Welcome to Downashore! I’m Kristen Graham, a producer and reporter with Philly.com. For the next few days, I’ll be your guide to the best stretch of beach towns around.

My Shore credentials: When I was a little girl, I didn’t know that people went on vacation anyplace other than the Jersey Shore. My family has always rented a house for two weeks — first in Ocean City, now in Sea Isle. I am certain that if I were on Death Row, my final meal would consist at least partially of Mack and Manco’s pizza.

This year, as I have for the past several years, I’ll be spending my Memorial Day in the best possible way: reporting from the Shore. I have walked the hot sand with the Fudgy Wudgy guy, gone up in one of those planes that tows banners across the beach, and gotten more sand between my toes than anyone rightly should while working. Starting Saturday, I’ll be blogging, writing stories, shooting photos and video, and stopping random strangers on the boardwalk to ask them about their Memorial Day plans and what makes the Shore so special to them. If you’re one of the people I stop, please be nice and say something really quotable, OK?

But Downashore only works if you weigh in. Please make this a robust online community by commenting, sending us your shore photos, and shooting ideas for what you’d like to see our way. We’re downashoreblog@gmail.com.

See you on the beach! Stop me if you spot me - I’m the girl lugging notebook and various cameras and having a blast.

Reader Chris Johnston writes in:
"Kristen - this is a picture I took a few years ago on 49th St. and it has not left my computer desktop wallpaper since! I look at the photo and can just feel Ocean City. I relocated from Ocean City to Rochester, NY so I spend a better part of my day staring at this picture and wishing I was there. Maybe we'll see you there this weekend!"

Here's the shot:

Jersey Shore communities have a whole bunch of crazy rules about what you can and can't do on the beach, the Associated Press reports. Did you know you can't draw dirty pictures in the sands of Belmar, or ride a camel on the beach in Wildwood? And keep your ruler ready if your kids are digging in the sand on Long Beach Island.
Read the full story.

Some 90 environmental and preservation groups have hired a plane to tote a banner promoting open space up the coast, from Cape May to Sandy Hook, during the Memorial Day weekend, the Associated Press reports.
Read the full story.

AP Photo

From Belmar to Cape May, shore towns and organizations will honor the memory of those Americans who have died in military service to our country. A list of services scheduled for Saturday and Monday follows.

So I have landed at the Shore! The weather is perfect - 72 degrees, on the way up to 86- and I have already consumed two apple cider donuts from Oves on 4th Street in Ocean City. Life is good. As I have mentioned, I'll be your Shore correspondent all weekend, interviewing people and writing about the weekend from up and down the coast. (OK, the south coast.) Yes, I have pulled hardship duty this weekend.

I left my house in Collingswood early - 7:30 - and sailed here in an hour. It always perks my spirits right up when I see cars with bicycles strapped to the back; it's nice to recognize fellow travelers. Even that early, there were quite a few of them on the road. No traffic though: hooray!
Similarly, my first smell of sea air (8:24) and first seagull sighting (8:27) were also welcome.

A leftover from childhood - the first time I hit the boardwalk for the season, I always hold my breath from the time the boards are in sight until my feet first hit them. (This requires some fast walking, so I don't pass out.) I'm sure I looked a bit silly to anyone who saw me, cheeks puffed out, speedwalking, grinning as soon as I touched wood.

OK, off to find news. I'll post my photos soon!

After a half-day of combing the beaches and strolling the boardwalk (is it really strolling if you have a camera, two notebooks, and a backpack to lug along?) I have come to some conclusions:

1. It is entirely too hot for Memorial Day weekend. I'm sure the lemonade vendors and water purveyors are loving it, but let me tell you - 88 degrees feels like July weather, not warming-up-to-the-summer weather. I saw plenty of people leaving the beach because it was Too Darn Hot.
2. The water is another story entirely. We're talking frigid - about 60 degrees.
3. Although I come to the Shore every Memorial Day, I'm always struck by how crowded it is.
4. People are in such a good mood when they're here. There is something about the holiday weekend, short as it is, that makes everyone I approach cheerful and happy to talk.

