#jersey shore resorts

[sohannabarberaesque]

Meanwhile, on the Jersey Shore ...

Picture Droopy and Dripple, managers and pizzamakers extraordinaire of Sea Isle City's boardwalk, leading annual ceremonies on Memorial Day weekend marking the opening of the summer tourism season there.

Honey and Sis pulling off one of their surprise shortwave worldcasts from their mobile worldcasting station parked somewhere close to the Atlantic, at the end of some seedy-looking bayou such as could attract Scooby-Doo's attention and notice.

Pretty much every last Funtastic type spending time there stocking up on that Jersey Shore confectionary staple, salt water taffy, out of tradition more than anything.

How those Skatebirds could manage to pull off those moves on some Jersey Shore boardwalk and come out unscathed is anybody's guess.

[doo-wop-city]

Relaxing at Starlux Boutique with Stella

After a day of Modeling, Stella Star visited the Starlux Boutique to take it easy for a while. She loves how the rooms there are overflowing with Googie style. These photos were taken in room 211 on February 23rd,1966. (…Or, was that 2022?) After removing my jacket, I relax in the sinusoidal curves of this chair, with my elbow on the speckled table beside me, as I reflect on everything I’ve seen…

[ilythena]

𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐘 || 𝐋𝐔𝐊𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐒

★SUM after spending a night in a small island, luke keeps seeing you everywhere he goes.

SMUT! Fem!reader, let’s just pretend alcohol is free for them, reader is not a human, oral (?), p in v, obsession, praise, Luke is a pussydrunk FOOL, definitely submissive Luke over here guys, one night stand turned spooky….readers a succubus? Idk guys I just like writing smut… this will probs have a part 2

♪ CANDY - DOJA CAT

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Jack sighs as the flight attendant announces that they would unfortunately have to stay a night in this random island after the plane had difficulties.

The plan was simple, get on the plane to Australia, stay there for a few days, and then fly back to New Jersey. But like his life, things were never easy for him.

Luke groans in annoyance as the flight attendant looks at him with guilt on their face even though everyone knew it technically wasn’t their fault, and set them up for three different hotel rooms a few minutes away from the airport they had to emergency land in

“Well, at least they weren’t shitty enough to just leave us without rooms and put us somewhere” Nico says and the two brothers huff in dissatisfaction

“Come on! Cheer up! Like, let’s go out to a club! They gotta have one somewhere on this island.” He says and while everyone’s not pleased at their situation, they begrudgingly agree to his plan.

After a while and everyone’s settled, they google a club, look at the reviews, and luckily it was in walking distance so they wouldn’t have to pay for anything.

They get in there and the place is full of tourist and some locals scattered around the place, and it was actually kind of fun. Everyone was letting loose of the tense atmosphere they had earlier.

“Hey, I’m gonna go search for the bathroom! I’ll be back!” Jack shouts to Luke over the music and Luke nods his head in agreement. As jack’s seat next to Luke suddenly becomes empty, it quickly becomes occupied again as you slip into the seat

Well, more like your friend pushed you there after you’ve been eyeing the curly head the second he stepped into the resort you were staying in, but same thing.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, didn’t mean to bump into you like that.” You say and straighten up his sleeve before he could do it himself. “…it’s fine. You’re fine.” He says and he could feel his breath suddenly getting caught in his throat at the sight of you next to him.

Your eyes capture him in a way he can’t escape, shining and glimmering under the clubs lights and he’s stuck, trying to tear his eyes away from yours and despite how hard he tries it’s impossible.

“You from here?” You say, moving your tone to a more flirtatious one as he shakes his head no. “You look a little overwhelmed…why don’t we step outside for a minute? Get you some air…” you whisper into his ear, pulling him close to you by his collar and Luke’s mouth is moving quicker than his mind as he chokes out a yes.

Before he realized it, you two were outside on the beach right next to the club, the waves crashing down onto the shore and the dress you’re wearing is slipping down your shoulders that Luke can’t tear his eyes off of.

“I never got your name? And honestly you didn’t get mine either.” You giggle and that’s what brings him down from his cloud of ecstasy, suddenly flustered that he’s out with a stranger. What about Jack? What if him and Nico are looking for him?

“U-um, my names Luke, I’m sorry, I don’t think I should be out here-“ he says and you silence him with a toothy grin that has his heart hammering against his chest

“Y/n. What’s stopping you? Got a lady back home?” You say, bringing your hands up to rub his chest and he fucking melts, you could tell he’s an awkward one, but that’s how you like them.

“N-no…..forget I said anything” he mumbles and despite the faint background music from the club, you could still hear him due to your proximity.

Looking into your eyes again, Luke can feel himself slipping into a foggy mindset. It’s like he can’t control himself despite not even knowing who you are.

