The Upstate Life

Monday, June 04, 2007

Weekend at Wildwood

Last weekend was essentially our first-ever venture out to the Jersey shore. I'm not going to include that family trip to Ocean City, NJ when I was 11 years old simply because I barely remember it. That, and the fact I wasn't over 21. Anyway, Rachel's relatives apparently own a beachfront condo that's literally steps from the Wildwood boardwalk that they rent out during the summer months. We unfortunately didn't find out about said property until just a few weeks ago. Say it with me now... ka-ching. We drove up Thursday night so we could spend the entire day at the beach on Friday. Of course, our arrival wasn't as seamless as we thought it would be. No, it wasn't the traffic (the New Jersey Parkway at 10pm on a Thursday night isn't what you would exactly call peak congestion, it is, however, well recommended) nor was it the weather (clear, cool skies). No, our moment of shit-luck came when the keys that were supposed to be left for us in order to gain access to the condo were locked away in the realty office. We later found out that the lady that worked there was evidently too dependent on her Post-It note system and clearly missed the one that said "Leave keys out for Room 106 on Thursday night". Because of her incompetence, we were forced to stay at a crummy Days Inn across the street. When we got to the front desk, the clerk wanted to charge us $119 but we were able to get her down to $99 after explaining our situation (we'll dub it the check-in-past-midnight-and-have-pity-for-us rate).

Once we were able to obtain the keys the next morning (and an apology from the office, though an envelope of cash would've been a nice touch), we hit the beach and walked the entire length of the gargantuan boardwalk. Seriously, shit must've been at least two miles each way. It never ended, just like the stereotypes we were eagerly waiting to witness while traversing said planks of wood. It wasn't of MTV True Life I'm a Jersey Shore Girl epic proportion but was satisfying nonetheless. Seriously, what the hell do some of these people do, like, during the winter? Bottom line, people watching is fun. We stopped at one of the 100+ beach stores along the boardwalk to replace the $6 H&M sunglasses that amazingly broke while I was wearing them, but these stores always amaze me. You know the ones I'm talking about; the ones with the dumbass shirts and shot glasses blasting Z100 that somehow manage to stay in business because people who buy this shit actually exist (yeah yeah, but we only bought sunglasses... 2 for $10... I swear! I mean we were eyeing that Stone Cold Steve Austin beach towel hanging between the Left Eye Lopez and Senior Week tees and all, but sadly, it just wasn't meant to be). You can't go wrong with Kohr Brothers though.

Friday night we went to Urie's for an excellent seafood dinner. I ordered the broiled crab crakes, and as a Marylander for 8 years, I have to admit, they were pretty amazing. For $18, you got two crab cakes, two sides, and a salad. Yeah, I'm pretty sure you won't be able to find that in DC (though feel free to prove me wrong, please!). Same thing the next night when we went to nearby Cape May and ate at the 100-acre Lobster House. Honestly, I've never been to a restaurant that huge in my entire existence. I'm not kidding; it makes the Cheesecake Factory look like Ray's the Steaks. I chose to order the prime rib despite being at a place called the Lobster House since it was only offered on Saturday nights, so naturally I was suckered in due to its exclusivity. I mean, for just $21, it was well worth it. Like Urie's, it came with two sides and a salad which equated to an affordable and incredibly satisfying dinner.

As expected, the drive back Sunday wasn't as pleasant as Thursday's. Not only was it raining, but every other single person decided to leave the beach that day too. Six (yes, six) hours of driving in nonstop congestion, torrential downpours, and a stop at the dreaded Delaware rest stop came out to possibly the worst car ride I've possibly endured in my entire life. I think it even beats out the time I was stuck in the back seat of a Civic for 11 hours during my senior year at Maryland when we drove from College Park to Panama City Beach. At least we were moving the entire time, plus I got to sleep half the way since I didn't know how to drive stick. Then again, being 6'2" in the backseat of a Civic coupe for half a day isn't quite the experience I'd want to relive anytime soon.

Posted by Brett at 6:10 PM |