Ocean City is my first Shore town stop - I hope to get to as many as I can. I got my first taste of the Shore here as a kid, and it's still got the best boardwalk in town. One of the people I interviewed this afternoon remarked that while other towns seem to gentrify and change character, Ocean City stays the same, and that's what's great about it. It's for families. It's got a terrific boardwalk, size-wise and mix of shops-wise. OK, maybe the house prices have gone sky-high, just like everywhere else at the Shore, but it's still essentially the same place this woman grew up coming to in the 50s and 60s. And the same place I grew up coming to in the 80s and 90s.

(Oh, and the adorable pooch pictured is one Abby, a Red Bone Coonhound whose mom, Christine Petrillo, drove her from Williamstown for Barks on the Boards, a dog walk and contest.)

So earlier today, I went to the "Salute to America's Freedom" at Gillian's Island Water Park on the boardwalk in Ocean City. Hundreds of people gathered, hands on hearts, to listen to the Philadelphia Boys' Choir sing, politicians and soldiers speechify, and to watch the raising of the flags over the boardwalk. (The Gillian family has been doing this every day since 9/11.) It was quite moving to watch this display of patriotism, far away from any war or major conflict, and on such a beautiful day, when there was so much other stuff to occupy folks' attention.

Lt. Col. Robert Borton with the 177th Fighting Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard gave a nice speech about not losing sight of the true meaning of this holiday: "Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, a day of honor, and a day of thanks," Borton said.

But there was another sign of patriotism, too. Some folks from a local environmental organization, Friends of the Rainforest, held up a banner close to the crowd: "Boardwalks Don't Grow in the Rainforest," it said. Georgina Shanley, a 23-year resident of Ocean City, explained to me that she and others in the group are fighting to keep Ocean City froreplacing the 9th through 12th Street boardwalk with wood from old-growth, rainforest trees. There are alternatives, she said. Now: this is just a passing observation, and I certainly haven't had the chance to do more research or talk to town officials. But I was struck by something Shanley said just after she lowered the banner momentarily, put her hand on her heart, and watched the flags go up.

For her, Memorial Day is "for and about all the people who died in wars so that we have the freedom to stand here, to assemble peaceably." I thought that was pretty cool.

Mack and Manco's pizza is my perfect food. Now, I have already talked about this several times, so I promise to be silent on the subject for the rest of the weekend. But: I ate at the 9th Street Mack's for dinner tonight, and even I, a veteran, was astonished at the line to get in. I'm talking two dozen people for a boardwalk storefront that is not that large. Now mind you this was not for free pizza. My sister, brother-in-law, niece and two other friends came down for the day, and generously got in line while I was finishing up some work in my hotel room. I timed it just right: they waited 20 minutes or more, I only had to wait 5 minutes. Score!

And at the end, the perfect mix of sweet sauce, cheese, and thin, thin crust. Boardwalk bliss.

This is Julia Barth, not quite 3, enjoying our favorite pizza. She's my niece so she doesn't mind me snapping photos of her while she eats!

Shore merchants are seeing blue skies despite higher gas prices and storm predictions. Many hope visitors will "party like it's 1999," a record year for profits for businesses by the ocean.
Read the full story.

It was a flawless Saturday along the Jersey Shore, with Mother Nature and visitors giving the beach season a warm reception.
Read the full story.

It may have been a beautiful 90-degree day on the sands but it was a different story in the water. "It's freezing," said Isabella Capecci, 6, of Langhorne, who was playing in the Atlantic City surf .
Read the full story.

I love that each Shore town has its own character. Today I spent my morning and part of the afternoon in Wildwood, riding the tram car from 16th Street in North Wildwood to the Wildwood/Wildwood Crest Border, at Cresse Avenue.

I met some delightful people, some of whom I got to mention in my story, and some of whom I didn't have room for. One of them was Elena Quinn. She's 68 and, as she proudly pointed out, "The oldest tram car driver around." She loves her job - it gives her a good tan, she gets to see the sights of the Wildwood boardwalk, and the people who ride her car are very nice. Well, Nikolay Korichkov, 25, who worked collecting money on Elena's tram today, they're mostly nice. "It seems like a fun job, but sometimes, it's not so fun - there are a lot of drunks at night." Oh, right. Wildwood, with its numerous bars, is still a party town, Nikolay points out.

Of course, there are also lots of families and non-drunks, so that works out, too.

