The rain is STILL coming down, and some minor tidal flooding along the back bay. All of this will be quickly forgotten if the warm weather arrives as predicted.
Noticed yesterday that the center islands and dunes have suddenly turned GREEN. A positive side effect of the wet winter!
Also noticed lights on and workers inside various businesses around town in preparation of Easter weekend. Will continue to post the season openings on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AnnDelaneyBeach
Sunday is the 12th annual Ocean Drive Marathon. The race starts at 9am in Cape May, and 8 bridges later, ends in Sea Isle City. Whew!Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
The inlet next to the final bridge may even provide free showers for the participants 😉
For race results and info: www.odmarathon.org
Â
Update: A sunny Sunday morning with winds from the ESE 18- 22 mph.  This will give the runners a bit of a push in some sections. Overall, a decent day (considering it’s March!) for the race.
 Tonight at 8:30pm, we are asked to turn out our lights for 1 hour for a global event- Earth Hour https://www.myearthhour.org/
Stone Harbor and sections of Cape May Court House are participating early- electric service went out just before 5am due to an accident in Middle Township. Service is expected to be restored by mid-day. No problems in Avalon.
Update: It’s 8:45pm and sure enough, our street is mostly dark. Oh, wait…we’re surrounded by summer homes!
Thank you to the Borough workers. They finally removed the fence that blocked the steps to “my” beach path.
Many local beach access paths were closed for safety reasons due to storm erosion, forcing the determined walkers (like me)Â to climb over the side railings to get to the beach…not the most graceful look!
Dune path repair work is underway in both Avalon and Stone Harbor. Happy beach walking…
Ahhh…newborn lifeguard stands.  Patiently waiting in the 32nd Street Beach Patrol lot to be painted bright white for the summer 🙂
Waiting for the marsh grass to acknowledge spring by turning bright green.
In the meantime, we are greeted by shades of brown as we drive along Avalon and Stone Harbor Boulevard.Â
Winter colors at the shore are predominately gray and brown (and this year, a few weeks of “white”).  We are excited to see spring flowers, green lawns, and blue/green waterways.
 During the last 30 days in Avalon and Stone Harbor:Â
14 properties SOLD, and 29 are SALE PENDING.
Rental activity for 2010 is strong, too.
As noted in my Tuesday, 3/16 post, the Borough of Avalon  started an emergency dune restoration project between 17th and 22nd Streets. 30,000 cubic yards of sand will be trucked in for this project. More information is available on the Borough web site:
http://www.avalonboro.org/news/3/news-march.html#Anchor-AVALON-49575
 32nd Street beach in Avalon- looking south.
Truth in advertising- I took this picture mid-day on Tuesday, 3/16. Thankfully, our weather continues to be picture perfect.
Enjoy the weekend!
Weekend at the shore:  Uncle Bill’s Pancake House in Stone Harbor re-opened this morning for the season (Avalon stays open year round); for dinner and drinks, both the Concord Cafe and Windrift in Avalon will unlock their doors after a long winter’s nap.
And of course, you MUST take advantage of this incredible weather and extra hour of day light with a walk on the beach 🙂