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Sep
18
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 The Daily News reports today that Keenan’s, beloved North Wildwood Irish pub, will be closed for Irish Weekend. Keenan’s? Closed for Irish Weekend? Be still my Irish heart!
The annual festival, which begins today, brings thousands to the five-mile island to do many things celebrating Irish heritage, like drinking, getting drunk and listening to Timmy Kelly (pictured) while consuming alcohol. (There are events that are about Irish heritage and non-alcoholic fun — and there’s probably a Mass, too — but I’ve never known anyone who attended them. Maybe I only know drunks.)
Keenan’s big sin was (get ready for this) serving alcohol to both a 20-year-old and an 18-year-old. Since every bar everywhere ever in the history of mankind has served underage patrons, the usual maxim with selectively-enforced laws applies: Somebody at Keenan’s pissed the wrong person off.
Keenan says the bar is constantly fighting a battle against fake IDs. He believes that his family is being punished for flaws in New Jersey’s and Pennsylvania’s licensing systems. “That hand we’ve been dealt isn’t 100 percent accurate. Yeah, we served minors. But we confiscated 175 fake IDs from Memorial Day to Labor Day,” said Keenan, 35.
“The bottom line is we have four separate violations, with a total of six underage drinkers in 10 years. Every one of them had a Pennsylvania valid ID with no dupes.”
Hey, only six underage drinkers (in a bar that takes up a whole block) in 10 years! That’s quite a record. Now that the bar is closed for Irish Weekend, no one under the age of 21 will ever drink in New Jersey again. You can lay off now, Richard Codey!
N. Wildwood’s Keenan’s shut for Irish Weekend [Daily News]
Photo by Irish Philadelphia, Creative Commons License
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dmac | 12:43 PM | 3 Comments
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Jun
16
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I went down the shore over the weekend — to Wildwood, of course, because Wildwood is awesome and if you disagree you’re wrong. On Saturday, wildfires from North Carolina and Virginia somehow created a haze on the beaches down the shore. “It smells like cedar,” some dude told the Press of Atlantic City. Neat!
And, then, just this morning, a three-alarm fire broke out under Mariner’s Landing in Wildwood, requiring 200 firefighters to get the blaze under control. I was in Wildwood over the weekend; fire in Wildwood Monday morning. Coincidence? Well, of course. The Boardwalk of Fame and Happiness (this is an actual sign) doesn’t just catch fire because I went for a visit, ate at Sam’s Pizza and learned that spray-on sunscreen doesn’t work as well as the regular stuff.
Today’s fire wasn’t quite as tragic as the one that leveled Castle Dracula six years ago; the only rides that were damaged were the Super Scooter and the Seal Flume (which are probably kids’ rides). Ha ha, kids, looks like we grownups win again!
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dmac | 8:54 AM | 3 Comments
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May
22
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In a big eff-you to a bunch of my high school friends who always whined that the Wildwood beach was “too long,” the monstrosity was voted New Jersey’s best beach by some sort of poll, meaning it was 100 percent factual. The poll was also online, which totally ups that even higher somehow.
Wildwood actually bested not only both Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood, despite the former having the advantage of fewer annoying people and the latter having the advantage of no curfew for people under 18, though the beach is closed by then anyway.
The tourism board was angry that some shore resorts jumped the gun on announcing their top-10 status; somehow, Wildwood was first, the Crest second, Ocean City third and North Wildwood fourth. Guh?
Also, Asbury Park was sixth, which I can no doubt say is 100 percent the result of Bruce Springsteen. And, yes, it’s now shore season, which is really all this poll was designed to remind you of anyway.
Voters picks for top-10 beaches [AP/Philly.com]
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dmac | 3:50 PM | 1 Comment
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May
20
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NBC 10 also reported yesterday on the shore, which will be super-crowded this weekend thanks to Memorial Day. The price of a slice of pizza is up — oh no! — at Sam’s Pizza in Wildwood, though it’s only going from $1.75 to $1.90. Eh, that ain’t so bad.
And also the Morey’s Pier rollercoaster, The Great Noreaster, has a new name — and boy is it clever:
Just in time for summer, Morey’s Surfside Pier in North Wildwood is putting a new spin on one of its most popular rides. “It’s the Great Nor’easter, which we’re now calling ‘Fly the Great Nor’easter,’” Morey Organization Vice President Geoff Rogers said.
Oh, I see, they put “Fly” in front of it. Like that Sugar Ray song! After two winter trips to Atlantic City, I really can’t wait to get down the shore when the sun is shining and I can actually go in the ocean.
Roller Coasters, Pizza Costs, Gas Giveaways Shaking Up Shore [NBC 10]
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dmac | 11:05 AM | 1 Comment
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Apr
22
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Citizen Mom went down the shore over the weekend and spotted this wall of incredible bootleg t-shirts on the Wildwood boardwalk, including shirts for Obama, Clinton and even creepy old John McCain. The “Osama for Obama” one begs the question: No “Barry Hussein” shirts?
This Could Be A Very Long Summer [Citizen Mom]
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dmac | 10:47 AM | 3 Comments
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Oct
8
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It may be 80 degrees out, but, sadly, it’s not July. That’s the worst: too-hot summer weather without the laziness of summer.
Aw. Personally, though, I always preferred Sam’s.
Columbus Day [Citizen Mom]
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dmac | 1:21 PM | 6 Comments
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Aug
21
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There was a big flea market over the weekend in Wildwood, and all the stars were out. And by stars, I mean “memorabilia dealers.”
Not all memorabilia dealers are the same, though. Apparently they don’t quite “get” each other. Looking at a woman selling rare DVDs (huh?), a sports card dealer pounces.
Across the room, dealer Wayne Hitchens, of Bethany Beach, Del., watched over his vast array of baseball cards, trading cards and other collectibles. “It surprises me anybody would buy anything over there,” Hitchens said, referring to nearby stalls selling plastic dolls and toys.
Hitchens specializes in rare finds. His booth featured distinctive trading cards, including several from the War Gum series with the likes of Winston Churchill or scenes such as one marked “Filipinos Destroy 154 Jap Boats.”
Indeed! Why would you buy a DVD, when you could buy “Filipinos Destroy 154 Jap Boats”?
Wildwood collectibles show proves people will buy anything [Press of Atlantic City]
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dmac | 10:35 AM | 0 Comments
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Jul
2
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One of the best things about going down the shore is, obviously, the beach. But the worst part of the beach is the all the damn sand. If only there was a way to avoid all that sand while walking down to the ocean.
Fortunately for us, the good folks in Wildwood have spent $80,000 making sure we don’t have to deal with all that sand.
Wildwood redevelopment director Lou Ferrara says all of the walks should be in place by July Fourth: “Unlike most beaches in New Jersey, we have plenty of sand. There’s about 1,800 feet of sand from the boardwalk to the water, and a lot of people have difficulty getting to the water with their coolers and their chairs and their children.”
I know the sand gets hot, and Wildwood has ridiculously long beaches, but, uh, what? They could have just given me $80,000 and I would have carried everyone to the water.
New Wooden Walkways Added to Wildwood Beaches [KYW 1060]
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dmac | 9:51 AM | 1 Comment
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