I didn’t know what to expect. I was cautiously optimistic, but also worried that nothing would have changed.
The last two times I went to Wildwood, New Jersey (the one place my wife will travel, having spent lots of time there as a child), I was appalled at the MAGA miasma of the place. Every store sold t-shirts picturing our thug-in-chief waving an assault rifle, or clad as a superhero, or threatening President Biden and Kamala Harris, or (say good-bye to reality) stripped and ripped with six-pack abs and meat slab pecs.
This year: nothing. Not a single image of him. Not in the stores, not on the people strolling the boardwalk, not scowling from condo windows. Does this bode well for November? I will cross everything I still can!
In other respects, Wildwood remained what it’s always been: more than a bit tacky, with a beautiful, broad beach and food that will clog your arteries on sight.
Our grandkids (3 and almost 1) had several wonderful hours hanging out on the sand, wandering the boardwalk, and going on the tamest of the rides (no bargain: roughly five dollars for a two-minute spin on the merry-go-round).
On my daughter’s instruction, I can’t post any photos of the grandkids, so you’ll have to settle for some equally raucous creatures.
And then … I’ll spare you the grossest of the details, but it began with our grandson vomiting on his new car seat, continued with our granddaughter getting sick on three separate beds, involved a great deal of laundry in the wee hours of the morning, and spread to my daughter and wife. (Somehow, and I hesitate to even write this, I was spared the emetic extravagance.) Oh, and on the ride home – a day early for obvious reasons – our 17-year old Ford Escape began shimmying and giving off a burnt rubber smell.
Enough said. Come back in a couple of weeks, when I post about my upcoming 50th (!) high school reunion.
PuffinlessTravel 
Well that would certainly give you mixed feelings about that visit. How awful for almost everyone to get sick! However it is curious about the disappearance of all the maga stuff, hopefully that is a portent for good results in the midterms. Hopefully as well you get the smell out of the car, heat tends to bring it all back… I speak from experience!
I’ve been worried about a possible persistent odor. When my kids were little, one spilled milk in our car. We shampooed the carpet but for years after, on hot days, we had that wonderful spoiled milk smell. Oh well – que sera, sera.
Yup, it was a mini van, no one would ever sit in that seat again…we were happy to sell the car, lol.
Jeff, given the unfortunate aspects of your trip, I almost felt guilty liking this post. Did any of the stricken individuals partake of fried cheesecake or deep- fried pickles? (yuck). I share your hope that Wildwood residents have opened their eyes to the disaster that is POTUS 45/47.
I hope that everyone – AND the Ford Escape – is recovering.
Thanks, Jeanne. None of us partook of the local “delicacies”! Everyone is feeling much better. As for the Ford, we’ve reluctantly decided it’s time to look for another car. We’ve put lots of money into it recently and it’s gotten us one patch after another.
Alas, my Melania and DJT meme coins have lost 99% and 97% of their value, respectively. Nothing left to spend on cheap, meaningless tchotchkes that tell the world how inconsiderate I am.
Sorry about the grandkid pic blackout.
Glad to read the timeless essence of Wildwood lives on.