A Deep feeling of anxiety swirls in his stomach, but lust quickly takes over him as he feels your lips press into his. Your teeth slightly biting into his lower lip makes his mouth drop open and you take that chance to shove your tongue into his mouth.

He moves his hands down to your waist and whines into the kiss as you reach your hands up to tug at his hair, the two of you kissing in the middle of the beach as if there wasn’t anyone else in the world.

Your plan was almost ripped away from you when you part away from him for air, and he gets a text as soon as you take your first breath away from Luke.

Jack 🏒

Didn’t think you were that type of person lukey 👀

Be safe!

You quickly shove his phone back down away from his eyesight so you can ensure that you can get Luke in your hands for good.

“Don’t worry about it, whatever it is.” You say grabbing him by his chin and redirecting his vision towards you. “Take me to your hotel? I’ll show you how we do it over here” you whisper and he takes you by surprise when he drags you towards the place.

You two messily stumble into his room and you don’t hesitate to get your mouth on his again, reaching for the bottom of his shirt and moving it upwards to rub his stomach and fidget with his belt at the same time.

You shove him down onto the bed and his face is astonishingly red, the bulge in his shorts making them unbearably tight.

He moves your hands out the way to take his belt off and you stop him, “you’re not gonna ask me? And here I am thinking you’d be obedient.” You tsk and he hesitates “what do you want me to do?” He whispers and you don’t skip a beat telling him to beg for it.

Attaching your lips to his neck, he lets out a small moan he was desperately trying to hold back and lets out a quiet please. “Please what? Ask me properly.” You demand and he shakily obeys “please, please take my shorts off.” He says and you finally shake them down his ankles to which he very swiftly kicked off.

“Good, knew you could do it for me.” you purr out and he huffs as you start to palm him through his boxers “please take those off too” he groans out, with a giggle you gently take his cock out and a hiss is heard through the room as the cool air hits his tip. Not wanting to keep him waiting, you pump him and small puffs of air escape his lips before you spit down on it to give him more lubrication

“Fuck, I’ve never- never been this fucking hard from a handjob before.” He moans out, another smiling snicker along with a kiss below his ear has him crumbling completely.

“C-can I mention how this isn’t fucking fair at all? I have my whole dick out and you’re fully clothed. Not really equal over here” he whines and you hum. “Want me to take my tits out?” “Dear god please do. Wanna see them so bad.” He breathes out and flinches when you swat his hand away when he tries to reach for your chest

“No touching.” You state and he grins, “really? Not gonna let me touch your chest, but you’re jerking me off- oh” he cuts himself off when you run your thumb over his tip as a gentle reminder that you expect to take control here.

“You have an attitude on you. I’m gonna take that away, but for now I guess I’ll give you what you want…” you say as you slowly move your dress down your shoulders to reveal yourself to him. You roll your nipple between the fingers of your free hand and he swears he can feel himself about to drool.

“Fuck, please? Can I at least put my mouth on them? You’re gonna kill me.” He grumbles out and you play pity on him, sliding your dress off and straddling him so you can push your panties to the side and rub himself between your folds.

“Since you asked so nicely, I’ll let you.” You state and he immediately latches onto your left boob, groaning in both disappointment and excitement when he feels your hand move him near your entrance

You can feel the vibrations of his muffled gasps when you rub his tip against your clit, anticipation biting Luke in his gut waiting for you to finally put him inside.

“Mmm, it’s so close, would be so easy to-“ “you’re getting bratty. Keep it up and I won’t hesitate to hold off your orgasm tonight.” You bark out, interrupting him. “Fuck, ‘m sorry” he mumbles, wiping the drool off his mouth and leaning back

“Oh fuck” he suddenly whimpers out when you finally have enough and slip him inside of you. When he reaches for you for a second time you have enough and pin his hands to his bed.

“Gonna pin me to the bed? H-oh god” he cuts himself off and you smile in satisfaction, knowing that he’s giving up that ‘wanna be dominant’ attitude.

The room is full of you two, the sounds of you bouncing on him and Luke’s whimpering along with your gasps

“Please let me touch you, I’m gonna fucking lose it over here. Please, please.” He begs and you coo down at him. His face red, eyes hooded, and begging for the most simple thing.

“Sure, baby. See? I’ll give you what you need, as long as you ask me nicely.” You let his wrist go and he immediately grabs handfuls of your ass, moaning when he’s able to feel your soft skin under his fingers

“I’m close.” He whines out and you look at him with confusion “already? We just started baby…..if you cum, how am I gonna get off?” You mock him and all of a sudden he feels this wave of embarrassment hit him, tossing his head back with a groan.

“I don’t know what you’re doing to me. I’ve never- fuck- never been like this before for anyone.” You bite down behind his ear and he shudders “mmm… maybe I’m just different. All I know is that you shouldn’t cum yet.” You whisper and he shakes “can’t. I can’t hold it. You’re too fucking good.”