There are many many stores peddling t-shirts on the Wildwood boardwalk. Of course, that's a pretty common thing for a boardwalk to have, but Wildwood's is rife with them (and it has a Kabbalah Centre and a little chapel, too!) But: I'm wondering what your favorite t-shirt saying is? You know, the one that makes you laugh or even makes you cringe.

Here are some of the winners I saw today: "Beer Pong Champion!" "Italian Stallion." "Watch the Tramcar, Please" (complete with dead, splattered duck. Nice). "Senior Week 2007!" "Silicone Free." "Jake's Property." (If I were Jake, I don't know how I'd feel about that.) Lots of pirate stuff - "Walk the Plank", "Hand Over The Rum And No One Gets Hurt," etc.

And, my favorite: "I went on Senior Week for vacation and I came back on probation."

There were, of course, plenty of shirts whose messages were raunchy or profane. I didn't see anyone wearing anything remotely like that, though. The only "message" shirts I saw on the boardwalk were "Class of 2007" shirts.

Anyway. Leave a comment with your favorite - or most memorable - T-shirt saying.

In my quest to visit as many beach towns as possible during my Shore jaunt, I hit Cape May today. And of course I had to check out the ocean there, as water temperature reports I'd read put the ocean at seven degrees warmer than Atlantic City water. But it's all relative - 57 degrees in AC is freezing, but 64 degrees in Cape May didn't really feel like 64 degrees. It felt much chillier. I must say that this feet-in-the-ocean photo gets filed under "what I do in the name of journalism."

Shortly after this shot was taken, I wrapped my feet in a warm towel. The moral of this story is: it's not quite summer yet. I much prefer a dip in water that's closer to 70, thank you very much.

I am always struck at how cute Cape May is. Tons of Victorian charm. Quaint downtown shopping area, all bricked and pretty. The sand is even quaint, with those Cape May diamonds giving it a texture all its own. And look! The motel is even different from other towns'. Although I don't know that a sign slapped on a brick front makes something Victorian. But points for effort, I say:

With all the recent flap over beaches in Surf City, I came here this morning expecting to talk to vacationers who were frightened by the unexploded munitions found under the sand, which had beaches there closed from March until last Wednesday. I clearly underestimated the will of inveterate beach bums. Everyone I talked to, to a person, said they were being careful and not digging too deep in the sand, but that a little thing like unexploded munitions wasn't going to keep them away from the beach.

Here, folks walk to the 4th Street beach in the late morning. Hardy souls, all.

Oh, and for you weather-watchers, it's still beautiful here. It's 72, about as cool as it's been, but the clouds seem to be giving way to sunshine. In my four or so years of working Memorial Day weekend at the Shore, this is hands-down the best weather weekend I've seen. Merchants - and their cash registers - agree with me, too.

Don Myers, beach patrol supervisor in Long Beach Township, said the weekend has been the busiest Memorial Day holiday ever. Myers credits the weather.

"This is right-in-the-summer kind of weather," he said, adding that the sun made up for 55-degree water. (Thanks, Jeff.)

In the 10 years since gentrification and a surge in real estate values created a whale of a breach between modest longtime residents and new big-time spenders in Avalon, bait shop owners David and Tammie Carbohn are able to relate to everyone quite nicely, the Inquirer's Melissa Dribben writes, because they deal in a sport that gives no great advantage to the lavishly equipped.
Read the full story.

Up and down the Wildwood boardwalk they ride the iconic, lumbering yellow tram cars - some passengers are tired and sandy from the beach, others are showered and fresh from their hotel rooms or condos. They chug past the T-shirt shops and arcades, the monster truck rides and ice cream stands. Philly.com's Kristen Graham reports that the repetitive squawk of "Watch the tram car, please" is a welcome sound for many, including the Stachowski family of Baltimore, below.
Read the full story.

Making my way from Surf City to Ocean City was no picnic. At mid-afternoon, the roads are choked with Memorial Day vacationers heading back home. I sat through some significant jams on Route 72 Westbound, out of LBI, but once I hopped on the Parkway, it was pretty smooth sailing since I was heading south and most of the traffic was going the other way. I sure felt sorry for the folks going home from the southern beach towns - Cape May to Ocean City or thereabouts. Cars were parked on the Parkway heading north. And it's beautiful out, so that makes things worse for those stuck in traffic. (I know there's been rain back in Philly, but I have managed to miss it.)

