Wollerman does his off-road motorcycle riding at the 30-acre Ready to Ride Youth Center at Ridge Avenue in Egg Harbor Township, a part of the Police Athletic League.

Last month, the trails still contained mud from the wet winter, but that didn't keep Wollerman and his younger brothers, Daniel and Josh, from taking some dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles for a spin.

Wollerman demonstrated the excitement of dirt bike riding by leaving the ground and sailing through the air.

Also, riding through wooded areas brings a certain degree of unpredictability by trying to avoid driving into too many big branches and concentrating on staying on the bike as the wheels hit rocks and tree roots.

For those who want to indulge their inner "Pigpen," a certain amount of pleasure comes from just splashing through the puddles and getting dirty.

Wollerman's father, Steven J. Wollerman, owned and rode a quad - a four-wheel, all-terrain vehicle - when his children were younger. His children's curiosity about dirt bike and quad riding came from watching their dad. All five of his children ride, and his wife rides occasionally.

"It's something we can all get involved in and do together," the father says.

Lt. Hector Tavarez, executive director of the Egg Harbor Township Police Athletic League, says volunteers converted an abandoned gravel pit that was being used for illegal riding into the site for legitimate off-road use 12 years ago.

"There is nowhere else in Atlantic County to do this. Chatsworth is closing. There are only a handful of places in this state to do this legally," Tavarez says.

The New Jersey Off Road Vehicle Park., Inc., in Chatsworth, Burlington County, had 7,350 riders use it last year, but the park is legally required to shut down in September. The park management is looking for another property to have off-road riding and has been searching for the last three years.

"There is a lot of adrenaline involved, and you get to enjoy the open air. You go at your own pace and speed, and you are competing against yourself," says Kenny Dean, vice president of the Chatsworth park. "Every time you ride, you are out in nature. ... There is not a muscle on your body that you don't use when you are riding."

With a lack of places in this state to do legal ATV riding, Gene Bobeck of Somers Point drives seven hours one way - three or four times annually - to do his quad riding on at least 100 miles of trails at the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania with his son, Doug, and their friend, Chuck Liston, of Marmora. Between the three of them, they have invested at least $75,000 in their off-road riding hobby since 2001.

"It takes you places you can't walk," says Liston, who adds you can still travel to places on a quad even with a broken leg.

Where to ride

In the southern half of this state, there are two places to legally ride dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles.

Ready To Ride

A program of the Egg Harbor Township Police Athletic League, 2594 Tilton Road, Egg Harbor Township.

The 30-acre riding area is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 609-645-8413.

If you have a motorcycle or ATV, the price levels for yearly memberships are as follows:

$100: For Egg Harbor Township residents, 17 years old and younger.

$140: For Egg Harbor Township residents, 18 years-old and older.

$300: Family membership for up to four for Egg Harbor Township residents.

$120: Atlantic County residents 17 years old and younger.

$160: Atlantic County residents 18 years old and older.

$360: Family membership for up to four for Atlantic County residents.

$220: State residents of all ages.

$400: An out-of-state resident.

$50: A one-day pass, but the person must meet requirements.

More than 70 people have gathered for Thursday night bingo. During the summer, well over 100 people will fight for space at the rows of folding tables stretching the length of the hall during the parish's weekly games. Bingo fanatics - armed with their colored markers, or "daubers," and good luck charms - will travel anywhere for a game that can be as rewarding and addictive as the slot machines and poker tables in Atlantic City.

"B-4!"

The game is all about luck, but bingo players do what they can to help ensure that the right numbers pop up. Stuffed animals, figurines and pictures of grandchildren adorn many tables during games at St. Mary's.

Barbara Gillard of Barnegat sets up her space the same way every Thursday night. A dozen colorful daubers in shades ranging from pink to metallic gold are lined up at the front of the table. To one side are her good luck charms: A blue plush Bingo bear, a "Bingo Hug" figurine from her son and a small lion statue that belonged to her grandmother. While waiting for the game to start, Gillard busily glues sheets of Bingo boxes together, the better to keep track of her games.

Playing one card per game is for babies. Serious bingo players can keep track of dozens of boards at a time, scanning the rows with a practiced eye looking for the matching numbers.

