Despite Rainy Weather, Bright Smiles On The Jersey Shore This Memorial Day Weekend

SEA BRIGHT, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – The unofficial start to summer is here.

On this Memorial Day Weekend, with COVID restrictions easing up, many are headed out of town, or had hoped to hit the beach.

But it doesn’t quite feel like summer outside.

As CBS2’s Christina Fan reports, forget beach umbrellas. The only ones you’ll see in the sand this weekend will be for the rain. But visitors along the Jersey Shore don’t mind. They’re just happy the shops are back open.

“We’re just gonna make the best out of it, you know?” said Kenilworth resident Angelina Vicente.

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“Probably go to the arcade, do something. I don’t want to be in the motel, I want to have fun,” said Janistie Vega.

This year, you can see the smiling faces. As of Friday, the vaccinated in New Jersey can take off their masks indoors.

“It really is awesome. It’s just a whole different world without your mask on,” said East Hanover resident Joe DeFillippes.

“It’s been a long time. We’ve been locked up and it’s been tough on a lot of people. Nice to see businesses open again, making money,” said Ralph Iadarola.

Last Memorial Day Weekend, the boardwalk was closed, and popular shore towns like Sea Bright were bare. The test positivity rate in New Jersey was around 14%, now it’s 2%. Half of Americans have at least one dose of the vaccine. We’ve come a long way.

“Last year, it was so lonely,” said Vega.

New York City is also preparing for a near normal Memorial Day weekend. Beaches are opening with few COVID restrictions in place Saturday.

Gone are capacity limits and social distancing ambassadors. Instead, the city will be bringing in mobile vaccination buses to the beach and popular summer spots to make it easier for New Yorkers to get the shot.

Christina Fan contributed to this report. 

from CBS New York https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/05/29/jersey-shore-memorial-day-weekend/
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