“Hold it.” You demand, and go right back to attacking his neck. “I’m trying. I’m trying.” He cries out, repeating himself. A small part of you wonders if he’s trying to convince you or himself, and right when he’s about to break, you let go of your pending orgasm and give in.

“Cum for me, Luke.” You rasp out, and he’s a mess as he comes undone under you. Shaking and eyes rolling into the back in his head, you get that feeling of accomplishment take over you as you orgasm. This is what you came here for.

Helping him ride out his orgasm, you gently grind yourself on him, watching him slowly come down from his high.

Everything for Luke after that is a blur. All he can remember was you cleaning him up and basically tucking him into bed before he knocked out.

The morning after, Luke woke up to Jack blowing his phone up, asking him where he was.

He frantically got up and got dressed, rushed to the airport, and met up with the other two boys. “Luke! Where were you at, man?” Nico asks and Jack smirks, looking at his younger brother.

“Lukey here had quite an eventful night if I say.” Luke can feel his face heating up at jacks words and brushes him off. “Whatever, man. Let’s just get on the plane?” He says and he was the first person to sit down and plug his headphones in as soon as he sat down, waiting for the flight attendant to give him the green light to board the plane.

As Nico goes over the plans for the trip when they land, Luke glances over to Jack and almost has a heart attack when he sees you sitting at the bar across the area from them. He sits up abruptly and when he glances at Nico for a second when his captain asks him what’s wrong and then looks back to where you were, you aren’t there anymore.

“…..Luke?” Jack repeats, concern spreading on his face as he waves his hand infront of Luke’s face. With his mouth parted and stuttering, he eventually says never mind and sinks back into his chair, gaining confused looks from both men next to him but slowly moving back into their previous conversation.

Sneakily glancing back to your spot, you still aren’t there, and he begins to wonder if his mind was playing tricks on him, but he can’t shake off the feeling that he was right.

Eventually he boards the plane and flies to Australia like it was meant to do, and Luke takes a nap. The rest of the flight is smooth, nice and quiet like he wanted it to be. He couldn’t stop thinking of you. What you two did last night, and if you were really there in the airport with him.

He wakes up when the plane lands, collecting his stuff and joking with Jack and Nico, he freezes when he leaves the plane and sees you again across the room talking to another girl.

He stands there for a solid second, staring holes into your back like if he looks away you’ll disappear. Jack bumps into him from behind due to the sudden stop and when Luke slightly lunges forward and his eyes snap off you for a second, you weren’t there anymore.

“Luke, are you okay? You’ve been acting weird since this morning.” Jack says, gently rubbing his shoulder after running into Luke and all of a sudden Luke can feel anxiety bubbling in his chest. “Yeah. I’m fine.” He states quickly, trying to return back to normal when Jack and Nico look at each other, both equally aware that something’s going on.

What they don’t know can’t hurt them.

© copyright of ilythena. Do not repost or translate onto any other websites.

I FUCKING HATE THE WAY I ENDED THIS but I wanna post for my pookies

[northameicanblog]

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States: Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located in South Jersey on Absecon Island, the city is prominently known as the "Las Vegas of the East Coast." Known for its taxis, casinos, nightlife, boardwalk, Wikipedia

[bleedingcoffee42]

so many wips! need to hear about casablanca <3

I did too much research into Lewis Nixon I and have to use it. Nix comes homes to his parents divorced, Stanhope being Stanhope and most of his grandfathers estate sold off. The will still not anywhere near a probate court. He's staying at the Yale Club and struggling with how much has chanced. Dick isn't back yet. Kathy is now the ex-wife. He doesn't have his dog. He has drinking and a bit of nostaglia and a family who owned a house damned near everywhere. Except---not anymore. There are articles in the paper about Grandpa's estate, he needs something to get his mind out of a fog. Starts looking into it, I mean what else does a former intelligence officer do? Some habits are hard to break.

The scene is set: The house in Monmouth Beach. It always seemed a little sketchy to him that the 'hotel' next door burned down because the town had been after the owner to shut the illegal hotel down. Even taking it to the NJ Supreme court. Still, the Nell Grace Hotel remained open. The town, filled with men like Grandpa who had outrageously large and expensive homes, probably were not happy with the operation of the hotel next door. So, it always struck him as convenient that the place burned down. And that they used the water spicket on Grandpa's house to fight the fire, a house he wasn't going to be staying at because it was winter and was winterized, yet the hotel was occupied and water was frozen. He's known the men in this neighborhood all his life, he wouldn't put it past them to resort to arson.

Why does it matter if the neighbor lady's house is gone? Well, probably nothing except that the records on Grandpas house list Mary Nixon selling it to another rich widow. Mary using an address in Newark he's never heard of. Mary who has been busy selling off everything. He's a little suspicious that the will left everything to her, without a single thing to his grandkids or Joel. He thinks there could be another will hidden somewhere and his guess would be the house closest to the ocean, the old sailor was always in a better mood when he could breathe in salty ocean air.

