Wildwood..

Remember the good ol' days when Wildwood was Wildwood instead of just another commercial shore resort town.

ahhhh..just thinking of it gives me goose pimples..

Driving down the beautiful green parkway filled with vacationers, moody drivers and impatient locals who loathe our intrusion on their territory. These locals who most of them were one of us now seem to own stock in a land they claimed years ago by migrating down south from the same areas we come from to get away of the urban development and movement in northern Jersey. Nothing beats the ride over the small bridge infested with some awful rotten fish that let out a stench of dead fish mixed with toxic chemicals most likely leaking out of the huge nuclear power plant some 30 miles away clear out in the distance. This of course is pure evidence that you are approaching the Wildwood area. Don't forget about the spot where the parkway turns from a beautiful lush throughway with trees and plants on either side to a 2 lane road with lights..And if thats not enough be sure to avoid the turtles as they are inadvertenly pictured on signs warning you of their precesence.

Next stop..Wildwood exit 4A or B..dont remember. Straight off the highway aka road you come to a huge marsh area that looks like it should be in the meadowlands except instead of the smell of garbage and waste you have the smell of fish and god only knows what else. Suddenly out of nowhere comes a Wawa sign. Then another. Then a sign for pancakes. Then a sign for crabs..wave running..fishing.. and the next thing you know you are in Wildwood.

What was once, i can only imagine, a mecca for doo-woppers leading way to many many 50's style themed hotels which such names as the Seagull Motel, the Landmark Motel, the Beach Terrace Motor Inn and, yes, the Doo-Wop Motel is now slowly turning into a commerical builder's dream. It's like a revolutoin where Wildwood finally woke up and said "We are living in the 2000's..not 1958!". This revelation started a trend in turning Wildwood into a typical present day shore area. The uniqueness and obscurity of those funny named motels with their funny looking structure and style, as peculiar as it sounds, was what made Wildwood. You can go to any beach resort to see huge condominiums overlooking the shore but not in Wildwood..at least not 5 years ago. Gone are the fun loving neon signs shining high in the sky as they welcome you to your new week home. Instead of getting a big odd looking key to open your door, you get a typical swipe card with no number on it. So this way if you lose your key or your mind nobody can find your room..including yourself!!

As we drive down "memory lane" and reminisce about the motels we stayed at as kids..at least whats left of them, we see the same beautiful landscape of families riding bikes together. Cars of all different shapes and sizes hurdling luggage on the roofs with the widows open as the children hang their head outs to look up in the sky at the kites flying high. The super fit guys and girls running either solo or in groups to try to burn off that 2000 calorie sundae they ate the night before. The bird lady who stands merciless to 100s of birds as she throws food in the air to fee them. The families walking to the beach with their 5 year olds tagging along with their boogy boards or sack of pales and shovels. These same images are still there and thats a good thing. But long lost are the good ol days of the Wildwood Motels.