it would be nice to see about 100 photographs.
it would also sell papers

I just posted pictures of Ocean City's beaches from this morning at http://downtheshorewithjen.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-difference-day-makes.html. It looked like hunks of sand were chopped off.

Are you guys gonna be in SIC or Avalon more this summer??? Its the summer of Avalon class of 2008!

Well, I'LL be in Avalon and reporting on my blog...but that's just me, not the downashore folks ;-)

I do spend a lot of time in Ventnor, Margate and Ocean City, mostly because that's where I live and/or drink coffee most of the time (Fourth Street Cafe now at 1st and Asbury, for those of you not paying attention), but if you check the archives under Sea Isle and Avalon, you'll see we spent plenty of time in those places as well. But I will take heed of Mer's suggestion and definitely try to cut as wide a swath down the shore as possible this summer. Especially on Wednesdays, when the beach is free in Sea Isle. The place that really got neglected last summer was LBI. Hope to fix that this year as well, as we still claim LBI as South Jersey territory.

Amy, that's an interesting point about LBI. I cut it from my shore book because I didn't see it fitting in with the rest of the South Jersey shore. But in working on an home and garden piece for the Inky, I included it because of exactly what you said -- the paper claims LBI as shore.

It's a topic that this documentary brings up at length: http://nsjersey.blogspot.com/

Here's what I like seeing in these photos: the dune grass and its roots. That's why it's planted and the pix are the proof that dunes are protected by it.

The dunes will "regrow" much more quickly than 20 years ago when there was little dune grass.

OK... So I'm now more at peace with all of that endless dune fencing that keeps us on the "beach paths". The dunes DO work to protect our barrier islands.

We have to remember, these are "barrier" islands, a barrier for the seas to the mainland. They have been formed and reformed for centuries. Read an article the other day about the old OC lifeguard station being up for sale. It used to be on the beach, now it's a couple of blocks inland. Communities finally got smart and put in dunes, but they still won't stop the islands from changing. One of these days Wesley Ave in downtown OC could be beachfront property.

I agree, Mike. It's events like this that remind us that they are barrier islands, and that their job is to protect those marshes and mainland.

But I guess people stop thinking about it that way when they build multimillion dollar houses on the barrier island.

Wesley will become beachfront property at about the same time Stathmere becomes an inlet.

Not to mention Wellington Ave in Ventnor...driving to the beach block from the heights will be a distant memory...the heights will be the beachbock. But still, so much new construction just in the last few months right along the Boardwalk.
Good point by Liz about the dune grass. I was struck by them this morning as well, holding their ground as so much sand around them had disappeared...

The Dunes are the biggest joke going. Another brilliant idea from city officials. They do nothing but obstruct the beautiful view off the beach. They provide minimal protection and this is proof. The purpose of the man made dunes was to protect the homes against hurricanes and serious threats. This was nothing. The dunes are nothing but a waste of money. This city needs to stop spending period. It's seriously out of control. Now they will spend millions to replenish these dunes and for what? So the next heavy rain storm that comes we can do it all over again? I must pass 20 cops a day in OC. Why? To pull over speeders. Why do we have 3 fire departments? Why does every city official drive around in a brand new SUV? Why in god's name does the city own hydrogen vehicles. GE doesn't even own any b/c they are so fricking expensive. This place is out of control in terms of spending money. Stop it already. Stop trying to tax everyone. Stop building dog parks. Are you serious with that one. Now they want to remove parking meters and replace them with ones that will reset with time remaining. Great idea. How much is that going to cost? Stop it already. The place is all about big government and it all goes back to these stupid dunes. They do nothing. As a tax payer you will never get the return on investment with those things and they do nothing but obstruct views and collect trash. They just create jobs that you pay for. Let's build a million dollar school and bus everyone in. Brilliant. People need to stop and think about all the spending going on. It is out of control.