Most beach resort locals skirt the traffic, the jacked-up prices at the grocery stores, the mayhem that accompanies trying to drag every…single…thing…your child may possibly need/want down to the shoreline. We travel/hit the beach early or late and often purchase food on the other side of the county. Color this in with my intense dislike of all things hot and sticky. Yeah, I’m pretty much at home in the A/C. They can have it.
But July 2010 has been different. I have been “getting out there” as Katie says. Out-of-state guests forced me to revisit my aversion to Summer at the Beach…to embrace it. Boardwalk after dark – yes! Ferry ride – absolutely! Crab joint, crab joint, crab joint – you betcha! And of course, I have had a helluva good time. Anyone who works in a summer beach resort area will tell you that the July People are still happy to be on vacation. Other than the afternoon grumpies and overtired children, many are civil in that urban way. As evening progresses, the excitement about being “out there” does shine on those recently-scrubbed, sunburned faces strolling up and down, up and down the Boardwalk. Nice.
Now in August, the Complainers, Yellers, Are-You-Talkin’-To Me jerks arrive. Their poor kids. And, my poor kids in their retail establishments. Me? Back to the A/C and Western Sussex County, baby. But, I do promise you – and myself – to be back out there next July.