"You have to keep your eye on what you're doing," Gillard advises. "You can't let yourself get distracted."

"N-36!"

Katherine Guenther, 70, of Egg Harbor City and a group of eight other women play bingo at least twice a week. The bingo posse can be found at the Mainland Bingo Hall in Pleasantville on Sundays and at St. Nicholas Church in Egg Harbor City on Thursdays.

"When our husbands are away, we play almost every night," Guenther admitted during a recent Atlantic County Women's Center bingo fundraiser event at the Atlantic County Library in Galloway Township.

Guenther enjoys the camaraderie, talking to friends and meeting new people. And there's something soothing about the rattle of bingo balls in their cages and the monotonous voices of the callers.

"To me it's relaxing," Guenther said. "And you win money."

"I-26!"

Bingo is serious business. It's also a serious moneymaker for regular players. St. Mary's bingo gives away $50 to $75 per game, a grand total of $1,000 per night. Other bingos are more lucrative, with winners taking home hundreds of dollars per game. Most people use the winnings for something fun.

"You use it to buy things you normally wouldn't," Guenther said. "If you see a $100 quilt, you normally would think, 'I'm not spending money on that.' But if you have bingo money, you use it."

"O-70!"

"Bingo!"

The triumphant call comes from a small white-haired woman at a table in the back of St. Mary's Parish Center. The room suddenly comes back to life, a hum of voices expressing mingled regret and exasperation.

One of the callers stops to check the winning board. But the shuffle of papers signifies that the other players have already given up and are turning their thoughts towards the next game. Daubers in hand, they watch the electronic board and hope that this time, they'll be the first to shout "Bingo!"

Local Bingo Halls

No need to early rise, no sense in waiting all day for that glorious holiday meal, but a feast smack dab in the middle of the day. Brilliant!

Easter brunch must be the pinnacle of all the brunches in the world, laden with the ingredients of spring and decked out with a festive holiday flair. What better way to spend the afternoon than gazing at a buffet filled with fantastic food and plenty of options? Maybe, filling up a plate or two?

Easter brunch reminds us of those spring dishes we haven't tasted since the same time last year featuring ingredients that are just a little bit lighter than hearty winter fare.

Baby spring lamb is an obvious harbinger of the season. Asparagus, roasted red bliss potatoes, Eggs Benedict, homemade waffles and plenty of leafy green salads seem to fit perfectly into a composed Easter menu.

Champagne of any type is appropriate for every occasion and lends a special joie de vivre to the celebration.

Many of the Easter brunches feature live music, whether they're strolling musicians, piano players or even high school students.

Brunch Etiquette

Silverware is typically set at the table or at the end of the line so you don't have to hold on to it while making your hot and cold food selections.

Plates are at the beginning of the line. Never return anything to the buffet line after you have chosen to put it on your plate.

Should you decide to go for a second or third helping, leave your used plate behind at the table.

Blame the Spanish explorers who returned from their New World conquests with a new tuber called the potato, which quickly caught on in England, Scotland and Ireland. Long recognized as a staple food of the poor, the Irish came to rely on the potato as a mainstay in their diet. Loaded with carbohydrates, easy to raise and to store, potatoes mixed with a few other common ingredients supplied the masses with much needed nutrients.

Depending on who you ask, that reliance on the potato became the best or worst thing to happen to Irish cuisine in its entire history. No other country had their diet changed quite so radically as the Irish when the potato was first introduced in the 17th century and then suddenly taken away in 1845.

During the time called the Irish potato famine, a potato blight destroyed the crops and starvation claimed the lives of a million Irish while more than two million emigrated to the United States to avoid starvation but carrying along their culinary heritage.

If the health of a nation is shaped by its diet, the potato gave shape to the Irish plate. No surprise that tuber become widely known as the Irish potato.

Before potatoes became a staple food, milk, cheese, meat, cereals and vegetables formed the bulk of the Irish diet since prehistoric times. The pig was the main meat of the working poor and since salt was expensive, salted cuts of meat were the most valuable of all. Salting or "corning" a cut of beef was reserved for royalty while today that same cut of brisket is considered by many to be plain peasant food and it is reserved for visiting tourists.

Since salted meats were more expensive, salted beef was more likely to be served at Easter time. Boiled bacon and cabbage was more common around the St. Patrick's Day holiday.

