slower lower

Along the Jersey shore there are various names for the people who visit the 100+ miles of sand and surf. North of Long Beach Island are the Bennys and south are Shoobies. They are derogatory terms whose meanings are steeped in a mysterious history. More than once I've been called a "Benny" while cavorting about in Belmar, in the dark ages before "Jersey Shore". And, I remember offending a colleague from Philadelphia when I playfully called him a "Shoobie". (They take these things much more seriously down there...)

Anyway, if you're interested in reading about the whole Jersey phenom a good website to go to is: http://www.bennygohome.com/questions.html

So, what is a Benny and a Shoobie, traveling together incognito as the world famous Vacation From Home team to do in Slower Lower Delaware? We can't continue our antics so familiar in New Jersey. No longer can I be crass and flash $100 bills around and Janet will have to carry her clothes in a bag and not a Shoebox. It is a difficult adjustment, but Delaware is quite worth the trip, especially if the Fitzcharles clan continues to open their home for visits. You see... mooching is always at the core of all necessary modifications in one's lifestyle! We spent the Memorial Day Weekend down there and will house/dog sit for them in the last week of July.

But what is a visitor to "slower lower" called? We of the Vacation From Home team are not sure, although Janet has said that they are kind of "slow" down there and perhaps can't formulate such thoughts. Evidently there is a raging debate on Facebook as to where slower lower even begins. So heated is this debate there is little room to point fingers at the throngs who descend on the beaches from Broadkill to Bethany and make derisive comments. The name Slower Lower covers a lot of territory. Now we're not being derogatory ourselves; people down there seem to embrace the lifestyle. There's even a website for merchandise. Although you won't catch this Benny wearing USLD (University of Slower Lower Delaware) shirts, there's gotta be someone out there who does. http://www.slowerlowerdelaware.com/