Day 16
Wednesday, June 16
Once again, this is why I get up early on vacation.
After my shower, the front desk called. The city was doing work on the water main and would be shutting off the water at 9A. All good, I was already heading out the door.
Since the Oceanic Inn doesn't do breakfast, and I was seriously tired of protein bars and fruit, I decided to take a walk and get a real breakfast. An easy six blocks brought me to Main Street and Frank's Deli and Restaurant.
Blink and you'll miss Joe Maggio, the owner of Frank's in Bruce Springsteen's video for "We Take Care of our Own." That's Joe at the 1:25 mark. The rooftop shots were shot on the roof on his deli.
Frank's Deli was even featured on an episode of "Anthony Bordain: Part's Unknown." Two years ago, the deli was officially added to the Anthony Bordain Food Trail, a statewide tribute to the ten places he visited for an episode in 2015. After his death, the Asbury Park Press released this tribute.
When you walk in the front door of Frank's, there's the deli counter on the left, with a long line of people buying sandwiches. To the right, a handful of booths, all full. Towards the back, there's a counter with perhaps a dozen stools. I snagged an open one on the end.
It seemed mostly regulars, and the staff addressed them by name. Being a guy just wandering on off the street, they were just as friendly. The breakfast was fantastic and even came with a side of pork roll, a Jersey thing.
As you travel the country, you hear many regional words, inflections and phrases. In Jersey, one of them is a simple, "you good?" I moved out of the state in '86 and still find myself using it. In the deep south, when a waitress comes by to refill your coffee, it's usually, "would you like some more coffee" or "can I warm that up for you?" So, when my waitress came by with the coffee pot and asked, "you good?" everything just felt right. I was officially home.
Just a few blocks walk from Frank's, I passed this SUV, clearly parked in a No Parking spot. I didn't notice the tires until later.
A few more blocks, and I came to Sunset Park. I've seen plenty of dogs chasing tennis balls, sticks or even frisbees. This was the first time I saw one chasing a drone. The owner even flew the drone in my direction so I could get this shot.
Just a beautiful day at the Jersey Shore...
Tucked in among the boardwalk restaurants is the Silverball Museum.
I visited a place like this in Seattle a few years ago and had a blast. Pay your entrance fee, and then play as many vintage pinball or video games as you want. And yes, they even have Skeeball.
Most of the games are in perfect working order. Ignore the glare, but I still remember seeing Fireball first appear when I was a kid. The red circle would periodically spin, sending your ball in a random direction.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find a Beatles pinball machine.
Back out n the boardwalk, I worked my way back to the old carousel... Yeah, it has seen better days.
Some shots inside... Yes, that's Debbie Harry...
Adjacent to the old casino's frame, sits this intriguing structure. Pretty fancy for just a steam plant. But, that's the way Asbury Park rolled back in the day.
As for the old casino...
And when life gives you a puddle...
The Paramount Theater...
The convention hall... Some of you might recognize these buildings. The Sopranos shot a few scenes on the boardwalk.
Passing by the Stone Pony. This sign didn't make sense to me at first. It turns out Sun Dogs are a Rush Tribute Band.
When I walked back down the boardwalk late in the day, I heard the familiar jazz guitar. He was back in his usual spot, playing away. That's when I realized, he keeps playing the same twenty minutes of music over and over,
He was desperately trying to drown out the drum circle that had formed behind him. It was a losing effort.
It was still a little early for sunset, so I just walked out on the stone jetty to shoot some waves. That's when I noticed something I don't see very often...
The break of the wave was reflecting on itself.
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