Labor
Day Weekend - 2003
Wanted to put down a few lines to remember our Labor
Day 2003 family weekend at the shore. It started and ended a day early to
avoid the crowds, yet we had a fun-filled and very enjoyable time
nonetheless!
Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond control, John and Fran were unable
to be at LBI until Sunday morning. They did make it in time to oversee
group picture taking (smile and say L'titz') and to
enjoy our send-off meal together at the Bayside Diner.
It started Thursday afternoon as three carloads of Mahoney family members
(Billy-Stella and Mom, Margo-Chris and Brianna, and Sue & Jim) began to
converge on LBI. Cell phone towers were buzzing with calls as we
coordinated our approach, and managed to arrive within an
half-hour of each other, though coming from all points of the globe, sort of...
Billy's car had arrived first then Sue and I got to the house a couple minutes
later. He and Mom had managed to get the doors unlocked, windows open and
some of the power on but were unable to locate the water valve. Sue and I
got the water going and the other circuit breakers energized. Minutes
later Margo and her group arrived and the party weekend officially began.
We did a quick trunk unload and dump then headed for dinner. Following
the simple guidelines of 'no waiting line and
air-conditioned restaurant', we headed uptown for an eatery. Buckalews was our first choice, but they had a huge line so
we continued driving north.
The Bayside Diner in
It took them a little while to get the kitchen up to temp, but in no time our
table was full of plates and the conversations were flowing. It had been
some time since Billy had been back east and it was great to see him and his fam. We entertained
ourselves and the waitress as the courses arrived. Their posted closing
time came and went as we finished our dinner, with no prodding from them for us
to hurry. A fine meal was had by all, Mom had selected the lump crab cake
she had enjoyed on her last visit down with us in early August.
We stopped for a couple groceries on the way back to the house. Once
there Billy and Stella wanted to retire early as they continued to suffer from
jet lag. Margo and Mom also were ready to hit the sack, but Brianna was
ready to party. So Christopher, Sue, Bri and I
went up to the beach to hang out, sip some wine and do a little star
gazing. Luckily, the mosquitoes were scarce and did not annoy us.
The stars twinkled above as we looked for some to fall out of the sky but none
happened by, at least when we were looking.
There was no moon this night, but a very bright Mars (in it's
closest approach to earth in 60,000 years) that cast its glow upon the
shore. A lack of moonlight allowed jellyfish phosphorescence to put on
quite the show as Bri and I dipped our toes in the
water. Before long we were all enjoying the fun, playfully slamming
jellyfish on the sand to see their explosions of green light. After an
hour or so of getting glowing green fingers and toes, we eventually went back
to the house to wrap up the night and tuck ourselves into our respective
sleeping spaces.
Billy and his crew had been assigned the ocean room mainly for his love of
sleeping in a hot room and the two beds available. Margo had the bay
room, otherwise known as Margo's room, while Mom got the fold out cot
(considered an upgrade from the couch she normally sleeps on) in the back
room. While Sue and I took the front porch, she on the ocean end couch, while I took the sleeper sofa at the bay-end. I
opted for the 'perpendicular to the bed frame' position which I have perfected
over the years and which my delicate skeleton sincerely appreciates.
Friday morning we crawled out of bed in dribs and drabs, congregating on the
back deck to welcome the first morning together. Breakfast consisted of
coffee and yummy sticky buns that Christopher had acquired on his trek up town
at the crack of dawn in pursuit of bait. Chris was already up at the big
rock pile fishing. Sue and Bri were the next to
head to the beach to check on his progress and cheer him on.
Billy and Stella were the last to show up on the deck as they so enjoyed the
inviting warmth of the ocean room. The fan they had chosen for Bri's comfort the evening before, had apparently been
re-positioned numerous times throughout the night, not for the meager breeze it
provided but rather to get the molded plastic casing vibrating in perfect
harmony with the buzzing bug wings that were hovering in the warm night air
just outside their windows.
