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Between the virus and losing my job, I knew my August reservation was going to be taken off the table. It was sad enough knowing I would not be there for Mother's Day weekend. The next time we were set to go down was for the car show weekend in September, which I have attended for the past 19 years (we even got married and honeymooned down there a week before that weekend). After some thought, we decided to go ahead and send our deposit for those dates, whether or not they actually have the car show. It's been a rough several months and I can't imagine not going down at all. Even if everything is closed, just being there will be a breath of fresh air. I know things can change but I am hoping that by the end of September everything will be a little more settled down.

I had to go into Jersey to drop off some video equipment on Monday, so my son and I decided to stop by Wildwood for the day. It was very slow on the island and not too much was open. We were, however, able to get a slice of Mack's Pizza and a roast beef sandwich from Snow White...which were great like always. Here are some pictures and observations. A worker was painting the outside of the Lobster Shack...although it doesn't look like it will open anytime soon. The tram cars were running and they added plexiglass between the seating areas. The price also went up to $4. They are also using an app so that you can pay with credit. I saw someone trying to use it and it looked like they were having all types of trouble. It may have some bugs that need to be worked out. Pop's Carmel Corn is gone and Fredo's Pizza is back. Last year Fredo's was at the Boardwalk Mall...now it's at Cedar. Where will it show up next year? There was some cleaning going on at Morey's, but nothing was open...not even Curley's Fries. The front of the Boardwalk Mall is looking good with its new windows and paint. The Captain Jack's also looks good, but it's only take-out right now. If anyone is interested, $5000 can get you a shop in the mall for the entire season! That really isn't that bad. I tried one of the Dole Whips from the new place in the front of the Boardwalk Mall. I had Pineapple/Strawberry swirl. It was good, but not as good as Polish Water Ice or Kohr's Brothers. The texture isn't creamy enough for me. There was a lot of cans down the center of the boardwalk...I guess to separate the directional flow. Not sure if it will work. We didn't see any demonstrations or protests in Wildwood...but it looks like the shirt shops are trying to cash in. There were some shops open, but you couldn't go into the stores. All transactions were from the front. This new place called "Amnesia" looks pretty fancy. It may have been here last season...but I forgot about it...get it? They finished painting the big water tower in the background. Well, that's all for this trip. The weather was nice and we had a good time. We will continue to return for short mid-week visits during the season. Hopefully the businesses do well enough to make it back next year. We know we will support our favorites.

So my son and I took an overnight trip to Wildwood on May 16th to the 17th to see how the island was opening up during the Covid-19 pandemic. The weather was great on Saturday although things really cooled off on Sunday. There was a decent number of people on the boardwalk and beach although we didn't see many people wearing masks or trying to social distance themselves. Even most police and sanitation workers on the boardwalk were not wearing masks. The only thing that was allowed to be open on the boardwalk were food establishments, and they were all take-out. We did, however, see people eating at the tables in Snow White...but not in any other restaurants. Here are some pictures and observations from the trip: I got my first slice of Mack's Pizza for the season from the Robert's Ave Mack's...both locations were open. It was so good that I got a second slice on Sunday. That slice was even better than my first! The Olympic Flame facade looked freshened up. A new mural on the Auntie Anne's wall. A new food establishment going in at Spicer Ave. The new shops along the front of the Boardwalk Mall were open for business. There is a Dole Whips place and an Acai Bowl place. I really wanted to try the Dole whips...but I got a Kohrs Brothers instead. Maybe next time. The new front windows are garage doors that open up on nice days. They still didn't try to repaint the whale mural. Snow White was open so we had to get a roast beef sandwich. It was great like always. In fact, we got a second sandwich on Sunday. No stores at any of the Morey's Piers were open...including Curley's. Curley's is supposed to open this coming weekend. Douglass Fudge was open, but they would only allow one customer in at a time...and of course, no more free samples at any of the fudge places. There was a good sized line outside the Wildwood Ave Mack's Pizza. They are still only excepting cash. And although the workers are wearing masks and gloves, the same person handles the money and gets your pizza...while wearing the same gloves! A lot of people were lined up for Kohrs. I had the peanut butter and chocolate and it was great like always. We tried the new lobster roll place and really liked the lobster rolls and clam chowder. The rolls cost $14 a piece, but they have plenty of tasty lobster meat. We actually got a second one on Sunday. We also tried their lobster mac and cheese, however we thought that was too salty. I can say that this place was the cleanest and taking the most precautions to stop the spread of the virus. They had hand sanitizer, they wiped down their credit card machine after each customer, and even had masks for customers. Sunny was out. The Kohrs sign on 26 Ave was missing...maybe it was damaged in the recent storm. The arcades were not allowed to be open yet...and Ed was not happy. Rutgers is doing some ocean current studies in North Wildwood. There is this huge mountain of sand next to Seaport Pier. It must be part of the beach replenishment. Here is the new walkway that goes under Seaport Pier. It wasn't open yet. Since Curley's was closed, we tried the fresh cut fries from Grab-a-Wiener and thought they were pretty good. The city added some photo props along the beach. I like the Wildwood sign recreation. In addition to these signs, they played a recording on the boardwalk every 15 minutes encouraging social distancing. Click the link below to here the recording with some video I shot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YrLm9o9bSU Unfortunately, I don't think most visitors to the island are taking the coronavirus seriously and we were some of the few people on the boardwalk wearing masks. We have decided to avoid Wildwood during holidays so we won't return for Memorial Day or the 4th of July. We will still go down for short trips mid-week, but I know it is going to be hard to social distance down there. Also, I doubt Morey's Piers will completely open this year. I don't think they will be able to get enough help and will not be able to keep all the rides sanitized. If they do open, I think they will only open about half the rides on Surfside and Mariner's. We'll have to see how things play out. Hopefully, the covid-19 vaccine will come out sooner than later.