When I stopped for gas on 72, the gentleman who pumped my fuel ($2.99 per gallon, but it's more like $3.05 when you get close to the ocean) rolled his eyes when I asked if it had been busy all day. "It's been crowded since 7 a.m.," he said. "They're all leaving at the same time."

Tourists. We never learn.

Here's the view from out of my car window, crawling along Route 72 out of Surf City. Cars as far as the eye can see.

If you've got a Shore traffic nightmare tale, throw us a comment. One Labor Day weekend, I sat on the Parkway, my gas tank close to empty, for two hours. What normally was a two hour drive turned into a three and a half hour trip.

Sunset, 12th Street beach, Ocean City

So I am nearly at the end of my Memorial Day odyssey. Tonight, the Ocean City boardwalk was filled with people like me, who were trying to squeeze every last moment into their holiday weekend. There were last ice cream cones, and last boardwalk lemonades, and last handfuls of Johnson's popcorn. In a way, these three days are an illusion - it feels like summer, but it's not.

"I don't WANT to go back to school," I heard a little boy cry as his parents steered him off the boardwalk.

We know what you mean, junior.

Business on the boardwalk in Ocean City was booming thanks to great weather at the shore this weekend, the Press of Atlantic City reports.
Read the full story.

The Press also has an interesting story about the McDonald's Restaurant in Somers Point, which has put music on the menu.
Read the full story.

Check out this nifty multimedia presentation on Jersey Shore boardwalks by the Asbury Park Press. This seven-part series, done in 2006, includes sections on the boardwalks in Atlantic City, Ocean City and Wildwood.

And now, for a little local perspective…That was a doozy of a holiday weekend, its effects still lingering down here in Ventnor, a weekend that jolted the locals right out of their smug little off-season bliss.
Even after all these years, it’s still a shock to see your Philly peeps descending on your town, bringing fancy cars and haircuts and college t-shirts and the assumption that nobody actually lives at the shore. Usually, the Memorial Day weather mocks all of you, but not this year. In a dozen years of living at the shore, I cannot remember when summer threw down its gauntlet so dramatically.
Of course, like a true local, I was nowhere to be found, having bolted for a family event in Boston, leaving the beach, as someone suggested to me, to the amateurs. Returning to town on Monday evening was like walking through a political convention floor after the candidate has accepted the nomination. The town was spent. People were suddenly tan and in a mid-summer slurry cheer. Guy the ice cream man who lives near me reported perfect ice cream weather: hot air, cold water.
Best story I heard: The woman on one beach in Ventnor who had to go to the bathroom and so she got in her car, drove over the Dorset Avenue bridge headed for her home in the Heights, was promptly stopped by the Ventnor police and given a $46 ticket for not wearing a seatbelt. Harsh.
The woman who walked our dogs while we were away reported being cursed out by beach goers walking in the middle of the street. It is a street, guys. Please curb your children.
Anyway, if this weather keeps up, should be an interesting season, though nothing perhaps could top last summer for weirdness, at least at one beach at the shore, (whose location shall remain undisclosed, to protect the allegedly overzealously prosecuted but mercifully sentenced), where a friendly gent on house arrest was able to set up his chair on the sand close enough to his beachfront house so that he and his ankle bracelet were still in compliance. Must have left a uniquely Jersey tan line.

Staffers at Philadelphia Magazine, as part of the "Best of the Shore” feature in the June edition, picked their favorite ice cream spots at the beach.

Leading their list (in no particular order): Dry Dock in Cape May, Sea Shell in Wildwood, Springer’s Homemade Ice Cream in Stone Harbor, Avalon Freeze in Avalon, Marita’s Homemade Ice Cream in Sea Isle City, Dairy Bar in Margate, A La Mode and Hobby Horse, both in Ocean City, Custard’s Last Stand in Ventnor Heights, Aunt B’s in Brigantine and Barry’s Do-Me-A-Flavor in Beach Haven.

We invite our readers to submit their own favorites, and tell us why.

A cooling real estate market is spurring a growing number of home foreclosures at the Jersey Shore, reports CBS3's Cydney Long. Foreclosure rates - affecting homes of all shapes, sizes and prices, according to mortgage brokers - are up 110 percent over last year, according to the story.
Go to the CBS3 report.