Press of Atlantic City

AP Video

For some visitors, a stop at a favorite store or restaurant is a traditional part of the weekend trip to the shore

By COURTNEY McCANN

Published: Jul 24, 2008

Ralph Weakly had been traveling down Route 539 for close to an hour one hot Friday afternoon when he arrived at the intersection for Route 72 in Barnegat. A right turn would take the Trenton native over the causeway to Long Beach Island for a weekend of sun, sand and relaxation at his vacation house in Beach Haven.

But Weakly turned left, like he does every Friday. Because for him, a trip to the shore isn't complete without a stop at Skipper's Seafood Exchange, a little seafood store on Route 72 in Barnegat known for its key lime pie and clams.

"Every Friday I stop in for a load of top neck clams and crawdads when they're in season," Weakly said. "And I make sushi for my friends (on the island), so I have to get tuna."

Thousands of people hit the Garden State Parkway, Atlantic City Expressway and other major state highways on summer Fridays with one goal in mind - the Atlantic Ocean. But they say the fun is in the journey, and a journey to the southern New Jersey shore often includes a traditional pit-stop or two - a favorite eatery, a novelty shop or just a place to escape the traffic. More

Jul 24, 2008

• Strathmere's complaints not unique, official says

Jul 23, 2008

• Ocean's unusual chill keeps bathers at bay

Last week, Ian Hickman enjoyed the 82-degree ocean water he found in Virginia Beach, Va. On Tuesday, he didn't enjoy the 59-degree water he found at his favorite Ventnor beach, so he and his friend, Chris Wade, tossed a football instead of taking a dip.

Jul 22, 2008

• Old Atlantic City hotel coming down to make way for wider road

ATLANTIC CITY - The tall, skinny building near the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard that was once admired for its unique concrete style is now just a shell and a pile of debris.

Jul 21, 2008

• Algae are in bloom, and they're choking life out of Barnegat Bay

On a clear morning in the Barnegat Bay, Pete McLain takes a small boat out to survey what's left of the beds of eelgrass underwater. Having worked with the state's Department of Environmental Protection for nearly 50 years, he has studied the bay for a large part of his life.

Jul 20, 2008

• Gas prices don't sink Ocean City's Night in Venice

Click to view Dale Gerhard's Night In Venice gallery

Forget about fuel prices - this year's Night in Venice was a gas.

Jul 19, 2008

• Former Bridgeton police officers head to prison for misconduct

BRIDGETON - The two police officers arrested in 2006 in connection with the alleged kidnapping and beating of a city resident were led away in handcuffs Friday to begin serving their three-year prison sentences for official misconduct.

Jul 18, 2008

• Two former Bridgeton police officers sentenced to prison for official misconduct

1:20 p.m. Update - BRIDGETON - A Superior Court judge sentenced two former Bridgeton police officers on Friday to three-year prison terms for their involvement in a 2006 incident in which, according to prosecutors, they failed to arrest an obviously drunken driver and also kidnapped and beat a Mexican city resident.

Jul 18, 2008

• Report places Atlantic City Councilman Schultz at editing of sex tape

ATLANTIC CITY - City Councilman John Schultz was aware of a scheme to force an opposing councilman out of office through exposure of a sex tape and was present during its editing, according to testimony in a confidential report from the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

Jul 17, 2008

• Some final wishes include going 'green'

ESTELL MANOR - No polish, no preservation, no speeches. It's no surprise Mildred Michel, lover of nature and simplicity, would want a "green burial" to commit her remains to the earth.

Jul 16, 2008

• Crabber finds 50-year-old wedding band in Ship Bottom

SHIP BOTTOM - A treasure found in the sand needs its owner, and Christine Koch is determined to find him. While crabbing under the Route 72 causeway Monday, Koch found a 50-year-old wedding band in the sand.

Jul 15, 2008

• CRDA gives green light for design work to make Pacific, Atlantic avenues one way

5:45 p.m. Update - ATLANTIC CITY — A state development agency Tuesday approved $2.5 million for design work to convert Atlantic City’s two main arteries into one-way streets.

Jul 15, 2008

• Thieves in Cape May County like heavy metal

MIDDLE TOWNSHIP - Crime these days requires a strong will and an even stronger back for thieves who scavenge copper and metal from homes, yards, businesses and even the road.

Jul 14, 2008

• Camps relate science to TV, iPods, fast cars, and children

Kelly Henderson turned the handle on her invention, watching as each plastic gear meshed into the other, spinning in a whirl of colorful circles.

Jul 13, 2008

• Living in America, connecting with the Philippines: The amazing journey of a Filipino's balakbayan

Click for related audio slideshow

MANILA, Philippines - Traveling the road to Valenzuela City from this nation's capital requires patience.

Jul 12, 2008

• April trial date set for trooper in fatal crash

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE - A State Police trooper will go to trial in April to face charges of vehicular homicide in the deaths of two Upper Township sisters.

Jul 11, 2008

• Summer is here, lifeguard stands are full - just about

Click here to view our Explorer page feature on lifeguards

It seems like this happens every year, or at least it has as far back as he can remember, Dean Cranmer said of finding lifeguards for area lakes. But when the summer is in full swing, he's usually able to get the lifeguards he needs hired in time.

Jul 10, 2008

• Local drivers say low-speed vehicles highly efficient

OCEAN CITY - Keith Hartzell has a choice in the morning. He can jump into his Cadillac Escalade that drinks gasoline at a rate of one gallon every 12 miles, or he can climb aboard his new electric low-speed vehicle and drive all over the island for what it costs to run a light bulb for a few hours.

Jul 09, 2008

• Two murder-for-hire defendants plead not guilty to driveway killing at Shires in Egg Harbor Twp.

5:30 p.m. Update - MAYS LANDING - Two men charged as co-conspirators in an alleged murder-for-hire killing of a woman in Egg Harbor Township pleaded not guilty to the charges Wednesday.

Jul 09, 2008

• School construction funds go for five projects in southern New Jersey

The New Jersey Schools Development Authority Board on Tuesday awarded almost $2.65 billion for 53 urban school construction projects to be built over the next five years.

Jul 08, 2008

• New Jersey Democrats take stand against offshore drilling

BELMAR - Monday might not have been the best beach day, but Democratic officials gathered beachside at the borough's Taylor Pavilion in the morning and repeated their opposition to offshore drilling with tales of potential environmental disasters.

Jul 07, 2008

• Visitors, merchants call holiday weekend a win

Click here to view Sunday's crowd photo gallery

Despite frustrating gas prices, frigid water and fickle weather, beachgoers brought their rosy glasses with them to the shore this past weekend.

Jul 06, 2008

• Speedsters find haven at Millville track

MILLVILLE - The raceway opens with little more than the sound of a race car.

Jul 05, 2008

• Beach Boys do it again at Atlantic City Fourth of July show

View Ben Fogletto's photo gallery

View Edward Lea's photo gallery

Jul 04, 2008

• How cold is the ocean? It hurts

"It's pretty cold" is how 11-year-old Jessica Knight described the ocean temperature before bounding into the Atlantic with her pink dolphin boogie board Thursday.

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