Labor Day May Not Be The End

If the Friday of Memorial Day weekend is one of my favorite days of the year than the Monday of Labor Day weekend would have to rank as one of my least favorite.

One is all about the beginning of something I look forward to for months while the other is about an ending that comes way too quickly. Well that may not be the case this year as September and even October will be very different at the shore due to the times we are living in.

Growing up in Seaside Heights we used to celebrate this day as one in which we got our town back and the joke used to be that you could stand in the middle of the boulevard and wait a couple of minutes before you even saw a vehicle. It was pretty much the same everywhere along the beach as just about everyone noticed the difference in people and traffic as the overwhelming majority of tourists and summer visitors returned to their homes in North Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, wherever.

In recent years following Labor Day we them morphed into “local summer,” a time when those who live here year-round could enjoy most of what makes the Jersey Shore so great without fighting crowds and traffic.  Plenty of room to spread out on the beach, great time for walking, jogging or riding a bike on the boardwalk,  easy to get into your favorite bar or restaurant.

Of course for some of us working stiffs we didn’t really didn’t get to take advantage of this but it was available.

Things are going to be quite different this year.  Many of those with summer homes are not heading out of town so quickly.  They are either working remotely or sorry to say not working at all so the choice is to stay here and enjoy September at the shore or head back to Bergen County.  Fairly easy choice, especially if you live close to the beach.

That might not please those who feel like “local summer” is their time because they are now going to have to share it.  Get over it and remember: most of you were tourists or summer visitors yourself before becoming yearlong residents.