An Early Test of Summer

There’s a pretty good chance you saw video or pictures of the very crowded Belmar boardwalk on Saturday and drew the conclusion that this social distancing thing is simply not going to work.

You might be correct although in this case a picture does not always tell the full story.  What most of us saw were people lined up to pick up their seasonal beach badges which will be required starting next weekend.  When you have long lines maintaining a distance of six feet from one another is just about impossible and you can expect to find those long lines at everything from a popular pizza place on the boardwalk to rest rooms.

The latter will be a real issues because with restaurants basically closed outside of take-out it will mean everyone will be forced to use public rest rooms and they are few and far between in some places.

I spent a few hours on the beach in Seaside Park on Saturday and space was not an issue. There was plenty of it.  Of course things may change as soon as this coming Memorial Day weekend when large crowds usually flock to the Jersey Shore.

However there will not be much for them to do if they travel here outside of spending time on the beach and strolling the boardwalk and maybe buying a slice of pizza or an ice cream cone.  We’ll get a better sense soon if that’s still enough of an attraction.  I would guess towns like Point Pleasant Beach and Seaside Heights will get hurt the most because people and families go there for rides, arcades and other attractions that remain closed.

Places like Belmar and Asbury Park might have more of an issue with large crowds because of their proximity to North Jersey and New York.

One thing everyone can agree on is that this will be a very different summer., a summer by the way that is predicted to be hotter and more humid than usual.

Stay healthy my friends!