How time flies! We are halfway through summer and at last you can leave the rain gear at home and head to the beaches without keeping an eye on the skies.
In Lavallette, the sunshine is a welcome break from all those recent storms. Locals say traffic began picking up Thursday evening.
“Thursday is the new Friday kind of thing, so we definitely felt the push coming in, so this should be great,” said Diane Hahn, owner of She Shells Sweets. “The weather's been a little off. We've all been dealing with the same thing - a little quiet when you think it should be busy, but we're rolling.”
“I'm really hoping this weekend turns things around and we go right into the next three weeks full bore,” said Ryan Daly, owner of Playa Bowls.
“When we get rain, we get busier because people can't go to the beach. They go shopping, they go eat and drinking, they go laughing and having fun,” said Brooke Adams, of Lava Java.
And for all those weekend warriors lucky enough to be in town, you could call them winners of the weather lottery.
“Absolutely! We killed it down here. It's been a beautiful week,” said Mike and Sandy Fitzpatrick, of Flemington.
“It's been pretty dreary lately and I'm glad we got a good week out of it,” said Michael Mulholland, visiting from Ringwood.
The patient ones waiting for a weekend like this are rewarded with warm, turquoise-colored water.
“Today it's 69. It's not bad and it's clear. I haven't seen any jellyfish. It's been good,” said Geri Oppler, of Oakland.
And if you're coming down this weekend, “Get here as early as you can. Shop local, shop small. Hit the beach, come down, eat at the restaurants,” added Hahn.
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