My Blogging Kit {what a blogger brings to the beach…}^{15}

Tomorrow morning I will head out to the shore.  Which shore is that?  Well, the Jersey Shore, of course.  This year, for the first time as adults, my big brother and I will be at the shore together.  And I’m really excited about that.  The last time we were there together there was a video game arcade everywhere you turned and each one of them had their store front lined with Pac Man games. . . so that tells you something, I’m sure.

I think perhaps “the Jersey Shore” has acquired a bad name for itself over that last few years.  Honestly, If I’d never been there and I saw even a single episode of that wretched television show (which I admit to having watched, mouth hanging open in shock the entire time) I would just write off going there all together.  And then, even before that show began, I think there was a bit of a jokiness going on about Jersey Girls and going to “Joisey” and all that.  Well, I’ve never paid attention to it.  When we were going there as kids it was all arcade games, sacks of quarters, pizza by the slice, Zelby’s fish fry, mini golf under electric lights. . . and sleeping under the boardwalk.  Yeah.  Sleeping.  Under the boardwalk.

I guess you have to know that it was my father who brought us on these trips and that my mother wasn’t involved in these escapades at all.  Speaking as a mother, I’d want that to be understood.  Because, who in their right mind takes a bunch of kids (me, my brother, my sister,and sometimes, my cousin) on a trip to the beach and then stays there?  On the beach?  I guess you also have to know that my father grew up at the shore.  His mother owned a huge house in Avon-by-the-Sea, just a block and a half from the ocean.  She was one of the country’s first business women and her lumber company rebuilt large sections of the boardwalks along the shore (so I am told).  And just as it is now, I am sure, completely different than it was in, say, the very early 1980′s (the era of Pac Man), it must also have been so different from what it was when he grew up in the 1940′s.  It’s all about perspective I suppose.  I don’t think any of us will be trying to sleep under the boardwalk this week.  From what I hear, it’s not a place you’d want to be after dark anymore.  Rowdy drinkers, sex, drugs. . . But when we were kids?  When we were kids it didn’t even seem odd.  Motel rooms?  What?  We had sleeping bags and blankets.  Nefarious goings on under there?  No.  It was just us going to sleep, long after the sun went down and then watching it come right back up.  Right there.  Over our very toes.  Imagine that.

So I’m heading out tomorrow and I’ll only be there for 3 or 4 days.  I’m not sure if I’ll be blogging while I’m there or not.  We’ll see.  Since I’m staying in an actual house on the beach and not on the beach itself. . . there is a pretty good chance.  I thought I’d let you see what kind of stuff I have to pack besides sunscreen, THIRTY DOLLARS WORTH OF CHERRIES, and a beach towel.  I swear I will share the cherries.

Here is what it takes to make the magic happen on the road:

Uh, if you think that camera looks funny, it’s because that’s actually my old film camera.  I put it there as a stand in for the one I was using to take the photo.  

I’ve only taken this show on the road 3 times ( and the last time, I left town with the ENTIRE BAG sitting in a chair in my dining room).

computer,

computer power cord,

camera,

memory card IN camera

battery for camera

 chargers for camera battery (house charger and car charger)

iPhone

iPhone chargers (house and car)

paper

pencil

(yes. really. paper and pencil)

OH! i forgot!  my card reader!

Also pictured (but not used for blogging really) are my Kindle (which I am shocked to say that i love), our oldest iPhone (that’s actually an iPhone 1 which I’ve had several people tell me doesn’t exist) and my son’s iPod.  Do you think we might be an Apple family?  Oh, and I’m SO fancy that the bag?  That’s an old carrying case for a now defunct car DVD system.  Most of those gadgets fit in there nicely – including the camera – because I don’t have a camera case.  Still.

It’s really not all that much – but if I forget any of the pieces – it’s pretty much a no – go.  And in the vein of getting to know me better, you should know that I am the QUEEN of the Technical Difficulty.  AND, I rely much too heavily on Mr. Social Media to get me out of those difficulties.  He’s not coming on this trip, but I’m bringing the 10 year old boy.  And he’s almost as sharp as his dad.

***

 It got too late last night to finish – had to pack – we have arrived safely at the beach.  I’ve spent the afternoon and evening with my brother reminiscing about old times and other days we’ve spent here at the shore.  Like the time, when I was 8 and I disappeared  through the hole in the sidewalk. . . tomorrow we’re going to see if we can find the exact spot.  What a story that is.   Maybe I’ll tell you about it some time.

Do you vacation at the beach?  Have you ever been to the Jersey Shore?  Where did you travel with your family as a child?

Tell me about it.

breida

By Breida Category: Blog, places to visit Tags: beach, boardwalk, family, Jersey Shore, kids, vacation, waves