A few days out of town for a family visit. I will be back in the office tomorrow.
Lights on in homes, and more businesses open- happy to see the island come back to life!
P.S. Â Picture taken last night of the beach fill crew working under the lights- operating 24/7 to make sure we have a nice beach for summer!
We appreciate the positive press from Philadelphia news stations (and British royalty)- encouraging people to vacation at the Jersey shore. Â The message is clear: Â We are open and ready for summer!
See you soon 🙂
Great progress in the past 24 hours with the Stone Harbor beach fill. Â The beach is growing before our eyes!
That black plume in the center of the picture is sand shooting out from the pipe. Â It looks like black mud- yet dries to soft, gray sand.
Hearing from contractors working for local homeowners in preparation of the summer season.
Two issues related to Sandy are causing great concern: electrical and air conditioning.
If there is a possibility that any salt water was in your crawl space during the storm (even if it quickly drained), please take the time to inspect the area.
I looked in a crawl space hatch for a house in Avalon last week- Â the duct work was on the ground, and the insulation hanging down. Â Now, with just a few weeks left before the first tenant arrives, an HVAC company has to remove all of the insulation, duct work and trunk lines, and replace with new. Â An expensive and time consuming job; and the central air will not function until the work is complete.
Electricians are making repairs to junction boxes in crawl spaces, too. Â Property owners may find their breakers tripping or appliances not working. Â The cause: corroded wires in the crawl space (even with enclosed junction boxes) from salt water. Â This is a serious safety issue and warrants an inspection by a licensed electrician.
Tenants expect their rental property to be fully functional and safe for their vacation. Â If you need a recommendation for a local contractor, please let me know.
A sand wall built to block the incoming tide. Â We see large family groups do this (on a smaller scale) to avoid the dreaded retreat to the soft sand. Â Moving 4 umbrellas, 10 chairs, 5 boogie boards, 2 coolers, and several beach carts filled with toys is no easy task!
In this case, the beach fill crew starts with the wall, and back fills the area between to create a new beach. Picture taken this morning- 123rd Street looking south.
Did you manage to visit your favorite food spots this weekend? Â So many options…and so little time.
We had breakfast at Uncle Bill’s in Stone Harbor on Friday. Â Several feet of water from Sandy forced a complete renovation, and an empty adjacent store allowed for needed expansion. Â Check out the restored wall paper discovered during the renovations (it’s in the background of a picture with the original “Uncle Bill” hanging nearby). Â The furniture and decor are all new; yet traditionalists will be pleased to see the t-shirt uniforms remain the same 😉
Kohler’s Bakery in Avalon yesterday- to buy my first cream donut of the season. Â And sticky buns to take home. They will be open again for Memorial Day weekend; Father’s Day weekend; and full time in late June. Â That’s good, because it allows me to burn off the calories in between!
The last hurrah of the weekend may be Mack’s Pizza in Stone Harbor for my Mother’s Day dinner…followed by a LONG walk on the beach.
Well…not ideal.  A few rays of sun (and rain drops) this morning on my walk before work.  The beach fill crew are working 24/7- actively rebuilding the south end Stone Harbor beach!
Good news: the dredge returned to the inlet this afternoon, and resumed active pumping. Â I posted a few pictures tonight on Twitter.
Because of time lost due to bad weather and rough seas, the project will extend into the early part of our season. Â The dredging company will create beach access over the pipe and open beaches within a safe distance from the work area.
A crew member said they will be working for several days in their current location – 123rd Street and south to the jetty – before moving north.
The project runs 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week. We will see amazing progress in the next few weeks!
Will continue to post updates.
Picture taken Thursday evening- that’s “beach” coming out of the pipe!
In just 2 weeks, Dune Drive will look very different!
Mountains versus Beach
Walmart- they sell both gluten free/organic food…AND guns (seriously, in adjacent isles).
Their ice cream shop offers goat milk ice cream on gluten free cones (will take a closer look at the menu in Springer’s to compare).
I hear “Yes, Ma’am” often- and it sounds polite and respectful.
I’m self conscious when I say “water”. Â And, I talk WAY too fast!