The Most Important 15 Weeks of the Year

Is it me or has Memorial Day weekend snuck up on us?  I don’t know if it’s like this every year and I forgot but it just seems like yesterday was Easter Weekend and all of a sudden the calendar tells us the unofficial start of summer is just a couple of days away.

We’ll likely notice it Thursday night when the Parkway is jammed with vehicles heading south as Thursday has become the new weekend getaway day for many.

The weather forecast has flip-flopped for the past few days but it certainly does not look promising, especially for those like me who were hoping to get to the beach for the first time.  It does seem like in recent years we’ve had not-so-great Memorial Day weekends but honesty I can’t tell you for sure what it was like last year and if I did get to the beach.

Regardless of what it’s like weather-wise Memorial Day weekend at the Jersey Shore is like opening day for a baseball team.  Businesses are filled with optimism that this will be a good year or should I say season. It’s 15 week sprint till Labor Day which is make it or break it for many.  The pre and after season is for survival. These next three months are when you hope to make real money.

Despite the recent gas tax hike prices at the pumps are not going to keep people off the roadways and for towns like Seaside Heights and Seaside Park there is renewed optimism thanks to new construction.  The addition to the Casino Pier which includes the Hydrus roller coaster and 131-foot tall Ferris wheel is a plus and really brings life to the north end of the boardwalk.

At the south end where a fire in 2013 destroyed Funtown Pier and much more there is life with new construction in the area near the Sawmill, most of it will not be ready until sometime next month.

Fasten your seat belts because summer at the Jersey Shore is about to begin and I can’t wait!