💸 ‘I’d rather go to Disney’ | Down the Shore

Hello again! So many heartfelt responses from you all about the current state of Long Beach Island, and the Shore in general, a place people think is changing beyond recognition, with so many of the little rituals that have resonated throughout generations disappearing under the blanket of new development and exclusivity.

And that’s only if you get there in the first place!

My colleague Erin McCarthy captured the heartbreak of people in the Philly area who feel they have been priced out of Jersey Shore vacations.

Some are headed elsewhere, like all-inclusive resorts or the Outer Banks, Ocean City, Md., or Florida. One person whose mom lives in Somers Point, just outside Ocean City, says it’s too much hassle to even get to Ocean City from there, with parking and crowds and the expense. “I’d rather go to Disney,” said one woman. Well, OK then!

The simple ability to go down the Shore seems more complicated, more expensive, and less rewarding (I’m already here so I just lay low on weekends). The character of old beach towns has changed, and the people who now own all the property don’t remember and don’t care. Do you agree?

Al Mikutis described Sea Isle City this way: “Finding a spot to eat w/parking on Fri-Sun???????? Tis not the place/island/city we bought into in 1977. Expected!”

Elizabeth Rowan recalled her family’s small cottage on LBI where she slept in the attic with the windows open, listening to the surf. “The cottage was not on the beach, it did not matter. The beach was there for everyone to share. The monster mansions have stolen what once was shared. The sky, the breeze, and in fact the air. The structures that tower over the beach road, make the road narrow, shady, and unfriendly.”

Shannon McGroarty worries that as “more and more people have discovered our 18 miles of paradise … the demands they are putting on the housing/rental market and the food industry are scarring the island permanently.”

It’s a conversation that’s just beginning.

📮 Let me know what you think and I’ll include your most interesting responses by replying to this email.

This week’s newsletter also features the latest Shore gossip, what to eat and do, and an interview with Jane Wong, author of “Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City,” who is signing books in A.C. on Saturday. (If someone forwarded you this email, or you’re reading online, sign up for free here.)

— Amy S. Rosenberg (🐦 Tweet me at @amysrosenberg. 📷 Follow me on Insta at @amysrosenberg. 📧 Email me at downtheshore@inquirer.com)

🌡️ The weather on the barrier islands is … unusual? Nor’easter Nick explains island microclimates.

🚳 E-bike or not e-bike: Ocean City is still not sure whether to ban e-bikes on the boardwalk. But a final vote is set for Thursday that will ban backpacks on the boardwalk after 8 p.m.

🎭 From Margate to Broadway: Micaela Diamond, a veteran of Margate summer theater camps, was nominated for a Tony for her amazing performance as Lucille Frank in Parade. Rosa Cartagena reported on Diamond and other local stars from the Tony’s.

🛝 Drip, drip drip. It’s not open yet, but the Island Water Park at Showboat has already reduced prices. Tickets dropped $10 to $89 beginning July 24.

🎡 Adult bookstore in Ocean City? There was (surprising) chatter about this on social media. In the meantime, check out Asbury Avenue’s new lingerie store, Flirt.

🦞 Death of a bartender: People are mourning Robert “Bobby Dink” Dinkelacker, a bartender at the Lobster House for 49 years.

🎐Wind chiming: The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Managements wants your opinion on the controversial wind turbines.

🩴 Big lineup on a big beach: In Wildwood, it’s the Barefoot Country Music Festival.

🎤 D.J. Jazzy Jeff will spin hip-hop classics for 50 old-school emcees in Atlantic City.

🧇 Brunch on Monday: Rhythm & Spirits on Tennessee Avenue in A.C. has started an industry brunch.

🪜 Climb Barney again: The Barnegat Lighthouse reopened Saturday after a $1.3 million restoration.

🫐 Blueberries! It’s that time again in Jersey. Get off exit 28 and follow the signs. $25 a flat.

