Vol. 4, No. 6, June 2007
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Shore Delights: Embracing Your Inner Shoobie
Every type of summer fun that can be imagined is available right here in South Jersey.
As sure as April showers bring May flowers, Memorial day at the shore brings an influx of tourists, better known as shoobies.
“Shoobies”—the name refers to the shoe boxes in which Philadelphians used to bring their lunches back when everyone took the train to Atlantic City—swell the summer population along the Eastern seaboard, from Sandy Hook to Wildwood.
With 37 million visitors a year to Atlantic City alone, summertime at the shore is the place to be. Some come for the casinos and the entertainment, some for the relaxing beaches or the vibrant nightlife, some for shopping or fine dinning. There are plenty of activities for the entire family to enjoy, whether you are seeing the skyline from the top of a ferris wheel, watching your child zoom down a water slide or sinking a winning putt.
But why let the tourists have all the fun? While they only have a short time to enjoy all the excitement the Jersey Shore has to offer, you have the privilege of actually living here. Instead of avoiding the crowds until Labor Day, it’s time to look at the shore through the eyes of the shoobies.
Let’s call it “embracing your inner shoobie.” Here are some recommendations to enjoy the best vacation ever without leaving your own backyard.
Get Out on the Water
There is such a wide variety of water-related activities here at the Jersey Shore, even a devoted landlubber can find something to enjoy.
Atlantic City Cruises (Historic Gardner’s Basin, N. New Hampshire Ave., Atlantic City, 609-347-7600, www.atlanticcitycruises.com) offers daily sightseeing and dolphin-watching tours aboard the 65-foot double-decker
Cruisin’ One.
The dolphin watch departs at 1 p.m. for a two-hour trip and if you don’t spot a dolphin, you get a free ticket to come back and try again. In 22 years, they’ve been successful 90 percent of the time. “I tell people it’s the best gamble in town,” says owner Jeff George. “You have a better chance of seeing a dolphin than you do hitting a progressive, that’s for sure.”
For the more adventurous, Atlantic City Cruises also offers parasailing off the 28-foot
Flying High. Parasailing departs hourly from 9 a.m. until about 5 p.m., depending on ocean and wind conditions. Atlantic City Cruises charges $60 per person for parasailing. The dolphin-watching tour is $30 for adults, $25 for seniors, and $15 for children.
You can also go dolphin-watching on the
Cape May Whale Watcher (2nd Ave. and Wilson Dr., Cape May, 800-786-5445) and
Starlight Whale and Dolphin Watch (6200 Park Blvd., Wildwood Crest, 609-729-3400).
Additional parasailing outfits include
Beach Haven Parasail (2702 Long Beach Blvd., Beach Haven, 609-492-0375),
East Coast Parasail (in two locations: 1121 Route 109, Cape May, and 1044 W. Rio Grande Blvd., Wildwood, 609-886-6887), and
Ocean City Parasailing
Adventures, (3rd St. and the Bay, Ocean City, 609-399-3559.
Other water sports to consider include water skiing, kayaking, surfing, and renting jet skis. Beginners can try out water-skiing or wakeboarding at
Island Water Sports (97th St. and the Bay, Stone Harbor, 609-368-6114).
Lessons for either sport are $145 for one hour and include all equipment. Kayaks and the roof racks to carry them can be rented at
Web Feet Water Sports (800 New Hampshire Ave., Atlantic City, 609-572-1004).
Surfing lessons can be obtained from just about any surf shop at the shore, and generally include the rental of a learner’s foam board and wetsuit. Two recent additions in Atlantic City are the
Atlantic City Surfing Club (www.surfingac.com) and
Atlantic Surf School (www.atlanticsurfsessions.com, 609-517-5069).
Wave runners and jet skis are available for rent at numerous places, including
Beesley’s Point Sea-Doo (912 N. Shore Rd, Beesley’s Point, 609-390-1113),
Wet & Wild (242 Bay Ave., Ocean City, 609-399-6527) and
Lakeview Docks (7118 Park Blvd., Wildwood, 609-522-0471).
Catch Your Own Dinner
Go crabbing in the bay, dig clams on the beach, or go out on a fishing boat and cast a line in the water. The
Duke O’ Fluke (Higbee Ave. and the Bay, Somers Point, 609-926-2280) takes groups out on the bay in search of flounder twice daily.
“If you’re lucky enough to catch a keeper, the mate will be glad to filet it for you and you’ll walk off the boat with a baggie full of fresh fish for dinner,” says the Fluke’s owner, Brook Koeneke. “And we love teaching kids how to fish. When they catch their first fish, the expressions on their faces are just
priceless.”
If your fishing expedition is less than successful, just head to one of the area’s many seafood restaurants for a delectable summertime meal.
Try
Smith’s Clam Bar (910 Bay Ave., Somers Point, 609-927-8783) for a creamy New England clam chowder that can’t be beat, or
Busch’s Restaurant (201 87th St., Sea Isle City, 609-263-8626) for a steaming bowl of she-crab soup.
Go to an Amusement Park
Choices include
Morey’s Piers in Wildwood,
Gillian’s Wonderland Pier and
Playland’s Castaway Cove in Ocean City, the
Steel Pier in Atlantic City, and
Fantasy Island in Beach Haven.
