🐟 A.C. Aquarium real talk | Down the Shore

So I went to the Atlantic City Aquarium. It was buzzing with people and little kids. And even a few fish! I kid — there were plenty of fish. Enough in fact that if the fish were people looking to taste the legendary blueberry hotcakes at nearby Gilchrist, the waitress would have to push together a bunch of tables. There were big, silvery Atlantic permit, hefty brown drum, and gliding cownose rays — all keeping Groman, the aquarium’s original 225-pound loggerhead sea turtle, company. They swam close to the front glass, giving kids a fish-eyed thrill.

During two visits last week, Groman mostly was pushing up against the side wall of the tank, like he too wanted to get out of there for some blueberry pancakes. A true local. Hang in there, Groman! The city’s bound to turn around eventually.

There were little cute seahorses, a tank of colorful tropical fish, an “off the dock” exhibit with moon jellies, lobsters and blue crabs, and some horseshoe crabs in an alcove. There were some small sharks in a first-floor tank for gentle touching.

These fish seemed to satisfy most people, especially when the city’s only charging half-price ($6 for adults and $4 for children 3-12).

So why half price — especially after a grand reopening and five years of closure?

Because the much-touted, newly renovated second floor, promising six new touch tanks, is still closed, the tanks empty. Officials blamed supply issues with the people who procure and sell sea creatures to aquariums, and are hoping to open them sometime this summer.

Outside, there are murals and a new colorful sculpture with the current mayor’s signature line, “Can we say great day!” I know it bothers some as a needless, if on-brand, political flourish, but out of context, it seemed fine. Gardner’s Basin, with its working clam boats, two excellent restaurants, and lovely back bay views at the end of the Boardwalk, is always worth a visit.

Once upon a time, the Atlantic City Aquarium opened with big aspirations. It hosted weddings!

Alas, poor Groman swam it out with his posse for five years during and after the pandemic until the Aquarium finally reopened in late March. When will the second floor get its fish? Why were none of the fish or exhibits identified or explained beyond a few words? Why did it take so long to reopen and renovate a place and have it only be half-filled? I get some answers and a range of visitors’ reactions in this story (some are glass half-full, others glass half-empty).

📮 Send me your stories! What is the one thing that happened to you that crystalizes the Shore for you? In 200 words or less, send me your stories, and we will publish them in our newsletter.

🔥 Warmer with humidity and a possible touch of Canadian haze.

— Amy S. Rosenberg (Find me at @amysrosenberg. 📷 Follow me on Instagram at @amysrosenberg. 📧 Email me here.)

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🩳 This summer’s hottest beach item? These SEPTA swim trunks.

💪 Gov. Murphy signs a Shore-inspired public brawl law.

☀️ Sunny day flooding is a thing at the Shore.

🗳️ N.J. primary elections are June 10 with parties nominating candidates for governor. Here’s a voter’s guide.

👑 Actor Josh O’Connor, who filmed a Spielberg movie in Cape May County in the spring, was repping an “Upper Twp.” hat in London.

🔔 Ocean City homeowner Ed Rendell made a passionate plea.

💅 The Wall Street Journal tallied the cost of a (stereotypical) Hamptons girls’ weekend.

🚣‍♀️ Up the lake: DOGE cuts leave locals near a Pa. lake to foot the bill.

🧘 Ocean City is getting a Lululemon.

🍸 A.C.-owned Mr. Finger’s Alibi Gin marked its seven-year anniversary.

♜ The Rook Wildwood, an offshoot of the Manayunk pub, put out its sign at the site of the former Goodnight Irene’s on Pacific Avenue.

🛟 Try out for the storied Atlantic City Beach Patrol.

🏀 Check out this year’s "Balling by the Beach" Beach Jam Tournament in Wildwood.

👐 Enjoy a Cape May jazz brunch with Paula Johns.

🛻 Attend the Atlantic City truck meet.

🏌🏽‍♀️ Watch professional women’s golf at the LPGA Classic in Somers Point.

📽️ Attend the Lighthouse International Film Festival on LBI featuring Jason Alexander.

🏈 Try out for Wildwood beach football.

🍴 Follow Inquirer food critic Craig LaBan’s Instagram stories, where he posted about eating at Cafe Loren in Avalon and Odero’s Supper Club in Wildwood Crest.

Congrats to reader Les1414 with the correct answer: Bruce Springsteen first performed in Atlantic City on March 7, 2003. He came back as a solo act in 2005.

This week’s question: Which of the following is not a former Atlantic City professional sports team? Email us here.

(Bonus points if you can name the sport for the others.)

A. Atlantic City Blackjacks

B. Boardwalk Bullies

C. Atlantic City Waves

D. Atlantic City Surf

E. Atlantic City Seagulls

Joel E. Turner was a banking data analyst by day, writer whenever possible. At 70, he’s just published a crime novel, “Wildwood Exit,” set in the Wildwood and Cape May of the 1980s, a yarn about John McGinty, who gets pulled Down the Shore and into the murky complications managing the back of the house of a Shore restaurant. Turner describes the fast-paced, quirky, and knowing book with a romantic core as Jersey Shore noir. He’s launching “Wildwood Exit” on June 8 at 2 p.m. at Main Point Books in Wayne, Pa., following a meeting of the Liars’ Club, a writers’ group Turner’s been involved with. He’ll also be signing books on Monday, June 16, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Wildwood Historical Museum, 3907 Pacific Ave. He answered our rapid-fire questions.

Favorite beach/beach town: Ocean City [Editor’s note: plot twist].

Favorite summer breakfast: Sticky buns.

Perfect beach day: Riding the waves.

Perfect night: Dinner at an Italian restaurant, couple bottles of wine.

Worst night at the Shore: Personal best you mean. Getting thrown out of Fred’s, the only bar I’ve been thrown out of, having to walk all the way back to 20th Street in Avalon.

Best Shore sandwich: Hoagie from Sack O’ Subs.

It wouldn’t be the Jersey Shore without: Steamed clams. Does the Clam Bar still exist? [Editor’s note: Smitty’s! Back again for another season, despite repeated threats to close.]

Best thing for kids to do: The boardwalk.

Surfing or fishing? Neither.

Sunrise or sunset? Sunset.

Shore pet peeve? People with the ginormous tents and the wagons. [Editor’s note: It’s known as beachspreading.]

Turner drew on his years working in restaurants Down the Shore for Wildwood Exit, published this spring by Level Best Books and steeped in memories and cooking oil. Here’s an excerpt, narrated by McGinty, the protagonist, who has stepped in to help his friend Lou manage a Wildwood restaurant along with his life. Here he’s taking a break on the beach and runs into Sheila, the “skinny lady with red hair,” who actually runs the restaurant.

“I carried my chair up and set it on the dry sand, pushing it down so it wouldn’t blow away. We walked south on the wet sand, close to the water’s edge. I looked at her skinny legs, even skinnier looking than in the black slacks she always wore at the restaurant. Her walk was completely different here. At work, she was always moving fast, quick strides from her stool to whatever needed her attention. Here she sort of sashayed, moving from side to side, digging her toes into the sand and turning. She stopped at times and looked out at the water, her hands behind her back. She actually looked delicate.

I picked up a shell and scooted it out into the waves. “So if we’re both here, who’s minding the chickens?”

Send us your Shore memory! In 200 words, tell us how the Shore taps into something deep for you, and we will publish them in this space during the summer. Send them here.

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