Jersey Shore Towns Reopen and Welcome Visitors

The terrible devastation ($38 billion in damages) of many New Jersey shore towns caused by Hurricane Sandy (October, 2012) required enormous clean-up and reconstruction projects in a relatively short period of time. Now, seven months later, these resilient NJ shore towns welcome tourists back to the beaches, ocean, boardwalks, and their communities.

President Obama visited the New Jersey shore on May 28, 2013 to check on the rebuilding progress. He walked with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on the Asbury Park boardwalk and spoke to the crowds gathered there to see him. School children lined the route of President Obama’s motorcade. President Obama noted the enormous work that had been completed, but he acknowledged that repair work needed to continue before recovery would be complete.

New York Daily News photo

USA Today photo

The next post reviews the hurricane situation, showing how one community, Margate, NJ, prepares to meet the challenge of revitalizing storm damaged homes still in need of repair.

N is for Nora’s Ark: In Times of Trouble People Help People (Hurricane Sandy)

Hurricane Sandy makes an abrupt left turn and heads directly to New Jersey coast.

Ocean City, NJ is my favorite beach town and I have written about it before:

O is for Ocean City, NJ 2012/04/18

Saturday Silliness – Basset Hound Doo Dah Parade  2012/08/04

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride

Bike MS-Video-City-to-Shore Success 2012/09/30

Bikers walk their bikes to the staging area after completing the race

Bike MS City-to-Shore 2012/09/30

Breanna enthusiastically marches around the area carrying a sign with the positive news that a cure for MS is in sight. Children can learn the value and positive benefits of volunteering at an early age.

Relay for Life (Cancer) 2012/06/25

Relay for Life opening parade

P is for Parade, Pies, Paint–Doo Dah Parade, 2013 2013/04/18

I. Will. Not. Go. One. More. Step. And. You. Can’t. Make. Me.

O is for Ocean City, NJ: Pizza, Saltwater Taffy, Frozen Custard, Caramel Popcorn  2013/04/17

Eating ice cream on the Ocean City Boardwalk with my grandchildren and their cousins.

A Cat, A Crab, and a Sunny Day 2013/05/09

Photo credit: David Nahan, Ocean City Sentinel

The Last Meow

Good idea. Time for the beach. Let’s go!

Meow for now.  =<^;^>=

L is for List of A to Z Challenge Posts, 2013, by Janice Heck

This is a round-up of my posts in the 2013 A to Z Challenge (in progress). At this date, April 14, we are almost halfway to the finish line. At the end, all 26 posts will be listed here.

Updated May 1, 2013 at completion of A to Z Challenge.

Week 1
A is for Adjectives, Anteaters, Armadillos, and Aardvarks 2013/4/1
B is for Blogging Bliss, Boohoos, and Booyahs  2013/4/2
C is for Complements and Compliments. So what. Who Cares?  2013/4/3
D is for Direct Object or Happy Birthday  2013/4/4
E is for Eats, Shoots and Leave: Punctuation matters  2013/4/5
F is for F.A.S.T: Know the Signs of Stroke. It Can Become Personal in An Instant 2013/4/6

Week 2
G is for Great Gobs of Grammas’ Grammar Goodies and Goofs  2013/04/08
H is for Hyper-Hyphenated Words Make Surprising Adjectives 2013/4/9
I is for Invented Spelling of Kids and Cats 2013/4/10
J is for Jabberwocky and Invented Words 2013/4/11
K is for Kernel Sentences: Nouns and Verbs Control the World  2013/04/12
L is for List of A to Z Challenge Posts, 2013, by Janice Heck   2013/04/13

Week 3
M is for Marathon (Boston Marathon, April 2013)   2013/04/15
N is for Nora’s Ark: In Times of Trouble, People Help People  2013/04/16
O is for Ocean City NJ: Boardwalk Pizza, Saltwater Taffy, Frozen Custard, Caramel Corn  2013/17/13 
P is for Parades, Pies, Pain–Ocean City Doo Dah Parade 2013/04/18
Q is for Quirky Dreams, Susie Q, and Prepositional Phrases  2013/04/19
R is for. . .  Reflexive Pronouns Cause A Ruckus   2013/04/20

Week 4
S is for Stats and Milestones-10,000 Views Milestone. WooHoo.  2013/04/24
S  is for Saturday Silliness. Where Do Cats Sleep (Reblog from 2012)
T is for Tikki-Tikki-Tembo Needs a Pronoun 
U is for  use, Usage, Utilize, and Other Useful and Utilitarian Units  2013/04/25
V is for Vampires Invade Grammar World 2013/04/26
W   is for Whose Woods These Are  2013/04/27
X is for X-It Strategy 2013/04/28
X Bonus Xena Warrior Puppy Helps Autistic Boy 2013/04/28

Week 5
Y is for Your, You’re, Y’all, Ya’ll, Yall, You All, You Guys, and Yakety Yak  2013/04/29 
Z  is for Zoomorphic Architecture: Cats Immortalized 2013/04/30

The Last Meow

Did you say today is Monday? How many days ’til Friday?

