Belmar is calm after the storm

Belmar is among many New Jersey communities where residents are relieved that Hermine is heading out to sea.
Homeowners there often keep an eye on Lake Como, where water levels and pumps are a telltale sign of whether they're in good shape or not. With the water calm, residents were out enjoying Labor Day.
Artist Tim Halpern was out with his easel for a weekly ritual along the beach.
"I wanted to come and have a beach day," Halpern says. "I heard on the news, probably News 12, the waves were pretty spectacular. So I wanted to check that out."
Hermine's storm waters did not breach the beach's dunes, and many visitors say earlier storm warnings left them with a lot of space for themselves.
"We had free room to bike around," says Courtney Orr, who visited with her mother. 
And seasonal homeowners in Ocean Grove say they lucked out when Hermine turned toward open ocean and avoided making landfall in New Jersey.