Down the Shore

I have to tell you, one thing about the way we Philly people talk is one not everyone understands.  There is something to be said about our vernacular.  When I first started dating Mike, one thing was for sure....I was different than his family.  I met his family for the first time at the beach, or as we Philly-ites like to say, down the shore.  So, when I say down the shore......well, that was a whole different phrase to them.

Down the shore meant to us a Friday night or Saturday morning ride over the Ben or Walt Whitman, straight down 42 to AC Expressway to GSP for a weekend (or week) of fun.  If you were MY dad, you would find the most convoluted back roads to take to get down the shore.  Some people prefer the Tacony, down 73 to Winslow and then hit up AC Expressway there.  Others prefer the Walt to 42 to 55 to 47 to 347.  Any way you slice it, it takes you down the shore.

Of course, the way you went would depend on what shore you were staying at  (ewww.....did I end a sentence with a preposition? I sure did!  I am a Philly-ite!).  I mean if we were doing a night at the casinos, it was stupid to take any way else than the AC Expressway and shoot straight down.  Same with Ocean City, of course you have to get off at 7S - haha I still remember!

My aunt had a place in Avalon; many summers and weekends were spent there.  We would take the AC Expressway to 7S for the GSP and get off the Swainton/Avalon exit.  My cousin and I would spend the days crabbing, beaching, or bike riding to Hoy's.  Then, we would go to Stone Harbor for some dinner at Henny's and some shopping.  Later, in my college years, we rented a house in Avalon.  It was like telephone booth stuffing; let's see how many drunk college grads could fit into a two bedroom bungalow!

Alot of time was spent traveling to Ocean City with my youth group or with my family.  Enter in.......Mack and Manco's Pizza.  It wouldn't be a complete trip without Mack and Manco's Pizza.  Completely different though from Mack's Pizza in Wildwood (same pizza though.....weird - family rivalry, perhaps?). 

Which brings me to Wildwood.  Wildwood was Jersey Shore before Jersey Shore became famous.  We would always stay at the Crest. You weren't respectable if you didn't stay at either the Crest or North Wildwood.  I like to say though, North Wildwood seems to be for the Northeast Philly-ites.  The Crest seems to be for the surburban-ites.  Doesn't matter to me though, I loved it all.  I would cry when we would leave, and see the big Ferris Wheel in the distance on the GSP.  I miss it even though at times, it is a trash heap.  I also miss Cape May; walking around and going shopping and eating at the Lobster House.

This was our family vacations.  This was our college summer getaways with friends.  I loved it all, and miss it terribly to this day.   It is all kitschy, really, but it is tradition!  Water balloon fights....the trolley to the boards......walking on the beach at night......swimming at 2am........ahhhh, those were the days.  

Some awesome places to visit down the shore:
La Piazza Cucina - Wildwood, NJ (my cousin's awesome Italian restaurant)
Mack's Pizza - on the boards in Wildwood (look for the little old lady owner, always sitting at the end of the counter)
Sam's Pizza - on the boards in Wildwood (it went through a fire, got rebuilt and is busier than ever)
Laura's Fudge - Wildwood, NJ (oh my, wonderful treats! and it is all PINK inside!)
Keenan's - North Wildwood, NJ (a fun place to let loose)
Flip Flopz - North Wildwood, NJ (another fun place to let loose)
Jack's Place - Avalon, NJ (yet another awesome place to let loose)
Maui's Dog House - North Wildwood, NJ (was seen on Triple D....awesome Hot Dogs!)
The Lobster House - Cape May, NJ (amazing soup!)
The Crab Trap - Somers Point, NJ  (amazing food and overall experience - right on the Egg Harbor Bay)
Mr. Bill's - Winslow, NJ (a nice stop off 73 for some eats and ice cream; it was our Midway point to the shore - look for the big Mr. Bill!)

So, I guess my next question is.......are you a Mack's person, or a Sam's person?

Willow Grove Park

I am waiting for pictures to upload to my computer, and found myself traveling back in time to the days of working at Gap Kids in Willow Grove Park.  Right smack dab on the second floor, I once stood selling flame retardant PJ's to snobby, uptight parents while some of my best friends were upstairs chasing chickens at Master Wok.  Wait, I am digressing.  It is an awesome mall; in fact, it is my mall of choice.  I love the ambiance, the stores, but most of all - I love the history.

Willow Grove Park was an amusement park located in, you guessed it, Willow Grove, PA, and my guess is it sits about 5-10 miles outside the Northwest Philadelphia city line.  The Park operated for eighty years from 1896 until the 1975 season.  After that, the ground on which the park was laid vacant until 1982 when the boom of the shopping malls hit.  The mall now pays homage to its amusement park days, complete with amusement park banners, horses from the merry go round, and in 2001, a merry go round was installed and now is located inside the mall. 

Willow Grove Park was originally conceived as a means to get away for the weekend for busy Philadelphians.  As you see, Philadelphia, quite obviously, was not as big geographically in 1896 as it is today.  To Philadelphians, getting away to Montgomery County was a vacation, a home away from home.  The park was also created to encourage people to use the new trolley line, created by the Peoples Traction Company, who in turned created the park.  What a promotion!  Obviously, at the the turn of the century and at the height of the Industrial Revolution, trolley cars and trains were seen as amazing new ideas to get people places quicker.  It all makes sense now!  

Willow Grove Park was the premiere amusement park in its heyday, and continued to be important until the bigger franchises of amusement parks came to be, and people could go other places now with the invention of cars, highways, and eventually airplanes.  DUH!  Okay, I feel like I am talking to my third graders, so I need to move on......

.......One of the biggest attractions in the park was the music pavilion, at which John Phillip Sousa and his band played every year but one between 1901 and 1926. The pavilion was demolished in March 1959.  Remember his hit song, "Be Kind to Your Webbed Footed Friends"?  Okay, again digressing.  

So if you are ever interested in hitting up some killer stores within a historic area, be sure to check out the Willow Grove Park (or Willow Grove Mall for the locals).  

http://willowgroveparkmall.com/