the rix mix

Some people scoffed at the miles of cheap little boxes that sprung up on the sand north of Seaside Heights in the 50s & 60s, as if the sweltering masses were not entitled to their personal plot of sand. But look more closely at those folks relaxing on their postage stamp patio. You might find them there on a sunny weekend in October. These prefabs - many of them double units - have long since sprouted decks, air-conditioning, satellite dishes, & even patches of lawn. Retirees have converted them into year-round homes. I used to be with a young woman whose family owned 1/2 of one in Lavallette, beach block, a short stroll from the boardwalk. I loved it. They rented it out through an agency most of July & August & enjoyed it the rest of the year. The baseboard electric made it expensive & slow to heat, so it didn't get used much over the winter, but the place was never shuttered off-season. We spent a New Year's Eve down there on a whim, too windy cold & desolate that year. A huge, deliberate loophole in Jersey's environmental zoning laws permitted a beachfront condo development at the end of the street that literally blocked the sea breeze. You can purchase a 50 X 30 foot piece of paradise for under $400,000.

Labels: jersey shore, postcard