Al McKee, owner of McKee's Irish Pub in Egg Harbor City claims that corned beef and cabbage is strictly an American dish. Ham and cabbage with potatoes will be on his holiday menu because that is the traditional dish he remembers eating. Also on his menu will be fish and chips made from fresh fillets of cod, batter dipped and fried, then served with chips and a beef stew cooked in Guinness beer, Irish style.

People living along the Irish coast used a lot more fresh seafood in their diets and modern restaurants in Ireland love to play up wonderful local salmon and shellfish preparations on their menus.

Irish cooks seem to have become more famous for their breakfasts than other meals, maybe because they are so hearty compared to the bland taste of potatoes and cabbage on their own. Sausages, bacon, eggs, black and white puddings and fried potatoes will all be found in abundance on the morning table.

Several local restaurants will be offering hearty Irish-style breakfasts to start off the holiday on the right foot. Even Irish desserts can be built around the potato, although in this case, the Irish potato may be composed of sweet ingredients like butter, cream cheese, coconut and cinnamon.

Irish Fare

Here are some area restaurants offering Irish specialties for St. Patrick's Day and more:

C-View Inn, 1380 Washington St., Cape May, 609-884-4712. Corned beef and cabbage special, March 17. Music by the Cape Atlantic Police and Fire Irish Pipe Brigade and 1201 Irish Band. Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily; Sunday 11 a.m. to midnight.

Gregory's, 900 Shore Road, Somers Point, 609-927-6665. Potato leek soup, corned beef and cabbage ($6.99 for lunch); potato leek soup, corned beef and cabbage ($9.99 for dinner with free refill), award-winning Irish Beef stew, fish and chips. Served on Sunday March 16 and Monday March 17. Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily.

Irish Pub, St. James Place at the Boardwalk, Atlantic City, 609-344-9063. Fish and chips. Open 24 hours.

Ri-Ra Irish Pub & restaurant, The Quarter at the Tropicana, Brighton and Pacific Avenues, Atlantic City, 609-348-8600. Menu includes Irish potato cakes, Dublin crab cakes, Smithwick's mussels, potato and leek soup, Kilbeggan salmon, Guinness sundae. Hours: Daily 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.

McKee's Irish Pub, 446 St. Louis Ave., Egg Harbor City, 609-965-7878. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday of St. Patrick's weekend: fish and chips, Irish Guinness stew, shepherd's pie, ham and cabbage. Live music and Irish bagpipes. Open 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., closed Monday.

O'Donnell's Pour House, 3907 Landis Ave., Sea Isle City, 609-263-5600. Menu: lamb stew, Guinness marinated hanger steak, Colcannon mashed potatoes, special Irish chef selection nightly. March 17: St. Patrick's Day Celebration – doors open at 10 a.m. with Irish coffee, special Irish Menu all day. Live Irish music from 2 p.m. Irish Dancers and Bag Pipers.

Sonsie, The Pier Shops at Caesars, One Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic City, 609-345-6300. Traditional Irish breakfast fry with Irish bacon, Irish sausage, black and white pudding, baked beans, grilled tomato, fried egg, mushrooms. Available all day - $14. Irish eggs, Smoked salmon scrambled eggs, available from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., $13. Traditional Irish stew, served with grilled lamb chops, available all day - $21 Drink specials all day long. Guinness bottles and Black Velvet Guinness and champagne, plus Irish music featured all day. Saturday, March 15.

Dubliner Pub & Grill, 325 E Jimmie Leeds Road, Galloway, 609-652-2210. Corned beef and cabbage, shepherd's pie, bangers and mash, chicken pot pie. Open 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday to Thursday; 11 a.m. until 1:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

O'Grady's Pub, 3901 Atlantic Ave., Atlantic City, 609-344-9263. Traditional Irish food served all year round: corned beef and cabbage, ham and cabbage, shepherd's pie, chicken pot pie, Guinness beef stew, fish and chips. Featuring Mrs. O'Grady's homemade Irish Bread (Scone) for the holiday weekend. Live Irish music all weekend. Saturday, March 15 at 2 p.m., The Baloney Brothers; Sunday, March 16 at 4 p.m., Peter McDonald; Monday, March 17 at 2 p.m., The Flynns, plus the Baloney Brothers starting at 6:30 p.m. The pub will open at 11 a.m. on March 15 and 17; 2 p.m. March 16.

