I grew up on a really small island

I grew up on a really small island off the very southern most point of New Jersey. The island was really a sand bar in the Atlantic Ocean. Unlike in Hawaii, we did have access to the mainland (aka, off-shore). The only problem was that the road didn't really lead anywhere - at least near-by. Atlantic City was the closest center of commerce and that was a 45 minute drive. And, back in those pre-casino days, wasn't much of a bargin. "Real" civilization didn't start until you got just outside Philadelphia (2 hours). There were technically three towns on the island (which was 5 miles long and 4-5 blocks wide), North Wildwood, Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, though to outsiders, you'd never know. I grew up in "the Crest". It was one of the coolest places in the world to grow up. We had the beach on the ocean front and the bay on the backside. By the time each of us was 8 or so, we had our own boats. I think at one time we had a sailboat (sunfish), motorboat (glorified rowboat) and a paddle boat and a 19 ft ski boat. Then there was the boardwalk. It was only open in the summer but it was "the" place to be - especially as a young teenager. We went from a really busy, crowded town full of tourists to a small town where everyone knew who you were. For nine months out the year, the beach and water were our only form of entertainment. Oh yeah, and 1 movie theater in Wildwood.

This was great as a kid, but as an adult trying to make a living, is wasn't so great. There were two career options - tourism and clamming. The clam boats worked fairly regularly and paid well, but were hard to get onto. If you worked in tourism, you had to make all of your money for the year in 3 months. Collecting unemployment was a way of life. Then the casinos moved into Atlantic City. What was supossed to be a positive effect on our little corner of the universe, ended up being the death of a lifestyle that had lived for generations.

When I first visited Kihei in the 80's, I fell in love with the place because it was the only place I'd seen that had the same feel of the town I grew up in. And although it too has grown dramatically in recent years, it still maintains that feel. I call Kihei home now even though I have to come back to NY for the school year. I have never felt at home in NY and in 15 years still have no idea who my neighbors are. Compare that to my place in Kihei. I know every neighbor by name, their life histories and what they are doing next week - even while I am in NY. When I come back home after being away, I get "Where you been?". When I come back to NY, I doubt anyone notices I've been gone. One of these days I'm going to find a job on Maui so I don't have to keep coming back here. But that's another thread.......