The problem was the house was sold and sold again. And the great hurricane of 1944 had battered the shore, destroying roads and houses. When he drives by so many houses are gone and another era of Jersey history forgotten. However, he remembers good times sitting under that red and white striped awning on the porch listening to stories of the sea, stories of Grandpa going to school with the King of England, meeting the Czar, having Stanhope meet the Pope(Lew is convinced it was for an exorcism) and a slew of other insane stories that were packed into amazing life of his Grandpa. Someone he wished he could have come home and talked to about everything that haunts him.

It doesn't make sense he got nothing. That Blanche got nothing. And Joel, nothing? He adopted that kid, named him after his own father, and leaves him nothing but the Nixon name? None of them needed money, but there was a lot of sentimental value lost. And something feels wrong. So he buys the house, and comes up with a reason to piss off whatever neighbors are left so he can find out who exactly was behind the Hotel burning down.

So why not make it a bar? Maybe some illegal gambling thrown in to really twist the knife. He has just watched Casablanca with Blanche, and he drank enough to get through it that he started to blur the lines of what was on screen and any fantasies he had of Dick looking fabulous in a tux and him being some snarky investigator who clearly was more of a love interest than Ingrid Bergman. Hell, that movie was about those two guys ending up together, wasn't it? Screw the girl, let her leave with the text book husband and the dog and save the world, who needs her when you have a buddy who has a gambling and drinking problem and sharp whit? So he names it Dick's Cafe Americana and has the arch thing from Holland built over the sidewalk to the house. Puts up dick's picture. Uses the bar that's already there because grandpa was a fine gentleman. Has the piano tuned. Adds tables. Hell, the place looks like it was sold full furnished, so he starts looking for hiding spaces he remembers to see if there is a copy of the will somewhere.

And Dick finally comes home and is a dick about not calling. So Nix has to call him and ask why he doesn't want the job he offered him. Instead of meeting in New York, take the train to Monmouth Beach I have something to show you--

And Dick Winters thinks his friend has gone insane but he's glad he's not drunk. Owning a bar seems like a bad idea, owning a bar because you want to piss off an arsonist even worse. Dick's been locked up in his bedroom for a week so he's not really upset at the change of venue and Nix tells him he can go swim in the ocean if he wants. beach is next door. Nix plays the piano for him, As time goes by, and Dick is 100% gone and agreeing to all of it.

Dick takes the job at the factory, and spends weekends with Nix on his little project. It feels like good times, working together. It feels like purpose. The struggle to blend back in at home lessens when he's too busy being a host to Nix's neighborhood parties on the weekends. He gets to see a little of the old Nix, the Nix who he met at OCS come through as he works the crowds for information and gambles and drinks with the rich neighbors. And he is weak for Lew playing piano....

Maybe it just ends up being another Winnix and a gay bar fic.

[aenariasbookshelf]

you say you want (me) (part nine of ?)

title: you say you want (me) (part nine of ?)

author: Aenaria

rating: G

Weekly prompt: salute to Jimmy Buffet/Pirate AU week at @darcylewisbingohq

Characters: Darcy Lewis, Steve Rogers

tags/warnings: Darcy/Steve, soulmate AU                                                 

Summary: In a world where having a soulmate mark is the norm for most people, Darcy Lewis is one of the rare few unmarked people. Of course, this doesn’t stop her from finding the right partner. 

Note: I’ve finally got this collection up on AO3! You can find it here. 

*

When Steve and Darcy spoke about going on vacation, they’d planned something quiet, a hotel room somewhere down the shore for a week and spending time on the beach with a couple of towels and a cooler.

Then Tony stepped in.

“Look, no one needs a vacation more than you do, and I know you,” Tony pointed out when Steve had confronted him about the reservations that had shown up in his inbox. “Neither you nor Darcy would even think to treat yourselves like this.”

“Because it costs an arm and a leg.” 

Tony shrugs, not meeting Steve’s eyes as he shuffles around his lab. “Not for me. You deserve to go somewhere special, so let me do this for you, okay?”

Well, who was Steve to argue with that?

That’s how he and Darcy found themselves vacationing at a very exclusive full service resort somewhere in the Caribbean, with every need of theirs catered to, and with a level of privacy that they definitely wouldn’t have gotten on the Jersey Shore. Which, Steve has to admit, is far more appealing than it should be. The thought of spending his vacation signing autographs and answering questions about his not-soulmate girlfriend…yeah, it had given him pause.

On this vacation day, Steve wakes up late in the morning, with the sun shining through the double doors of their little villa right into his eyes. Actually, he’d been awake with the sunrise and had gone for a run on the beach, and when he’d returned Darcy was still in bed sound asleep, all soft and warm. It was hard to resist laying down next to her. He’d obviously dozed off again, because the sun is now higher in the sky and Darcy’s side of the bed is cool, long abandoned.

