ShoreDays.com

We’re now a full five weeks into “the summer that wasn’t” with nary a beach day to be found. Really, the only legitimate start-to-finish, no onshore breeze beach day occurred way back on, ironically, April 26th. Since then, we’ve battled a seemingly endless mix of wind, clouds and rain as April doesn’t seem to want to end. Needless to say, it has put a serious damper on the summer at the shore vibe and many of the usual suspects from last year’s “crew” have failed to make a return trip down since our lively Memorial Day weekend kick-off (more on that later).

Inspite of this, we march onward, the good shore soldiers that we are.

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After what’s seemed like an endless winter, shore season is finally, FINALLY, upon us! The sun, the sand, the jersey shore cover bands… not to mention we resume the battle of good (locals) vs. evil (the gweed) as the bennys make their descent down the Garden State Parkway in just a few short days.

This upcoming summer already has a slightly different feel and one might say anxiety about it; since we last left things in July, parts of our crew have either gotten married, broken up, turned 30, started new relationships or moved across state lines. But probably most crucially, while the balance of power resided in Belmar last season, this year we are without a true home base so spontaneity is less of an option. Taxi cabs and party vans need to be reserved in advance, and no man shall, nor really can, be left behind. So this is a recipe for a big letdown, right? No way.

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I was having some fun with this site last summer, but things got so hectic weekend after weekend in July and August (we went out every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and in too many cases, out both nights) I just wasn’t able to keep up with this.

Whether this is a re-kick-off or just an isolated post remains to be seen, but figured I’d follow-up on my to-do list from last summer:

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Just a little heads up… the new, more appropriate domain name is shoredays.com.

Two miles around Sea Girt on a Saturday morning followed by an hour of free beer at the Parker House. Oh, and you also pick up both a t-shirt and sweatshirt for the $40 registration fee.

This has the potential to be a real sh*tshow of a day. In other words, this is a no-brainer, kids. Sign up now.

Fourth of July weekend, aside from being a big holiday weekend, also represents that moment in summer where you sit back and come to the realization that everything is in cruise control. And I mean this in a good way.

By now you’ve established your favorite spots (for us, Parker, Patio and Osprey are carrying medals), you generally know who you’ll be pre-gaming with and a significant percentage of the people you meet out at your spots are what you might consider the regulars, your summer friends.

So leading into the big holiday weekend we figured with minimal effort, it was going to be a big one, a long-lasting buzz that wouldn’t wear off until Sunday evening. Unfortunately, mother nature wasn’t about to cooperate..

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Whereas two weekends ago was a surprise gem, this past weekend had a ton of buildup going for it given that it was the big bachelor party weekend of the summer. Over the last couple of months, there was lots of discussion on where to go, who to invite, strategizing how to pace ourselves for an entire weekend, inappropriate e-mails getting caught in work spam filters… bottom line, a lot to live up to.

And yet again, the J-shore came through.

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Epic is a strong word but bear with me.

During summer, there are always the big weekends that you come almost naturally - Memorial Day weekend, 4th of July weekend (depending on when the actual holiday falls), Labor Day weekend, Weddings, Bachelor Parties, etc. But then there’s those unexpected gems that periodically pop up during the summer, often going against the agenda laid out and containing non-stop action right from the moment work gets out through your Sunday morning (monster) hangover.

The weekend before, we were all pumped up for Sea Isle City, so much so that we had a planned “rest day” for Friday night. Well, neither happened, and things got a little ridiculous.

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I was prepared to eulogize the Manasquan Water Taxi (despite only taking one trip on it myself) given the following key pieces of info:

An article written about the owner last summer (no link available), speculating that 2007 might be the end

Not seeing the taxi when boating on the squan over MDW

The Water Taxi website not being updated for 2008

BUT…

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We kicked off summer weeks ago, but with the official start of summer technically this Saturday, its time you and I make note of our wish list for the summer of 2008. Unless you commit pen to paper early, you’ll find yourself in mid-August with lots of plans but not enough time to execute.

So, without further ado, here are some of my not particularly ambitious to-do’s:

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