Eventually I took a walk up to the big rock pile to check on the fishing and
take a few pictures. Found that Chris was emptying the ocean of skates
and also had hooked a sea robin; but otherwise a fresh seafood meal for the family
was not looking too likely. I didn't stay long then walked back down the
beach heading for the house.
Sue and Brianna soon came back themselves, talking of a sea-robin that Bri had reeled onto the shore herself. Soon after
that we all went up to the beach for a swim and some sun. Mom stayed
behind to guard the fort.
Brianna got a crash course in boogie board riding, more like 'crash and burn',
as she attempted to ride a big wave. The white water consumed her and the board
leaving her high and dry on her belly gasping for air, spitting out sand and
seashells. That slowed her down a bit, however soon after she was back
frolicking in the waves though she didn't venture back into the 'deep-end'
until big and fearless Auntie Chris convinced her she was safe with him and he
got her back in the ocean.
We eventually all came back to the house for a shower and to prepare for an
early dinner and the evening festivities. Margo was starving and just had
to get a bite at the Holiday Snack Bar, while the rest of us showered and
prepared to go out. The sky had been clouding up and rain was in the
forecast but that did not dampen our spirits.
Continuing to adhere to the restaurant choosing guideline from the night
before, we went to Buckalews for dinner, arriving
well before the crowd. However we were so early the room with big tables
had not been opened yet, so we opted to sit at two adjacent tables; one
for carnivores, the other for vegans and a small appetite Mom. A very tasteful
dinner was had as our two tables kept the waitress hopping throughout.
Early into the meal, big brother Jim had decided to pick up the tab, skillfully
thinking that an already 'full of cheeseburgers, appetite-less' Margo and
Chris, plus the low cost of lettuce, would minimize the damages. But much
to his surprise the other table had multiple courses of rabbit food, while
Margo and Chris ordered quality food rather then quantity, plus our table had a
few cocktails all of which enhanced the bill. But have no fear, Jim's
generosity and checking account balance was up to the task, and he really
wasn't thinking that way anyhow. :-)
It had already been decided that Showplace Ice Cream Parlour
was the place for our dessert this night, so from Buckalews
we walked up the street to get in line for the next seating. This would
be Stella's first time and she was excited to see all the fine choices on the
menu which we perused as we waited to be let in. Moments after being
escorted to a table our waiter took our orders and soon various large dishes of
tasteful and calorie filled ice cream arrived and the show began.
By now Stella was aware of the game and somewhat fretful of being picked, yet
as luck would have it she was. While appearing to chicken out at first,
like the folks at the previous table, she took the challenge and performed a
remarkable Show Place serenade and dance of "peanut, peanut butter...ice
cream" all captured on Billy's videocam for
posterity sake. After gorging on ice cream we waited outside for Chris to pay
the bill, then we waddled back to the cars and back to
the house to digest it all.
However, still being early in the night a visit to
Saturday morning arrived and again Chris was first up and off to the rock pile
to terrorize the fish. As the morning passed the rest of us gathered on
the deck, to enjoy morning bugs and coffee.
Much to Billy's chagrin, the previous night had been somewhat cooler, and the
pedestal fan I suggested was too good at creating a breeze then harmonizing
with the bugs. So after awakening from a good night's sleep he pulled out
his guitar and wowed us with his remarkable playing and singing talents.
His steadily improving abilities were demonstrated as he strummed and sang to
us quite a variety of contemporary song favorites.
This night had big plans, as Margo was holding tickets to see Bruce Springsteen
at Giants Stadium. She had two for her and Chris; and had somehow miraculously
acquired two more for Billy and Stella at the last minute. But as things,
evolved it was determined that Sue and Jim would go to the show instead.
That left Billy, Brianna and Stella to hang with Mom and entertain themselves after we took off for the concert.
We then suited up and went to the beach for some more swimming. The ocean
temp had taken a dive from the day before and it was indeed a bit nippy.