Still, there’s a note propped up on the mound of pillows next to him.

“At the beach, come find me xoxo.”

One bathing suit and a loose shirt later Steve heads over to one of the other beaches at the resort, the one that has the snack stands that Darcy fell in love with the day before. The sun’s practically baking his skin, the sand crunching between his toes, and it’s a lovely, novel feeling. It doesn’t take too long to spot Darcy’s lounger, close to the blue, crystalline water that laps against the sand. Although…

“Why are you wearing a pirate hat?” he asks.

Darcy tips her chin up at him, giving an aloof look from under the black and white felt of the cheap pirate hat. “I left my sun hat back in the room. The bartender was gracious enough to scrounge this up for me from behind the bar.” She raises the margarita she’s holding in her free hand in a toast and takes a pointed sip of it, as if daring him to comment.

Instead, a grin just spreads across Steve’s face. “It’s a stunning look on you.”

“Isn’t it just?” she smiles back. “Now, go grab a margarita and come soak up some of this beach air with me. It’s the perfect day for it.”

[masterwords]

good vibrations

Summary: Hotch & Morgan take the family to an amusement park.

Pairing: Hotch/Morgan

Warnings: Nothing I can think of?

Words: 1.4k

Notes: Continuing this domestic May nonsense, I just wanted to think about their family at an amusement park for a while. How cute it would be with that mix of personalities on the road and in the park and...believe me I could have turned this into a bajillion words but I kept it short and sweet.

Read on AO3 if you like! This one is short and all fluff so I posted it in its entirety here too.

**

Hotch considers himself a world class napper. A perfect vacation would simply involve a bed, warm blankets and no alarm clock. He can come and go as he pleases, close his eyes and open them using nothing but the delight of his own internal rhythm.

Derek, on the other hand, likes to be on the move from sun up to sun down. He wants to pack as much into their weekend as he can because they simply don’t get enough of them.

When things were still brand new, before the team had any idea that they would leave Friday night and sneak away together in a rental car to such exotic places as Busch Gardens or the Jersey Shore or Dollywood, they would make plans during the car ride. Hotch, car sick though he is, always let Derek drive. He would pull out his phone and flick through his notes app to run down their itinerary for the weekend while Jack watched the scenery fly by from the backseat in silence. The kid was a champion in the car, hardly a peep out of him for the whole first hour, and then he would pull out a book or some other quiet car game, wholly capable of keeping himself completely occupied. The last hour or so they would all be a little antsy and that was when Hotch would initiate such car trip classics as alphabet of road signs, spotting license plates until they hopefully saw one from each state (and if you saw one from Canada you basically won) or an old standby that eventually turned into arguments...I Spy.

Now that they’re seasoned, now that they don’t have to hide from anyone, now that Jack is older...they forego the planning entirely. Instead they arrive, find their hotel, and Hotch immediately begins preparations for his first nap of the trip. The first of many, he announces cheerfully. The planning happens on the fly. That's real comfort, real progress. They go simply with the intent to have a good time, itinerary not required. 

This time they’re at Knoebels Amusement Resort, a recommendation from JJ. It’s a little less ritzy than some of the others but what it lacks in style it makes up for in comfort. They’ve rented a little cabin with easy access to the park and secured all the passes they’ll need to pack a week’s worth of fun into three days. They even brought Jessica, just in case the BAU called and they had to take their leave...at least Jack could stay and finish out the good times.

“You’re both old fogies,” Derek huffed while he set out all of his myriad toiletries in the bathroom he staked out for he and Hotch. Hotch and Jessica just smiled knowingly at each other and, almost like mirror images, began preparing for afternoon naps.

“We need our beauty sleep,” is Jess’ sassy retort before she enters her small bedroom and closes the door behind her. Derek cups Hotch’s face in his hands, stares longingly into his eyes for a minute like he’s going to say something really romantic about how Hotch doesn’t need beauty sleep because he’s perfect the way he is, and then smiles.

“Don’t sleep through dinner,” is what he actually says and Hotch sighs, nodding.

“I won’t.”

He doesn’t. It’s a nice, short nap, just energizing enough that he showers and throws on some casual clothes and heads out the door to find Derek and Jack who are out shaking up their brains on rollercoasters, one after another. Hotch doesn’t mind a good rollercoaster, but he’s definitely not one to subject himself to a full day of them. He has better things to do.

Like buying a big salty pretzel from a vendor with a cart, and hoping he doesn’t spill the bright yellow mustard all over his khakis while he walks and takes in the sights. Everything is bright colors and loud music and it’s mesmerizing in the way it assaults his senses. Before Derek he used to loathe these places, they just felt like people infested stress cages and Haley would run off with Jack to wait in line somewhere and he’d spend at least a half hour hunting them down to make sure they hadn’t been taken. He doesn’t worry about anything with Derek around. It’s taken him a long time to get used to that feeling. Sometimes it’s so big he doesn’t really know what to do with it.

