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| Kiss my seagull arse! |
Yes,
the title of this post has become quite the cliché especially in recent years. However,
it seemed to be the most appropriate collection of words to convey some of the
experiences from this past weekend at the shore. While I grew up going down to
the New Jersey beaches, as I have gotten older they have become less and less
appealing. Some people find the sand and salt air in the southern half of this
communist state enjoyable and even relaxing but my experience is definitely at
the opposite end of the spectrum. Obviously, heading east from my office is not
normally a direction I would chose to travel but my wife and I received a generous
offer to spend some time near the beach so off I went.
After
a long work week I got in the car and headed over the iron river and into the
communist state. Almost as soon as I crossed the halfway point over the bridge
and into the dark side, the traffic came to a halt. This seems to be a regular occurrence
during my rare travels into the restrictive boarders of New Jersey and would
prove to be a pattern throughout our brief time east of civilization. Adding to
our relaxing travels was the use of the New Jersey turn signal. As many of you
know, this can come in two forms either an imaginary notification to drivers
behind them or a single blink halfway through the turn. Either way, it is a marvelous
way to drive. As the smell of seagull arse grew stronger, I knew that I was
getting close to ending the three hour trek down to the beach.
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| Finally, people started leaving for the day! |
With
a night of sleep behind us and the morning coming to an end, we walked out to
the car and back on the road to visit the places we frequented during our
childhoods. While there were a few similarities to the memories that we
continue to carry with us, there are also tremendous differences that we
immediately noticed. In addition to the obvious overgrowth near my wife’s
childhood vacation spot in Cape May, one of the houses I remember fondly in Ocean
City was completely gone. It may not be practical but I guess that is one way
to get rid of the streaks left by a dog dragging his butt across the carpet.
However,
the one thing that each of those towns had in common was the crowds that filled
the streets and sidewalks. Even during the peak times of summer, I don’t
remember that many people flooding the shore points years ago. And while these
were never cheap places to begin with, the few signs that we did see included a
noticeable increase from those days past. I know it has been ten or twenty
years since I spent any substantial amount of time there but those prices were
well beyond normal inflation over time.
However,
there are some things that stay the same. Most notably is the inconsiderate
atmosphere that still proves pervasive during tourist season. There are too
many examples to cite here but I am sure that many of you know what I am
talking about… especially those who have spent time at the Jersey shore. Much
of this stems from congestion and, given the increased number of people
flooding the beaches, it is only going to get worse. Combine that with the
entitlement that fills the air and this destinations along the coast are far
from relaxing. This is probably why we were more wiped out after a few days at
the shore than we were after 10 days and 2500 miles traveling throughout Virginia.
I think we will continue sticking with the mountains.
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| That is so flat it's disturbing! |
