OCNJ and the Locksmith

After blogging yesterday, I finished syncing our newly labeled MP3's, got my work clothes on, sunscreen, my hat, sunglasses, and my Zen, and got ready to go outside and mow and weed the back yard--only to discover that the lawnmower wouldn't start.

I checked the usual things--plenty of gas, and the air filter vents were clear. So then I checked the oil--that was fine. I took out and cleaned the air filter--it still didn't start. I finally figured it might be the spark plug. So, I called my dad. He said to take it out, clean it and sand it, and see if it fixes the problem, if not, I should go and get a new one. So I took his advice, and it still didn't work.

Off to the local Pine Hill Hardware store I go. I am a small-business owners worst nightmare, because I generally shop at 'box stores.' My general attitude is, "If I can't find it at Wal-Mart or Home Depot, it ain't worth it, because I will pay too much elsewhere." Goes along with my frugal-ness, okay, I'll admit it, cheap-ness. But, having a local hardware store is convenient for when you need one thing. It would have been silly to drive all the way down to Home Depot to get one. The man at the hardware store was very nice, showed me what I needed. I even bought a spark plug wrench too, since I had a heck of the time getting the old one out with an adjustable wrench.

Came home, put in the spark plug, and the mower works great. Now of course, it is almost 2 PM, and we were planning on leaving for the shore at 3, so I never did get to the lawn. We had lunch out on the deck, because it was so nice yesterday, and then I went for a swim with Max, mainly because he had been rolling around in muddy water, and needed washed off, and I desparately needed a shower, despite the fact that I couldn't, because of the caulking I did yesterday.

Meg and I got all of our stuff packed up for the shore, and began our trip down the Black Horse Pike for Ocean City, NJ. We got to OCNJ, found a parking lot for $10. We opted to pay more for parking, because #1, I had to parallel park, and #2, it would have been annoying to have to keep feeding the meter all day. This lot was on the corner of Ocean and 13th, and was right by the boardwalk. Everything was going well--we made good time, we got a good spot.

As we were getting our stuff out of the car, I had placed my keys in the beach bag, since I didn't have pockets. Whenever I lock my car, I always hit the 'arm' button on the keys before all of the doors are shut. This causes the alarm and locks to 'wait' until all the doors are closed, and then lock the doors. This is usually not a problem, since I arm the car as I get out, put my keys in my pocket, and then close the doors. Well, I opened the driver side back door, closed my door, and got my stuff. Meg's door was still open. I got what I needed out of the driver side back, and closed the door. Meg closed her door too. All the doors were closed, and the car locked. Meg went to open the back passenger side door, but it was locked, and she asked me to unlock it. The only problem is my keys are in the beach bag, which, of course, is still in the car. Yeah, I locked my keys in the car.

We thought maybe Meg had an extra in her purse, nope! So, Meg got on the phone and 411ed a locksmith. No answer from whoever they forwarded her to. So, she called again, and they have her three numbers. The first guy answered, but was retired. The 2nd guy was able to help us out though, for $40 (which was less than I though), cash only. He said he would be there in 15 mins, and to look for a white truck with red lettering. Meg had to go to the bathroom, so she walked up to the boardwalk to go, and to get cash from an ATM. The bathroom was far from where we were, so she stopped at several stores, who insisted that their bathrooms were for paying customers only. Nice way to treat a pregnant woman! I think that should be illegal anyway. I think if you have to go, the business should let you go, as long as the restroom isn't in the back, where insurance doesn't cover the public. I mean, going to the bathroom is a necessity. I, of course, didn't know this, and was waiting by the car, panicking, wondering where Meg is. I thought maybe the ATM wouldn't work, or worse. Meg got back to the car just as the locksmith arrived.

He was a character. He was older, about in his 60's. He was short, with white hair, and a thick South Jersey accent. He kept making jokes about how he doesn't work as well when he is sober, and then went on with this long story about why he only charges $40 when the other guys charge $70. He got the car unlocked without too much trouble, despite his claim that Saturns are the hardest to get into. His name is Bill--if you ever need a locksmith in the OCNJ area, look up Bills Locksmith, I definitely recommend him.

After that little adventure, we got our stuff together, and went down to the beach. We spent about 2 hours lounging and reading on the beach. We were going to get in the water, but there were jellyfish everywhere. After swimming in a clean, chlorinated pool everday, it seems gross to get into the brown, murky ocean, swimming with jellyfish, seaweed, and who knows what else. Meg and I walked along the water for a while, and then got back to reading. Below is a picture of us on the beach.




At about 7:30 or so, it started to get dark, and a little chilly, so we packed up our stuff, and went back to the car, then to the boardwalk. We ended up eating at this restaraunt that is actually part of a hotel, the Beach Club Cafe. It is right by the 13th street ramp to the boardwalk. They have this deck that is right along the boards where you can eat. Since I was little, I've always walked past this restaraunt, and thought it would be neat to eat there. When we got up to the restaraunt, the hostess was in the process of putting the 'Closed' sign up, since they closed at 8. She was nice enough to let us in anyway.

Dinner was okay, it was no Peter's though, but you generally sacrifice some quality for the fun of eating on the deck by the boardwalk. I had a burger with fries, and Meg had a buffalo chicken salad. I don't know if I'd recommend the place, but it was fun to try something new, and now when I walk by it, I can say, "Hey, I ate there!"

After dinner, we walked all the way down to the music pier, grabbed some icecream at Kohr Bros., and walked back. Meg stopped at a couple of stores on the way back, but I waited outside, because it was insanely crowded, and I have a weird fear of crowded stores.

After the drive home, Meg and I were exhausted. We finally got to shower, and then went to bed.