That’s not a problem right now though. He pops off at a little round table with bright red benches that are faded at the corners from the unrelenting summer sun and fires off an inquisitive text to Derek.

Where are you?

Next in line for bumper cars. Third round. Jack’s ruthless. You?

Hotch smiles and sends Derek a picture of his pretzel with the grand carousel in the background.

Hell yeah! Win us some free rides ya tall dark and handsome drink of water!

He hadn’t really thought about getting on the carousel, he just thought it made for a nice picture but hell. A ride didn’t sound so bad, he’d always liked the way they were just so simple and classic. And soothing, that up and down motion, the music, the mirrors. Something about it was almost enchanting. And being tall and graceful enough to reach out and snag that brass ring on the way around was, until recently, a talent he didn’t realize he had.

They all met up an hour later with Jessica outside of the Haunted Mansion, her one specific request. It’s somewhere between a slow moving rollercoaster and a haunted house and she’s all about it.

“You and Derek should sit behind us,” she says, pointing at the car she wants them to get in. “And then you can hold his hand when he’s scared.”

Derek rolls his eyes. “Ain’t me gonna be scared, little lady.”

“Yeah, right. Says the guy who hates Halloween.”

They all jump and laugh and close their eyes, and Hotch does find that at a certain point Derek is gripping his hand a little tighter than natural and leaning a little closer to him. He’s not scared, he says, it’s just that he thought being in the dark meant they could be a little extra close. Hotch has his doubts.

There’s golfing that fulfills all of Hotch's personal goals (18 holes while no one complains, and Derek teaches Jack how to drive the cart when no one is looking) and swimming and exploring and a whole lot of eating, all littered with a staggering number of naps by one or two of the adults at any given time. Jack refuses. While Hotch and Derek nap, Jess takes him swimming and follows him down countless looping swirling slides into the icy crystal water. While Hotch naps, Jess and Derek ride all sorts of rollercoasters and ferris wheels and while they’re down for the count, Hotch takes Jack on the Pioneer Train and they explore the history museums. All in all, they head home both exhausted and well rested, somehow. No incidents, no arguments, just some good old fashioned family fun.

Well, almost no arguments. Jack’s grasp on (or respect for) the rules of I Spy is shaky at best and Jess always takes his side, leaving Hotch and Derek to argue on behalf of reason and sanity. "You can't just say you spy something GREEN in a sea of green, kid...you gotta be more specific!" Derek shouts after the third round of madness while Hotch pats him on the knee and Jessica's laugh bellows from behind them. He's spied something green on each of his turns and Derek is certain that he's lying about his answer when it's guessed too easily. Changing which green thing he's spotted.

"Sure he can! Are you accusing a child of lying?"

"I study behavior for a living, I know he's lying."

Hotch nods. "I know his tells."

"SOMETHING GREEN!"

"Oh for the love..." Derek cries out, sending off a litany of green things he can think of that he can't even see at all. Apples, grass, lettuce, slime, aliens...he's losing his mind and Hotch thinks it might be the cutest thing he's ever seen, at least for a while. 

Jessica's laughing so hard there are tears on her cheeks and Jack is pleased as punch. Hotch finally waves the white flag and turns up the radio, invoking the power of the quiet game. The first person to talk loses.

Everyone in the car is far too competitive to lose at this game.

[misscrisisx]

Friends, I have somehow landed myself back in a position at work that requires new licenses and let me tell ya... this first exam is like one of the last one but with a black belt because it is whooping my ass

I'm so delusional that my brain has resorted to Jersey Shore quotes for some ungodly reason.

Because who doesn't talk to themselves when you're studying, amiright?

Me knowing all the words in the paragraph on their own but looking at them in this particular order on the page like:

Me reading the material and having it say some shit like "the exam isn't updated, so both the old and new rules are testable":

Me looking at my average scores, knowing I've passed licenses already that cover a lot of this material:

Me knowing I have to keep pushing because I have less than a month to get through all of this and take my exam regardless of how rough the quizzes leading up to it are:

I'm convinced I have seriously overestimated my comprehension of the English language with some of this stuff

[aaronsehmar]

@vacancyphoto “Matt Mele’s Vacancy series features the resort town of Wildwood, New Jersey. Wildwood is a working class shore town in northeastern USA that relies on tourism in the summer months. Mele’s family has called Wildwood its satellite home since the ’50’s. Despite being known for its high concentration of Vegas-like neon and mid-century modern architecture- much of its original allure is disappearing through demolition and redevelopment. Mele’s ongoing documentation of the area shows the subsequent effects of a town that relies on seasonal tourism as it endures the 21st century. Through photography, Mele’s work documents the past as well as a peek into the passage of time.” https://theflyingfruitbowl.co.uk/2023/01/27/matt-mele/ Link in bio! #photography #travelphotography #landscape #places #landscapephotography #atmosphericphotography #photographer #newtopographics #cityscape #places #atmosphericphotography #cinematic #fineartphotography #artpodcast #contemporaryphotography https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn605ypo0hE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[rinumia-blog]

CASINO CONSERVATIVE COMMISSiON

The first time the economics of the casino business really came home to me was one day late in 1975.