🍷 Where’s LaBan? Intrepid restaurant critic Craig LaBan finished his Shore trip at La Autentica in Ocean City eating Tamaulipas-style mole rojo and drinking wine (!) in dry Ocean City. Stay tuned!

Mutz, noun. A synonym for mozzarella, popularized in Hoboken, but increasingly used down the Shore, where mutz seems to have become as de rigueur in summer as gladiolas (glads).

Did you decide on the Tony Boloney’s pesto or Sicilian chili mutz at the Farmers Market this week?

Fun fact: Tony Boloney’s just opened a new spot in the south end of Margate next to a brand new Tequila Bar.

A lot of people were reliving their last days at Moore’s Inlet in North Wildwood, the answer to last week’s trivia question. Maryann Severino was first. “I remember it well. Along with the Red Garter.”

This week’s question is prompted by the return of former N.J. Gov. Chris Christie to the political scene. I have thoughts, as do a lot of people in New Jersey. But for now:

❓Which Jersey Shore town were then-President Obama and then-Gov. Chris Christie headed to following their famous sorta bro-hug greeting after Hurricane Sandy?

A. Brick

B. Seaside Heights

C. Atlantic City

D. Brigantine

If you think you know the answer, email me and first one will get a shout out.

Donna Figaniak asks about cheaper-priced places in North Wildwood. Thanks for asking Donna! I think in general, the Wildwoods are among the most affordable places to stay at the Shore, with free beaches and lots of motels.

In addition, my colleague Erin McCarthy offers these tips, including camping, mid-week and off-season (try it!), for a cheaper Jersey Shore vacation.

Jane Wong, 38, a poet, professor, and author, grew up in Central Jersey and spent a lot of time in Atlantic City. It is a place she found magical as a child, but a place into which her father frequently disappeared to gamble, ultimately costing the family its Chinese takeout restaurant.

In her new memoir, Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City, she explores the “emotional weight” of Atlantic City, the way the Asian community in particular is targeted by casinos, and the toll it took on her family. She’ll be in Atlantic City on Saturday to read from her memoir at Mighty Writers, 15 N. California Ave., between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

What is it about Atlantic City that all these years later, you still felt so deeply about it?

My father gambled quite a bit when I was younger. Atlantic City definitely has a particular weight about it. Beyond my family’s personal story about gambling and debt, ultimately that city is also a city of dreams, in many ways building something from nothing.

In the book, you imagine a future walking down an empty Boardwalk with your father, who you haven’t seen in more than a decade. You write, “What kind of luck do I need for this to come true?”

This is where forgiveness comes in, even though it’s a hard and tragic story in many ways. If we believe in luck, if I could just blow on dice and roll some big number, what’s going to make me connect with my father and have this relationship? Is it work or is it luck? What kind of luck? It has to be luck at this point. It’s heartbreaking. On a more personal level, he is not well. I had to write this book in order to see him. [A reunion is in the works.]

Atlantic City really sticks with people, even the weirdest details, like the “transparent lettuce with Russian dressing,” you saw at the food buffets.

I grew up eating my family’s food, Cantonese and Toisanese. When I first saw iceberg lettuce, it looked like a jewel.

Read my full interview with Jane Wong.

Vito Quaglia, of Scranton, sends this lovely series of “fuzzy flashbacks:”

First in the grainy Polaroid images of me as a little kid, sleeping by the screen door to stay cool in a crowded rental we shared with cousins in Seaside Heights. Then a few years later — eating soggy cooler hoagies, getting sunburned shoulders, trying to keep sandy feet off blankets in Wildwood. Fast forward to gloriously hectic summer days in our twenties, crashing at my in-laws in Cape May Courthouse and the morning drives fighting traffic into Stone Harbor. Growing up in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Shore was, and is, the Land of Oz … But no yellow brick road for us — just pack the car and take that turnpike to Jersey, blasting Springsteen on the car stereo.

Send us your Shore memory in 200 words and tell us how the Shore taps into something deep for you.

📮 Send your Shore best moment or memory here. Include a photo!

See you next week, when it’s summer for realz.😮

-Amy