The Trinity Irish Pub & Carvery, The Pier Shops at Caesars, Atlantic City, 609-345-6900. Classic Irish fare menu: Friday March 14, sample size portions of shepherds pie, fish & chips, beer-battered burgers, corned beef reubens and Dublin mushrooms. Irish breakfast: Saturday and Sunday, March 15 and 16: Choose from favorites like smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, roast beef hash with a poached egg, Irish steel cut oatmeal served with cinnamon sugar butter, raisins, jelly and honey, or bed and breakfast style with Irish sausage and bacon, mushrooms and baked beans, white and black pudding and a sunny side up egg. Trinity's full menu will be served all weekend long, and on St. Patrick's Day. Monday, March 17: corn beef and cabbage, shepherd's pie, chicken pot pies, bangers and mash, fish and chips as well as a selection of meats from The rotisserie, including leg of lamb, roasted pork loin, prime rib and free range chicken. Friday, March 14: The Blue Shift; Saturday, March 15: U2Nation from 3 to 8 p.m.; Monday, March 17: Irish Mist.

McGettigan's 19th Hole, 500 S. New York Road (Route 9), Absecon, 609-652-6476. St. Patrick's weekend (March 14 to 17) menu: corned beef and cabbage, fish and chips, Irish beef stew, shepherd's pie, cream of potato leek soup. Live music Friday, Saturday and Monday. Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

Mason, who trained as a rabbi and got his start as a stand-up comic on the Borscht Belt, plans to offer his trademark blend of political and news-driven humor.

The comic, whose latest book with co-author Raoul Felder, "Schmucks! Our Favorite Fakes, Frauds, Lowlifes, Liars, the Armed and Dangerous, and Good Guys Gone Bad" (Harper Collins 2007), also gets to spew daily, via his radio talk show and a new video blog.

Mason talked off At The Shore's ear recently about his timely style of comedy, picking and choosing his political moments and keeping up with the YouTube generation.

Q: So you're bringing the Great White Way to Atlantic City ...

A: I'm going to do my Broadway show in Atlantic City. They're going to hear all my new material.

Q: What's on your hot list right now?

A: When people come to see me, they expect to hear the latest political things - what's happening in general. I develop a lot of material about the campaign and new situations all around the world - the Democrats and the Republicans and the characters involved.

Q: Have you had to change your style of comedy to connect with audiences today, or is it more a matter of staying topical?
A: The subject matter changes, the world changes - people couldn't laugh at computer jokes before, there were no computers. People didn't laugh at Obama before - there was no Obama. Funny is whatever happens in the world. People say, "Humor isn't what it was." That's a ridiculous remark; it has no intelligence behind it. A good joke is a good joke if the subject matter is still on people's minds. If you do marriage jokes, the same marriage jokes will work that worked 100 years ago.

Q: On stage, do you take political stands?
A: I never advocate for anyone on stage. I think it's offensive for performers to start (supporting) one candidate over another. When people come to see a comedian, they come to hear jokes, not a commentator. There should be truth in dealing with human beings.

If I tell you I'm a comedian, and then I start crusading about a moron or about my own personal problems, I think it's disgusting. People should be sued or put in jail.

Q: But you get more political on your radio show.

A: It's a whole different situation. I talk politics. I'm not an intense anything. I pride myself on thinking I'm only searching for the truth. I'm more involved in catching politicians' hypocrisies and inconsistencies and all kinds of crooked manipulations - the corrupt mentality of politicians in general, who accept the kind of morality and (display) the kind of morality you never see in any other kind of business.

Q: Tell me about your video blog. Are you a big Web consumer or just trying to keep up with the times?

A: I never read a blog in my whole life. I never looked at a computer in my life. If I want information I think should be gotten from a computer, I call somebody. I can't deny a computer is useful, but thank God other people bother with it. Like any old Jew, when they see a mechanical thing they never saw before, they stay away from it - it's like a disease.

Jackie Mason

WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 14 and 15

WHERE: Showroom, Tropicana Casino and Resort, Atlantic City