So after an hour or so on the beach it was decided to head back to the house
for showers and a change of clothes. Then we would have a group lunch at
Chicken or the Egg, or the 'Chegg' for short, before the
Springsteen crew took off for the Meadowlands complex in
We were running slightly behind schedule as we arrived at the Chegg, then had to wait a few more
minutes to get seated. But our waiter was extraordinary, he took our
complicated eat-in & take-out order and had it all out on the table in
record time. As 2:30 approached, Margo paid the check (thank you), gave
her credit card to Billy, then we split into two groups.
Margo, Sue, Chris and I jumped in the Blazer to go north; while the others went
back to the house. They had plans to see Peter Pan that night, as tickets
had been ordered during lunch, the rest of the day was up to them to fill.
On the drive north we played Springsteen all the way, starting with The Rising,
then having a group sing-along to the entire Born To
Run album as well as selected songs from his other two classic first records.
Our contingent got to Barry's house around 5pm after driving through some heavy
rain. The skies still did not look too inviting for the outside concert
we would soon be attending but the weather channel assured us it would
pass. Moments later Barry's girlfriend Fran arrived, we got back in the
cars and headed for the stadium and the pre-concert tailgate party.
Traffic was heavy as we approached the Meadowlands, with the famous
Barry had the timing down perfectly, the tickets said 7:30, but we got to our
seats about 8:15 and no more then 5 minutes passed when the show began...Brruuuce! The skies had cleared, the air temperature
was perfect. Bruce and the E-Street band put on a great show for the mostly
packed stadium. The sound was very good considering the venue and the setlist was superb, with much from his latest release The
Rising, plus many old faves as well including Rosalita.
Sue and I had sat in a different section from the others for the concert.
We all met up back at the cars afterwards for a post-show party designed to
avoid the traffic jam that occurred as all the cars emptied from the lot.
We eventually got on our way and arrived back on LBI a bit after 2am.
Hats off to Chris for being a superb chauffer (other then that almost chance
meeting on the Jersey Turnpike with an 18-wheeler at the toll booth ). Endless thanks to Margo (and Billy) for the tix, what a great show!!!
Walking in the house, Bart Simpson was standing by the refrigerator, at least a
blowup version, so we knew the other crew must have had some fun while we were
gone. Chris and Margo went right up to bed as they were tired and seemed
to be coming down with colds. Sue and I took a brief walk to the beach then
went to bed as well.
Sunday morning arrived, a bit grey but the weather man was promising
better. John and Fran were expected to join us this day; though Sue and I
were departing in the early afternoon since she had to be at work by midnight
for the night shift.
Chris did not go fishing this morning since he was feeling low, but still went
up town to get us some stinky buns. Apparently he got the last box,
managing to acquire them just ahead of some less then courteous woman who had
stolen his parking spot moments before. Yay
Chris!!!
Our weekend was slowly drawing to a close. Margo and Chris were indeed
sickly and said they would likely be heading home this day as well. Yet
we still had some hours to go and a little before noon John and Fran arrived to
complete our gathering. We laughed and joked together for a while and as
our departure time approached we decided to have one more meal together at the
Bayside before splitting up and heading our separate ways. First however,
group pictures had to be taken... so John got his camera stuff together and we
all gathered on the back deck.
In honor of our departed father and husband, James F Mahoney Sr, who had introduced us all to the lure of
As time had passed it was decided all would be departing LBI this day, so we
began to gather our things about the house. The others would come back to
Jacqueline after lunch to shut the place down after the meal. Sue and I
packed our stuff, then we got in our cars and headed
for the Bayside and our closing meal. Small place that it is, and packed
as it was when we arrived, we were still fortunate enough to get two tables
across from each other, to enjoy our lunch.
We enjoyed a fine meal, Johnny picked up the tab, then
we said our good byes and took off down the road for
Jim Mahoney
Sept 1, 2003