This iReport is part of an assignment:
Jersey Shore memories
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- Posted November 2, 2012 by
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Generations "Down the Shore"
My dad's family came to Atlantic City in 1908, when my great-grandfather purchased a hotel to convert to apartments on one of the "Monopoly Streets." My grandfather was raised in Atlantic City, and my dad spent much of his youth there. Although my dad moved closer to Philadelphia, where he had a job, we spent many a Sunday and summer vacations in AC, then Ventnor (after my grandmother lost the apartment building to urban renewal). Some of the memories from childhood: Steeplechase Pier, which had my favorite rides; Million Dollar Pier, which had a ride called the "Orient Express" which scared the daylights out of me (my mother still remembers me screaming, "get me out of here!); Central Pier, with the Needle (great views); Planters' Peanuts on the Boardwalk (got to shake Mr. Peanut's hand); Fralinger's and James' Salt Water Taffy; and the Ice Capades at Convention Hall. And there was always a stop at Tabers Toys, at least to look if not buy.
Steel Pier - My dad took me to see Herb Alpert there in 1968. And I loved the diving bell, even though the water was murky and there wasn't much of a view.
Captain Starn's at the Inlet. We visited at least once a summer to take a boat ride and feed the sea lions. I always remember the large sailboat with the giant lobster on the sail.
For two summers, we rented a two-bedroom bungalow in Brigantine, a block from the beach. My parents had a chance to buy - $15,000. They didn't go for it, and until this week I always wished they had.
Then there's Long Beach Island. The summer after my freshman year of high school, I headed down the shore with two cousins and a friend to stay with cousins' great-aunt in a bungalow on Cedar Bonnet Island, right in Barnegat Bay and split by the Route 72 causeway. Every time I hear "Born to Run," I'm riding in a Ford Falcon heading down the shore. We spent two weeks there, going to Beach Haven during the day or checking the crab traps tied to the pilings along the shore at Cedar Bonnet.
I introduced my now-husband - a Midwesterner who grew up on the Great Lakes - to crabbing. We'd rent a motorboat in Ship Bottom, go out in the bay, and drop crab traps. We came home with a trunk full of crabs, and then husband's mother got to figure out how to cook blue claws.
I don't live near the shore anymore, and the Atlantic City I remember didn't exist even before Sandy. Still, the Jersey Shore made for some wonderful childhood memories. And I have introduced my sons to parts of the shore - they love the Cape May Ferry.
Steel Pier - My dad took me to see Herb Alpert there in 1968. And I loved the diving bell, even though the water was murky and there wasn't much of a view.
Captain Starn's at the Inlet. We visited at least once a summer to take a boat ride and feed the sea lions. I always remember the large sailboat with the giant lobster on the sail.
For two summers, we rented a two-bedroom bungalow in Brigantine, a block from the beach. My parents had a chance to buy - $15,000. They didn't go for it, and until this week I always wished they had.
Then there's Long Beach Island. The summer after my freshman year of high school, I headed down the shore with two cousins and a friend to stay with cousins' great-aunt in a bungalow on Cedar Bonnet Island, right in Barnegat Bay and split by the Route 72 causeway. Every time I hear "Born to Run," I'm riding in a Ford Falcon heading down the shore. We spent two weeks there, going to Beach Haven during the day or checking the crab traps tied to the pilings along the shore at Cedar Bonnet.
I introduced my now-husband - a Midwesterner who grew up on the Great Lakes - to crabbing. We'd rent a motorboat in Ship Bottom, go out in the bay, and drop crab traps. We came home with a trunk full of crabs, and then husband's mother got to figure out how to cook blue claws.
I don't live near the shore anymore, and the Atlantic City I remember didn't exist even before Sandy. Still, the Jersey Shore made for some wonderful childhood memories. And I have introduced my sons to parts of the shore - they love the Cape May Ferry.
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