=<^  _  ^>=      Meow for now.

Saturday Silliness: Basset Hound Doo Dah Parade

Small cities have big imaginations, and Ocean City, NJ (OCNJ) is no exception.

To launch its summer season, OCNJ holds its Annual Doo Dah Parade the first Saturday after Tax Day in April.  It’s a ridiculous fun event not to be missed. We celebrate because taxes have been paid, and summer is just around the corner. “Hallelujah” from us beach lovers.

Doo Dah Parades have a history in other areas of our country (Pasadena, Columbus), but they don’t quite measure up to the Ocean City parade.

The Ocean City spectacle parade always has several lowpoints highlights. The first is the appearance of a nationally known celebrity as Grand Parade Marshall. In past years, Carol Channing, Mickey Rooney, Larry Storch, Captain Kangaroo, and Soupy Sales have been our esteemed parade leaders. This year, Chuck McCann, TV and stage actor and vocal artist, did the honors.

Abbott and Costello, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Jack Benny, and Lucille Ball regularly appear in the parades. Okay, so they are impersonators, but who knows the difference?

The second, but most important feature, basset hounds, garbed in their tax season finery, strut their stuff.  Well over 400 of these floppy-eared, waddling doggies entertain the crowds as they meander huff and puff wobble down Asbury Avenue and the Boardwalk. Some bassets sport humiliating outrageous costumes that make them want to run and hide their owners think are cute. Others, rigged up in more sartorial splendor, reign with an air of pomp and cirumstance, all the while looking down their snouts at those lesser-dressed, riff-raff, tag-a-longs.  Take a look.

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

“Here comes the bride. See how she waddles from side to side.”

I don’t know about you guys, but I just wanna play around with da chicks. (Chick magnet, get it?)

Honest now. Would you wanna waddle in a parade wearing this ridiculous hat? I wouldn’t wear this even for a high-falutin’ society wedding.

I. Will. Not. Go. One. More. Step. And. You. Can’t. Make. Me!

This parade is just so much excitement. I just can’t handle it all. Lucky I have a slave owner to carry me when I get tuckered out.

Here’s the deal. If you flop down and refuse to walk, someone will come along and give you a lift. Got it?

Here’s another possibility. Kiss up to the Grand Marshall and get to ride in comfort and style in the limosine parade golf cart.

Of course, any parade with 400 to 500 dogs is bound to be a bit chaotic at points, and this fiasco procession does not disappoint.

And, don’t forget. There are awards: “The Golden Hot Dog” award for local tri-state (NJ/PA/NY) participants and The “Double Doggy Doo Dah Glutton-for-Punishment Award.” How do you get the 4DGPA? Participate in another Doo Dah Day Parade somewhere in the country, and the honor is all yours besides, no one else wants it.

And there’s more. People Furry fellows and felines of all shapes and disguises flounce in this parade, too. Every year Sir Rapid T. Rabbit sponsors the annual furry (and a few feathers) critter consortium in the parade.

Rapid. T. Rabbit of Delaware’s (The Furst State) Furry Forum, leads frolicking furry freaks friends down the OC Boardwalk

Marching bands and vocalists Riding bands and musical groups roll up the Boardwalk throwing out sounds and love to the crowd. Sometimes they throw Schriver’s, Fralinger’s, and Steele’s Ocean City Salt Water Taffy to the sticky-fingers eager hands of candy-eaters  freeloaders parade guests.

Here’s Jan’s sister trying to horn in on a classy musical performance

If you can’t afford wheels, you just have to do it the old-fashioned way and walk.

And when the parade’s all over, you get to have pizza at Manco & Manco. Okay, so there’s a line. What did you expect? It’s a warm, sunny Saturday in April. There’s been a parade on the Boardwalk. And people are out on the beach sticking their toes in the water. Of course, there’s a crowd…and a line. The wait is worth it.

What kind of pizza do you want?

Oh, I forgot to mention one thing. Dogs are not allowed on the Boardwalk.

Oh well, I guess that once you’ve paid your taxes, anything goes! Besides, for those lovable basset hounds, OCNJ will just look the other way.

Want to read more posts about Ocean City? Click here, here, and here.

YOUR TURN:

What’s your favorite kind of parade?