seems to be how big they are.

Most like the size, which leaves plenty of room for volleyball, kite-flying and other activities. But "some people have said it's too long a walk to the water's edge," Troiano said.

"It's kind of an embarrassment of riches considering so many other towns are plagued by beach erosion," he said.

Wildwood City Commissioner Bill Davenport said he has often joked that towns up the coast "should color their beach sand so we'll know who to return it to when it washes ashore down here."

The Wildwoods - as Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood are collectively known - are among the few New Jersey Shore towns that haven't been re-engineered in beach-replenishment projects.

"When it comes to a natural beach, ours are the only ones that aren't manmade," Troiano said. "The sand hasn't been pumped in. That we are an all-natural beach is a very fortunate accident of geography, and maybe people appreciate that."

Diane F. Wieland, director of Cape May County's Department of Tourism, said she appreciated that seven of the Top 10 beaches are in her jurisdiction

"We really hit the jackpot," Wieland said. "We're certainly going to be using this information in every one of our television and print ads, brochures and on signage. Fifteen thousand people can't be wrong."

One of those people was Lisa Sharkey, 32, a lifelong Wildwood resident who voted in the survey.

"Wildwood has taken some knocks over the years, with problems with our downtown and boardwalk," Sharkey said. "But people really should come and look at this beach. It's incredible."

Contact staff writer Jacqueline L. Urgo at 609-823-9629 or jurgo@phillynews.com.

The TrekMedic sets sail and adds:

Wildwood?? Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot! Having been raised in Avalon during my summers (back when it was a shore town and not "Main-Line-by-the-Sea!"), Wildwood was a one-night treat to walk the board, go on the rides, and eat ice cream and hot, fresh waffles together. Then you went to Uncle Bill's Pancake House in Stone Harbor the next morning.

Nowadays, Wildwood attracts French Canadians, people who STILL think the 50s were cool, and NJ firefighters after Labor Day. No matter how much you knock down the old motels, it makes Asbury Park look quaint by comparison!

And North Wildwood? My God, the beach is bigger than the town. You're worn out walking by the time you get to the water!

These days, give me Ocean City!