2014: | Jan. | Feb. | March | April | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. |
KICK OFF YOUR HOLIDAY Island-style! After
the turkey dinner is finished, catch Festive Friday and Snowfest Saturday in
Avalon to kick start your holiday season. Stone Harbor will also celebrate
"An Island Holiday" Friday & Saturday, capping things off with a big
Christmas Parade Saturday evening. See below for more details!
AVALON'S HOLIDAY BEACH TAGS will be available
this weekend! Look for them Friday & Saturday at the Avalon Rescue Squad
building at 31st & Dune Drive from 11am to 5pm Friday & Saturday. While
supplies last they'll be available Monday through Friday at Avalon Borough
Hall from 8:15am to 4:15pm. Stone Harbor's Holiday Beach Tags are available
at Stone Harbor Borough Hall Monday through Friday, as well as at select
local merchants throughout town.
OUR ANNUAL FOOD DRIVE was more successful than
ever, with the Long & Foster team donating a carload of turkeys and a
carload of food, along with several hundred dollars to the Holy Redeemer
Food Bank.
Here's just some of the food that the Long & Foster
team donated to Holy Redeemer Food Bank. Another car followed behind with a
trunk full of turkeys!
NEED A CHRISTMAS GIFT for that special
someone? Consider a holiday beach tag from your favorite beach town, or a
gift certificate to a local restaurant. If you want to send a taste of the
shore somewhere else, Fudge Kitchen will ship fudge anywhere, Uncle Bill's
will ship pancake mix and syrup, and Avalon Coffee will ship their coffee
and mugs!
WANT TO GIVE THE GIFT OF A LIFETIME? Consider
purchasing a vacation home in Avalon or Stone Harbor! Your family will thank
you - every month of the year!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and your family!
Best wishes for a warm and wonderful holiday season!
MARKET STATS: For the latest on the Avalon/Stone Harbor market, see
Long & Foster's October
2014 Market Minute Report. Highlights from this month's report include
an increase in the median sale price and a reduction in the number of active
listings versus a year ago.
DREDGE PIPES have appeared in Avalon's back bay as contractors prepare for
the start of a dredging project. If you haven't yet seen Mayor Martin Pagliughi's letter to bayfront property owners regarding the dredging of
private slips, you can read it here: Dredging
Update: Channel Marine Construction To Dredge Private Slips.
HOLIDAY BEACH TAGS: Stone Harbor's Holiday Beach Tags are now available and
may be purchased at Borough Hall Monday through Friday, from 8:30am to 4pm,
as well as from select merchants in town. They make great stocking stuffers!
100 YEAR OLD railroad tracks surfaced on Sunset Beach in nearby Lower
Township after shifting sand was washed away by a storm. The tracks are
believed to be from a sand mining operation that operated along the Delaware
Bay from the early 1900s until the 1930s, when they became covered with
sand. After more than 70 years beneath the sand, the tracks are surprisingly
intact, and can be seen at low tide.
The sun sets over the Delaware Bay on a chilly fall evening, as seen from
the deck of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry.
THANKSGIVING DINNER: If you'll be in town for the Thanksgiving weekend but
don't want to cook a holiday meal, several restaurants offer Thanksgiving
dinners, including The Golden Inn, The Reeds at Shelter Haven, LaVecchia
Fontana, Stone Harbor Golf Club, and Sand Barrens Golf Club. Wherever you
choose to dine, be sure to call ahead for reservations!
THANKSGIVING WEEKEND: You'll find plenty going on in town over the
Thanksgiving weekend, including Avalon's Festive Friday and Snowfest
Saturday, as well as Stone Harbor's Island Holiday activities Friday and
Saturday. Be sure to catch the parade Saturday night along Third Avenue and
96th Street in Stone Harbor! See below for details!
FIVE STARS, SEVEN TIMES! The Avalon Free
Public Library was once again recognized with a five-star rating from
Library Journal in its November 2014 edition - the seventh time the library
has been recognized since 2009! Library Journal evaluates circulation,
visits, program attendance, and internet usage to award its ratings. The
Avalon Library is open to all. Avalon residents and property owners, as well
as Cape May County residents, may obtain free library cards; Avalon visitors
may purchase seasonal cards for $20 per person. Visit
Avalon Free
Public Library for information on library programs.
LOST, THEN FOUND: "Brutus," an African grey
parrot, was reported stolen from his cage at the Cape May County Zoo,
according to the Atlantic City Press. Brutus was later discovered walking
along a roadway in Middle Township, and has since been returned to the zoo.