I was driving along in my car, to yet another meeting about the Commodore Hotel deal, when a news report came on the radio.

Hotel Employees in Las Vegas, Nevada, the announcer reported, had just voted to strike.

Among other consequences, the stock price of Hilton Hotels, which owned two casinos in Las Vegas, had dropped tremendously.

By this time I knew something about the hotel business, but I was still stunned.

How was it possible that the stock of a company that owned at least a hundred hotels worldwide could be hurt so badly by a strike against just two of them?

What I did , shortly after the radio report, was take a trip down to Atlantic City. A year earlier, a referendum to legalise gambling throughout the state of New Jersey had been badly defeated.

Now a new initiative was on the 1976 ballot, to legalize gambling solely in Atlantic City.

To me , questions about legalising gambling in Atlantic City were economic. Was the timing right, was the price of entry reasonable, and did the area make sense as a location?

Atlantic City is 120 miles from New York City on the south shore of New Jersey, and once upon a time it was a great resort and convention center. I was not prepared for how badly things had deteriorated.

---excerpt from Trump's The Art Of The Deal

[allthenewzworld]

For generations of vacationers heading to Ocean City, New Jersey, the towering "Giant Wheel" was the first thing they saw from miles away.

The sight of the 140-foot-tall ride let them know they were getting close to the Jersey Shore town that calls itself "America's Greatest Family Resort," with its promise of kid-friendly beaches, seagulls and sea shells.

But the rides fell silent Sunday night, as the park run by Ocean City's mayor and nurtured by generations of his ancestors - closed down, the victim of financial woes made worse by the lingering aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Superstorm Sandy.

Read more at the link in bio.

[doo-wop-city]

Stella Star at Astronaut, Part 3

Part 1 Part 2 We had a lot of adventure in the first two parts of my adventure at Astronaut. Now, in part 3, we visit the office and the room. I’m in the office at the moment, looking at the memorabilia. I love the astronaut-themed art around this place! Here I stand at the front desk, adding an additional night to my stay. This motel is so far-out. You can’t get much farther-out than outer…

[recentlyheardcom]

Historic Jersey Shore amusement park closes after generations of family thrills

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — For generations of vacationers heading to Ocean Metropolis, the towering “Big Wheel” was the very first thing they noticed from miles away. The sight of the 140-foot-tall (42-meter) trip allow them to know they have been getting near the Jersey Shore city that calls itself “America’s Best Household Resort,” with its promise of kid-friendly seashores, seagulls and sea…

[greenridge823]

No Migrating Warblers, But A Great Day Exploring Higbee Beach And Cape May , New Jersey.

After working on my blog, and enjoying a couple of cups of coffee, I left my hotel, the La Mer Beachfront Resort,  in Cape May, New Jersey early last Saturday morning. I  walked across the street to wait for the sunrise. The skies were mostly cloudy  and it was another somber Fall day on the deserted beach.  There were only a few other early risers on the beach as the waves crashed on the shore…

[roskirambles]

Horror(?) Movie of the day: Jaws (1975)

Amity Island, a humble tourist resort in New England, is busy during the summer as its beaches are full yet again. That is, until one night a young woman called Chrissie Watkins is mysteriously killed in the water, her mangled remains washed ashore by the morning. It's concluded it was a shark attack, which means the beaches got to be closed. But when Police chief Martin Brody is forced to reopen them by the mayor after a local fisherman catches the wrong animal, a second attack on a kid called Alex Kintner takes place. Finally seeing the gravity of the threat, a team is formed to hunt down the man-eating creature: Brody himself, marine biologist Matt Hooper and a mysterious seaman referred as Quint embark on the Orca, doing their best to get along if they plan to succeed on their quest. Or even get out alive.

Based on Peter Benchley's eponymous 1974 novel, this is pretty much the perfect creature film: the use of cinematographic techniques to tell the story it wants to is pretty much flawless. With a masterful use of blocking and almost surgically precise pacing, even this short of 50 years later the film is still a breeze to watch. It makes some extensive changes from the novel too; making the characters infinitely more likable and bounce from each other in delightful ways, with Quint’s character stealing the show thanks to a stellar performance by the late Robert Shaw.

