“Cape Pay”

Ah another summer another beach tag controversy. For anyone who goes to the shore I am sure beach tag hunters have dogged them time and time again. Ocean City and Sea Isle got to the point that they have beach tag inspectors waiting for you when you cross over the dunes. You can either shell out money for a day pass, week pass, or an all season long pass. So if you’re a day tripper like me you either lose money or become locked into a certain shore point for the remainder of the summer. I usually go to either Sea Isle, Avalon, or Ocean City. All of which I have had to get beach tags at one time or another.

When I am at Avalon I usually use beach tags that my aunt has, because she lives there (in an insanely nice house). This is what the big deal is. The town of Cape May wants to make it illegal for people who rent out their homes, hotels and bed and break feast places to provide tags for the customers. I am sure if you any you ever rented a place at the shore you remember seeing the little tags in a little container sitting there ready for good use.

So basically the town of Cape May wants EVERYONE to buy their own damn beach tags so they can rake in the green. I guess you can see their point, even though it makes them sound like a bunch of jerks. However, who are they to tell people what they can do with something they purchased? Once someone buys a beach tag shouldn’t they have the right to flush the tags down the toilet or simply give them away as a perk to the people who laid out thousands of dollars to live in their house for a eek.

There are some people who think that they owe the town 10 bucks or so for the beach tags, and if they feel so guilty about it no one is stopping them from buying them. However, what businesses of the government is it what homeowners do with their property? Should people parking down town have to pay for the parking meter again if time still remains on the meter? Of course, not that’s stupid.

Oh yeah, and the way the law is written (so I heard from talk radio) is that the tidal lands of the shores belong to the people of New Jersey. So, um..that would mean that the shore points don’t even actually OWN the beach. Its public property. That would be like Stratford charging kids that go into park view woods. Although I don’t know why anyone would want to hang out there other than to get savagely bitten by ticks. I was never cool enough to go to those parties that were had out there.

Well if you are looking for free beaches there is the no beach tag Wednesday for Sea Isle and right next door free beaches at Sthrathmere, more known for its surfing conditions than anything else. Oh yeah there is always wildwood if you don’t mind the mile long walk to the ocean, the high HIV rate, the rampant drug problem or all the piles of trash on the beach