Every Thursday, the Steel Pier will be hosting Family Festival Nights from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with street performers and entertainment, as well as free arts and crafts and face-painting for the kids.
You might also want to visit
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum (New York Avenue and the Boardwalk, Atlantic City, 609-347-2001). Strictly speaking, this is not an amusement park, but it is a heck of a lot of fun. It’s also a great option for a rainy day.
New this year at Ripley’s is a funeral parlor/cemetery gallery that opened on Memorial Day weekend. According to manager Chris Connelly, the theme is humorous, not gruesome, featuring replicas of tombstones with unusual and comical sayings, and coffins in unusual shapes like airplanes.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to midnight daily during the summer months. Cost is $14.99 for adults, $9.99 for children. Discounts are available for seniors, military, AAA, and students.
Spend a Day at the Beach
According to Vicki Clark, executive director of the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce, visiting out-of-state beaches has given her a renewed appreciation for the Jersey shore.
“My family lives in Virginia and North Carolina, so we’ve spent a lot of time on Carolina beaches, and it’s just so different from here,” she says. “In general, there are not lifeguards and there aren’t convenient bathroom facilities. But here in South Jersey, everything is very family-friendly and accessible.”
Beach tags are required in all towns except Atlantic City and Wildwood.
Sneak in an Educational Experience
School may be out for the summer, but that doesn’t mean the kids (and you!) can’t learn something new.
The Atlantic City Aquarium (Historic Gardner’s Basin, New Hampshire Avenue and the Bay, Atlantic City, 609-348-2880) offers a peek into the undersea world with over 100 varieties of fish and marine animals.
There are three new exhibits this year at the aquarium including a Piranha Tank, the Dive and Dine show where visitors can watch divers feed fish and sharks, and the Shark and Stingray Touch Tank, where adventurous souls can touch and feed baby stingrays and bamboo sharks.
The Atlantic City Aquarium is open daily from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors, and $4 for children.
Other places to learn and have fun include:
•
Wetlands Institute (1075 Stone Harbor Blvd., Stone Harbor, 609-368-1211), which offers wetlands exhibits, aquariums, and birding walks;
•
The Cape May Bird Observatory (two locations, 701 East Lake Dr., Cape May Point, 609-884-2736; and 600 State Hwy 47, Cape May Court House, 609-861-0700), which offers guided field trips and back bay birding aboard a pontoon boat;
•
The Nature Center of Cape May (1600 Delaware Ave., Cape May, 609-898-8848), which offers a gardening series, Harbor Safaris, and natural habitat trolley tours; and
•
The Noyes Museum (733 Lily Lake Rd., Oceanville, 609-652-8848), which offers summer art camps, and features both permanent and temporary art exhibits in a wide range of media.
Go Miniature Golfing
Regular golf is time-consuming, expensive, and fraught with rules. Mini golf, on the other hand, is a hoot, and it’s something the whole family can enjoy.
A family of four can play for less than $30, and there are no greens fees, cart rentals, or dress codes requiring collared shirts. In fact, if it’s really hot you can forget the shirt altogether!
Congo Falls Adventure Golf (1132 Boardwalk, Ocean City, 609-398-1211) has three themed courses, the Congo Queen, Solomon’s Mine, and the Lost City—an indoor course that’s ideal for inclement weather or kids who’ve had a little too much sun. The two outdoor courses are $5.95 per person, and the indoor course is $6.95 per person. After 6 p.m., the price goes up by a dollar.
As a testament to its popularity, there are over 30 listings for miniature golf courses between Long Beach Island and Cape May. Aside from Congo Falls, a sampling includes
Cape May Miniature Golf (315 Jackson St., Cape May, 609-884-2222),
Jurassic Golf (4th Ave., Wildwood, 609-729-5577),
Tee Time Miniature Golf (221 96th St., Stone Harbor),
Atlantic City Miniature Golf (1 Kennedy Plaza, Atlantic City, 609-347-1661), and
Fantasy Island Amusement Park Golf (Bay Ave., Beach Haven, 609-492-4000).
Rent Bikes or a Surrey
And take the family for a morning ride on a boardwalk. In Atlantic City, bikes can be rented for $8 an hour at
Web Feet Water Sports. But get there early, because you have to be off the Boardwalk by 10 a.m.
Bike rental establishments can be found all along the boardwalk in Ocean City. At the
Surf Buggy Center (860 8th St., Ocean City, 609-399-2468), bikes rent for $5 an hour and surreys are $10 for a single bench, $20 for a double. In Ocean City, you’re permitted to ride the boards until 12 p.m.
See a Sunrise (or Sunset) Over the Water
This is the last item on our list because it’s the perfect way to begin (or end) a summer day at the shore. Check your local newspaper or the Weather Channel for sunrise times and head to the nearest beach before dawn. Be sure to bring sweatshirts and a blanket (it’s chilly on the beach at that hour, even in the midst of summer), grab some donuts and coffee, and prepare to be amazed at the Technicolor show Mother Nature provides.
If you’re more night owl than early bird, watching a sunset might be more your speed. At Sunset Beach in Cape May, the setting sun over open water (a rarity on the East Coast) is further enhanced by a flag-lowering ceremony. Get there early and search for Cape May diamonds, actually polished quartz stones that wash up on the beach.
Enjoy your summer, and remember: There’s no need to travel. We’ve got it all right here.
