BEACH NOTES ... September 5, 2011 ... Ocean City, New Jersey

Labor Day 2011 ... Ocean City, New Jersey

Always a very misunderstood holiday. I never liked the fact that I had to leave the Jersey Shore on the same day as the holiday ... and return to Lancaster County, PA and start my first day of teaching and late high school principaling the day after.

Well, times have changed. I no longer leave the Jersey Shore ... everybody else does. The locals take it back. And the next day continues to be a "work day," but it is the beginning of a different chapter in my book. The rental season is effectively over, but the "fall buying period" begins. And summer is not over here at the shore ... what one finds is some beautiful weather including warm water here at the shore for a few more months. Spring is the surprise time period here. "Indian Summer" is always the best. Plus so few people around to enjoy it.

Although weekends do pick up more traffic ... it is often "buyer traffic" for some of my sale listings. It can be a very busy three months before the winter begins, but each season brings so many different options for people in our business, real estate at the shore.

Enjoy Labor Day ... I will take a short bike ride in the morning and evening to check the progress of off-street parking. I'll do some early yard work, and take a few hours of beach time too. And we have a Labor Day cookout to boot. dap