Officials are investigating his disappearance, but have already added locks
to secure Brutus's cage.
DINERS, DRIVE-INS, AND DIVES host Guy Fieri
has been seen in the area filming segments for upcoming shows, according to
Shore News Today
No word yet on exactly which restaurants might be included in Fieri's show,
though other Food Network hosts have been seen recently in Atlantic City.
On a beautiful fall night two weeks ago small crowds
gathered along the beach to witness the Antares rocket launch at Wallops
Island, Virginia. The rocket suffered an explosion at liftoff. Look
closely beneath the light post on the Avalon Fishing Pier and you can see
the resulting smoke cloud on the horizon.
LONG & FOSTER'S AVALON OFFICE is conducting
its annual food drive to benefit the Holy Redeemer Food Bank, a tradition
that began many years ago at Avalon Real Estate Agency. If you're in the
area, drop off some non-perishable food items at our office to help this
great cause! We'll deliver everything to Holy Redeemer in time for
Thanksgiving.
WINTERIZING CHECKLIST: Colder temperatures are
upon us, so it's time to prepare your property for winter! Call your plumber
and have outside water lines shut off and drained; close crawlspace vents to
prevent cold air from freezing pipes; set your interior heat to at least 55
degrees. Consult with your plumber or contractor to address any other
situations that apply to your property.
RATES MAY RISE IN 2015: The Federal Reserve
has confirmed it will end its program of Quantitative Easing (bond buying).
As a result, mortgage rates are widely expected to increase over the next
year, with some saying they'll rise from their current 4% level to 5% by the
end of 2015.
WHY IT MATTERS FOR BUYERS: Mortgage
rates directly affect your purchasing power. For example, a loan of
$1,000,000 at 4% for 30 years requires a monthly payment of $4,780. If rates
rise by just one point, to 5%, keeping your monthly payment the same means
only $890,000 can be financed - a decrease of 11%. The concept is the same
whether you're borrowing just $100,000 or many millions.
WHY IT MATTERS FOR SELLERS: Property sellers
need property buyers, and if buyers have less purchasing power, it affects
sellers, too.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LOW RATES NOW: If you're a
buyer, purchase now to take advantage of maximum buying power - and lock in
low financing costs for the duration of your ownership. If you're a seller,
price your property correctly to achieve a sale now - before buyers are
impacted by reduced purchasing power. In addition, sellers who will go on to
purchase a replacement property will benefit from lower rates if they do so
now.
PRIVATE SLIP DREDGING IN AVALON: Equipment has
been mobilized for Avalon's recently approved back-bay dredging project, and
work could begin by Thanksgiving. Private slip owners may have their slips
dredged as part of the project. For the latest on the project, as well as
forms and information about private slip dredging, visit
Dredging Update - Information on Private Slip Dredging
STRIPED BASS CATCH LIMITS in New Jersey may
change for 2015. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted to
reduce striper catches by 31 percent, by limiting anglers to one fish per
day at 28 inches or larger, down from New Jersey's current two fish per day.
But the idea of "conservation equivalency" - reducing the overall striper
catch while varying the catch limits in different states, has some pushing
for New Jersey's limit to be changed to one fish at a minimum of 28 inches,
and a second fish at a minimum of 36 inches - a move that would still reduce
the overall catch by 25%. Any changes to the official catch limit must be
approved by the state legislature before becoming final.
IN JUNE, 1927, things were quite different
here on the Island. Small cottages were scattered along dirt lanes, and
large parts of the Island remained undeveloped. The Garden State Parkway
hadn't yet been conceived, and railroads still played a major role in
carrying shore visitors to and from Philadelphia. Two railroads served Seven
Mile Beach: The Stone Harbor Railroad collected passengers on 96th Street
and took them on a 14 minute journey across the marsh to Cape May Court
House, where they could connect with a Reading Railroad train bound for
Philadelphia. The West Jersey & Seashore Railroad (owned by the Pennsylvania
RR) ran along Second Avenue/Dune Drive, from Stone Harbor into Avalon, then
crossed Townsend's Inlet into Sea Isle, where it eventually turned toward
the mainland and Philadelphia. Over the next ten years much of the railroad
infrastructure would disappear from the Island, as automobiles took over.
Today, the "islands" in the center of Dune Drive/Second Avenue are the most
visible reminder of the railroad's presence.
This Stone Harbor Railroad timetable from June, 1927
promised a 14-minute ride to
Cape May Court House, where passengers could connect to a Philadelphia-bound
train.