Remembering all the good times in Wildwood, NJ

I should probably start this blog with something like "Greetings from New Jersey." It's that time of year again. Mom and I have made our annual trip east to visit our friends in Wildwood, New Jersey. I'll spare you the long story of how we have known each other all our lives, but you have probably heard about how we visited here every other summer.

It has been refreshing to leave Los Angeles and all that is going on back there, even for a couple of weeks. Although everything has gone well, I needed to get away. Visiting with my friends Devin and Jeff and their family is something I look forward to all year. I've told about how we young kids would ride The Bus, a ten-foot long surfboard owned by a teenage boy, who was less than half the size of the board at the time. We sit around reminiscing about the good times we all had years ago. Strange, isn't it, that our mothers do the same thing!

I was honored to be able to share in Jeff's 28th birthday on the 7th, which we celebrated on the 10th. Although he made it clear that he wanted no gifts from us, he must have been talking into my bad ear at the time. I accepted the scolding graciously.

Another thing I enjoy about being here is how I always seem to be laughing. We sit around and laugh. We laugh at ourselves. We laugh at each other. We point and giggle. How strange it is that we know exactly why we're laughing, and we all laugh. It's contagious, and it's wonderful. This has proven to be the most effective medicine for me, as I have been in what at least one person has referred to as meltdown.

We go to the world renowned Wildwood Boardwalk, with food, entertainment, rides and a water park. There's the famous tram car that tells you in an annoying woman's voice to "Watch the Tram Car, Please!" There are several places along the boardwalk that serve some of the best pizza I've ever had. I go there for the funnel cakes and the snow cones. There's the Boardwalk Mall that caters to tourists by selling souvenirs, t-shirts, the old fashioned photos of your family, plus many other items sure to empty your wallet. There are arcades where you can play video gambling games. You play for tokens, which, like any other tourist trap, can be turned in for useless junk. There's something special about a three-inch high stuffed duck that you "won" on the boardwalk...won for a mere $25 in quarters. But it's worth it. It's the same all over.

And as the three of us grease the chute to purgatory, we watch the people. There's something about the fudge shop that attracts people of excessive mass. Not ones to stereotype, but we can usually spot the ones who will go out to their cars in the handicapped spots to eat their special of the day purchase. The banner-towing airplanes make sure that everyone on the beach knows about this good deal.

I've amassed shot glasses from several years of visiting, purchased at the 99 cent store. I usually make it my business to buy one of every Wildwood shot glass offered. Jeff keeps threatening to ship the box to me...collect!

We'll spend several evenings at the boardwalk, just as we have since I was little. We'll spend a lot of money, too, but I notice that the sights, the sounds and the smells envelope my senses with a feeling of happiness. It's a Welcome Home kind of feeling. Mom grew up in New Jersey, and she spent her summers right here, and this is a significant part of her life, and it is, in a way, home to her. There are boardwalks in California. This one is different, and I'm glad.

If we're lucky we'll watch the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean. There are several pictures, taken during all seasons of the year, of a big sun rising over the horizon. I'd love to be here for Christmas to watch the sun rise. I've always heard about walking along a snow-covered beach. One day I will. I've made myself promises to come back more than once a year.

I'll be here until the 20th of July. My trip back home will be a quick one. I'll have just enough time to see the people I love. And then I'll be boarding another long flight, but I won't be traveling alone. I'm so glad that David is going, too. How amazing is it that he would be wanting to do this. He said I talked him into it simply by telling him about my experiences at Christmas. Maybe I'm a good storyteller. Maybe I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have someone like David in my life. But my luck doesn't end there. I'm lucky to have loving friends who are always there for me. They are right here right now. I'm very happy.

I plan to write more before I leave New Jersey.