South Seaside Park barrel | June 2009 (Photo: Justin Auciello)

Are you ready for Surf Weekend?

No, the Governor has not issued a proclamation. At Live for Jersey Shore, we’re dubbing it Surf Weekend, because today and tomorrow will feature two fun surf related events.

I’ve mapped it out for you.

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Beachgoers get way too close for comfort, so let's try to get along. (gratefully borrowed from nj.com via Google images)

In light of the Seaside Heights beach smoking ban, the Star-Ledger’s NJ.com asked readers what else should be banned from our fine beaches. As someone who supplemented her tips from waitressing throughout all five years of college by badge checking, let me be the first to tell you: plenty. There aren’t enough hours in the day for me to tell you Shore restaurant etiquette, so we’ll just stick to the beach for now.

Bart Brooks makes some quality points, but I’m going to have to disagree with his Nos. 3 and 4. Jellyfish and seaweed? Sorry Bart, they are nuisances but can’t we all get along? We’re invading their turf, not the other way around. Yes, I know eutrophication is causing a major influx in jellies in the bay, but I haven’t seen too many on the beach this summer. Then again, I haven’t seen too much of the beach this summer. And who doesn’t love a good clear jellyfish fight? No? Just me?

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Been having a renewed love affair with my Nikon-D80, and among the 200-or-so pictures of friends and family taken over the weekend, I liked this image from Monday — a girl with an ankle brace being helped down to the water. There was an ankle brace involved, I swear. A spectacular day on the beach, sorry to those of you who sat in traffic, but it was the only real winner of a day all weekend. Read the rest of this entry »

Sunset Manor Beach in Lavallette in May

For the second year running, the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium/New Jersey Sea Grant and Stevens Institute of Technology used scientific data and online votes to rank the Shore’s top 10 beaches but Ledger Live host Brian Donohue asked the experts a question none of them wanted to answer: What are the Garden State’s worst spots for sunning and swimming?

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There wasn’t a screaming cat-fight or a crush of paparazzi outside but as promised, DJ Samantha Ronson spun a set onstage at the Surf Club during the decades-old beachfront hot spot’s opening party. Clad in her signature fedora,  Lindsay Lohan’s ex looked super intense as she hovered over her Mac and DJ equipment.

I really couldn’t tell you what she played but it was vast array of music from lots of genres – no unntz-unntz techno at all! Sam’s beats even got my wallflower boyfriend dancing out on the floor (it also could have been the booze).  The night was a bit chilly so the entrance to the beach from the outer bars was shuttered but you could still see that beautiful Atlantic – easily one of my favorite things about the Surf Club.

Samantha Ronson’s Mac has gone political.

The Surf Club rolled out VIP cards for partiers with Monmouth and Ocean county IDs. Scrawled atop the cards in big red type is LOCAL’S ONLY. Ouch. Grammar’s not their forte but I’ll let it slide, since cheap beer is. Problem is, last summer’s Bring Your Own Mug promotion is out and alleged 24 ounce Coors Light drafts for $2 are in, but check this out –

Maybe not.

Does that cup look like it could hold the equivalent of two cans? I think not. Maybe if we all request the return of Mug Night we can bring back a local favorite. After all one should “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Think Margaret Mead ever dreamed her famous line would be applied to a bunch of cash-strapped booze-hounds?