Summer

Left Coast Envy

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My recent trip to Southern California, which occurred a full five years after my first visit to the lower portion of the Golden State, has done nothing but strengthen my desire to uproot and replant where the air is warm and the sun never dies. Until August of 2011 , all I had seen of California had been in the movies – the eternal sunshine, the palm trees, the celebrities, the incredible beaches – and I always knew it was a place I would have to see up close one day. When I finally got my chance, I was awestruck. Like a true tourist, I took pictures of everything. I didn’t seem to have enough eyes in my head to take in all that such a magical place had to offer. Continue reading →

Bye Bye Benny

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Last Tuesday, the denizens of the Jersey shore celebrated the start of what is lovingly referred to as “local summer”, which is a period of two or three weeks in September after the Bennies leave, when the roads are clear(er), the beaches are relatively empty, and the weather is still warm enough to enjoy various outdoor activities. The invaders from the North have made the trek back to where they belong until the next Memorial Day Weekend. For the past three-and-a-half months or so, the southbound side of the Garden State Parkway has been jammed with New York license plates, providing a slow-moving passageway for swarms of loud-mouthed litterbugs who make the shore a living hell for locals and the laughing stock of the nation each summer. The weekly invasion appears to start on Thursday nights now, as in the Benny universe, Fridays are non-work days.  Continue reading →