And then there’s John Williams' iconic ostinato of death. Taking a page from Bernard Hermann, it hammers in the anxiety of seeing the attacks from the point of view of the creature, making the audience feel like prey against this obscured menace. At least until those brief moments where you see it above the surface, which have aged the worst since the mechanical shark looks as real as its behavior is accurate to the real thing. Even with this little mishap tho, it's no wonder it put Spielberg's name on the map as the first true summer blockbuster.

Now, there’s a few obligatory talking points about this movie starting with the obvious one: It’s depiction of sharks as violent man eaters has had a devastating effect on the reputation of these animals that only now is seeing some form of push back (even if Benchley himself regretted writing the novel and dedicated his life to undo the effect upon learning about the animals further). The events of the book were inspired by the real-life shark attacks on Jersey Shore in 1916, as well as the mass attack on the USS Indianapolis’ wreckage in 1945 (which is referenced in the film itself). It has to be said these were indeed fairly violent incidents and led to multiple human deaths. And yet, the attack rate of sharks on humans is incredibly low with less than 100 yearly worldwide reported incidents, as they’re generally timid creatures. For comparison, dog attacks in USA alone surpass 2000 yearly reported incidents with ease. Worse yet, shark attacks are rarely predatory. While that was actually the case for the Indianapolis incident (since a lot of humans scattered in deep water made for easy pickings to hungry animals), most of the reported bites are exploratory. We’re talking about creatures with poor eyesight and no hands, so biting is a fairly common mechanism to investigate for them and many attacks on humans are effectively curious sharks just… experimenting on something they haven’t seen. More so, in certain circumstances wild sharks can be outright friendly to humans. I think it goes without saying the antagonism from the general public is unwarranted, and the damage done to their populations more than unfortunate. After all, when we enter the sea, we’re the actual invaders in their turf.

The second obvious talking point has to be the troubled production. To put it bluntly, almost everything that could’ve gone wrong went wrong in spectacular fashion. In fact, part of the brilliance of Jaws is the result of Spielberg having to work around Bruce (the nickname given to one of the three mechanical sharks used in the film, as well as the namesake of the shark in Finding Nemo for obvious reasons). Why? Well, the damn thing kept breaking down and simply didn’t work as intended even in the shots where it was partially operational. Turns out they made it for fresh water, and believe it or not, salt in water makes a world of difference. Save for the scenes were it was absolutely vital to have it on camera, they instead had the music and some underwater photography imply the action and rank the suspense up to 11. And yes, the fact salt water was a problem is due to a young, naive Steven Spielberg insisting to actually film on the ocean instead of a water tank because he thought it’d give authenticity to the movie. I cannot begin to tell you the multiple ways this is an incredibly bad and stupid idea, but they paid the price by facing broken equipment, camera problems, a sunk mechanical shark and even a sunk boat with all the film reels that they BARELY managed to salvage. It was so bad the team internally called the production “Flaws”, amidst disgruntled, tired actors, a dangerously ballooning budget, and being over schedule by seven months. In a nutshell, it was nothing short of a career ending disaster... or at least would have been had the movie not been as obscenely successful as it was. I wasn’t remotely exaggerating when I called it the first true summer blockbuster. It’s the movie that set the trend for studios to chase, which was later consolidated by Star Wars. But boy, was it a pain and a half to get there.

Lastly, a rather byzantine debate. You might have noted that little question mark in the header title. It’s there for a reason, mind you, as an awkward question lingers in the air: is Jaws actually a horror film? I’m not trying to be facetious here; this is genuinely a decades long ongoing debate. It undoubtedly has been spoken extensively in horror movie circles as most people would agree one of the goals of the movie (in which it succeeds spectacularly) is to elicit a negative emotional response of fright from the audience. And yet, in most movie sites and sources like Wikipedia it’s actually classified as a thriller, and the core narrative dynamic makes it equally close to an adventure film where a group of intrepid people go on the hunt of a dangerous monster. In a way, it speaks about the rather flimsy nature of genres as a tool to classify fiction, but either response carries interesting implications. If it isn’t a horror movie, what does that tells us about the thriller genre? What is the line between feeling exciting suspense and horrifying helplessness? On the other hand, if it is, what does it say that the first Summer blockbuster is a horror film? Because, on a similar note, The Exorcist was a notoriously viral film just two years prior so it certainly would speak about the importance and desire for the genre among not just a niche but the mass audiences. You be the judge of that, but it’s for sure a fascinating aspect of a film that already brings forward lots of things to talk about.

[germtrips]

Best Hotels In Atlantic City

Atlantic City, a vibrant coastal destination known for its casinos, boardwalk, and exciting nightlife, offers a diverse range of accommodations to suit every traveler’s taste. From luxurious resorts to stylish boutique hotels, these are the best places to stay in this iconic New Jersey city. Atlantic City Accommodations: Best Hotels for Your Shore Escape Atlantic City Accommodations: Best…