Pizza down the shore

It turns out that eating pizza and french fries on the boardwalk is a summertime ritual. Who knew? Where I grew up, summertime water fun took place in our neighborhood swimming pools or in a nearby lake (Deep Creek, MD and the Yough) or river (Ohiopyle State Park), with no pizza in sight! In my almost 8 years of life in Philly, today was the first time I’d been “down the shore” in the summer season.

Taking the girls to the amusement park in Ocean City meant getting pizza from Mac & Manco, a local favorite. We scored a bench right in front of the place: 

Moments later, our pizza arrived – with dire warnings of aggressive seagull dives. 

Cheesey, gooey goodness: that’s what I say! First opened in 1956, by Anthony Mack and Vincent Manco, the business has since expanded its empire to Wildwood and Atlantic City boardwalks. Surely Vincent was Italian? Stuart says there’s always a line out the door. I can appreciate its lore … the shore, I’ve learned, is an experience, not a destination.

Jersey, however, is a foreign land whose codes I don’t get. Case in point #1:

Case #2: Loudspeaker announcements that feeding the seagulls is forbidden – invoking a “city ordinance” – mean nothing to tourists. When the beautiful creatures hover right above you – motionless, despite the wind – and call, who can resist tossing up a crust for them to catch? Not bird lovers, that’s for sure. Watched a bratty 10-year old tossing sand at the birds and fantasized the channelling of Alfred Hitchcock, just for a moment. 

Case #3: The $.75 toll booth on the AC Expressway has several EXACT CHANGE only lanes. I landed in one, caught short $.09 and terrorized by the aggressive honking and yelling from the traffic I was holding up while digging in my purse for more coins, I had no choice but to drive away. Certain “They” would photograph my license plate and slap me with a ridiculous fine, I confessed my sins and paid the toll in full at the next toll booth, again invoking again the wrath of the drivers behind me. Aggressive East Coast driving is no exaggeration. Seems, however, that whatever relaxation was sought ‘down the shore’ is short-lived. LOL.

Maybe one of these days I’ll actually start cooking again? Not microwave pasta, for sure. It seems the crest of my crazy workload is about to fall …