the rix mix

I haven't gone to the Jersey shore all summer, which was probably apparent in the many nostalgic postings here during August. The main reason is simply that I don't have a car. Driving down to the bayshore or Sandy Hook (beach & Twin Lights) for a few hours was a casual, often spur-of-the-moment matter for me. I always made it to Seaside Heights a couple of times. This year I might even have arranged a few days in North Wildwood, perhaps in October. Having no close friends nearby I can try to entice or beg into driving me, the only alternative is to take a train. The trip to Point Pleasant Beach has 19 stops, a transfer in Long Branch, sometimes with a 1/2 hour wait for the Bay Head local. Weekday afternoon trains include another transfer in South Amboy. Weekend trains are crowded, noisy, tedious, & often smelly, too. A journey of 1 hour & 45 minutes at best. The frustration of Point Pleasant is knowing Seaside Heights in only ten direct, uncomplicated miles south, most of it with a scenic view of Barnegat Bay. We had several weeks of temps that ranged from uncomfortably to dangerously hot, with no late afternoon sea breezes, followd by several unsettled weeks that frequently featured violent thunderstorms. So it was a summer of "maybe tomorrow" & then checking the forecasts & deciding "not today." The closing of the Asbury Park HoJos ended Glen Jones' run of live broadcasts from that venue, about the only reason I ventured into the town. I've had summers like this before, even when I had a car, compensated for by a bunch of off-season trips. Sept & Oct really are the best all-round months. But I do miss that one whack-a-doo Saturday night at Seaside when I'd invariably end up by the old carousel, with an ice cream cone, listening to the band organ, hoping it would get around to playing its loony rendition of "Obla Di Obla Da."

Labels: boardwalks, jersey shore