Put up a parking lot

A friend of mine and I were at the beach last weekend. It was Labor Day, so nearly everyone else in the Philadelphia region was at the beach with us. The weather was glorious, the water perfection. I couldn't wait to get to the boardwalk, though, to savor summer's last taste of my favorite confection: Kohr Brothers frozen peanut butter custard with chocolate sprinkles.

There's a Kohr Brothers on the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk at 10th Street. So we started looking for parking at around 6th. We drove all the way to 13th and back through to 2nd Street more than times than I care to admit, and everywhere we looked, someone else was pulling into a spot. But could we find one? Not on our custard-starved souls.

Finally, I pulled up behind one of the amusement park back entrances at 10th Street, put my flashers on, and we took turns running up to Kohrs while the other stayed with the car. It was surprisingly easy and went off without a hitch. We even got bold and drove up to 13th for Johnson's caramel corn. Again, easy as pie, very satisfying. And though part of me had hoped for a boardwalk stroll, our stealth maneuvers protected us from what could have been a chaotically annoying end to our lovely, serene day. The Ocean City boardwalk (especially on Labor Day weekend) is nothing short of a mob scene.

All of this struck me, several days later, as an apt metaphor for my life. I say I want the full experience -- chaos and all -- and I go about the chase of finding my place from which to launch the adventure, but I'm always one step behind everyone else. I watch the rest of the world secure their spots just before I get there, and there's nothing left over for me. Meanwhile, part of me feels like it's just as well, because somewhere in the back of my mind, all I really want is to grab an illicit, temporary spot from which to get the minimum, immediate satisfaction. Then I'm gone. No commitment to a lengthy stay required.

Dammit! I want to be ready to build a parking lot of my very own. A safe, secure place from which to launch any and all adventures life brings. A home base where my car will always have its spot. My tool belt is loaded with the appropriate stuff, and the bulldozer has leveled the ground. But it's a gravel pit until the right person comes along with the pavers to smooth the way.

I heart Kohr Bros

Ocean City was glorious today. Meghan and I covered all the bases. We stopped at the greatest store on earth, The Flying Carp on Asbury Ave first. I've been a devotee of that place for years and years. They have the most consistently wonderful collection of jewelry I've ever found. Many of my most treasured pieces came from there. And the people there are so friendly!

Afterward, we hit the beach with gusto, and proceeded to get properly sunburned. We also watched a huge seagull eat a leg off of an enormous star fish. And we spooked a couple of sizable sand crabs into their holes.

Then we hit the boards. First up: Mack & Manco's pizza. Cute cute cute boys behind the counter made the slices that much yummier! They're young, tan, polite and they make a great pie with a thin, crispy crust.

We stopped for salt water taffy at Shrivers, where I discovered the joys of three new flavors: coconut, peanut butter/chocolate, and bubble gum!

And to top it all off, Kohr Brothers custard. My oh my. They say it's "light" but you'd never know it. It's creamy and full of flavor. I always pick peanut butter with chocolate sprinkles and it's always better than I remembered from the last time. They always get it right.

This was a great day. Full of sun and calories. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Hitting the boards

It's a phrase not widely known, at least not in the context I mean. I guess it depends on where you're from. But it's a big part of the Philadelphia region vernacular. "Hitting the boards." It means going to the boardwalk in a beach town, window shopping, eating salt water taffy and water ice, getting a sunburn, riding the ferris wheel, stepping in gum, buying new sunglasses, wearing hemp bracelets, bumping into small children, tipping over your custard cone, getting sand in your hair, wearing halter tops, and lots and lots of people watching.

That pretty much covers it!

I'm headed to the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk for the day tomorrow, and all I can think about is getting a Kohr Brothers peanut butter custard cone with chocolate sprinkles.