Summer in South Florida seems to take forever to end.
Kids may be back in school, the autumnal equinox may be just a few weeks away and Halloween pop-up stores may already be open for business, but summer’s muggy, sweltering days still cling to us like a T-shirt drenched in sweat after just a few minutes of yardwork — with no relief in sight.
We’ve endured the heat and sargassum, kept a wary eye out for weather systems working their way through the tropics, and slathered on sunscreen by the bucket. Come October, the sargassum may have ebbed, but we’ll still be dealing with the heat and humidity — and we’ll still be looking out for hurricanes.
They should give out merit badges to those of us who have soldiered through summer’s miserable weather and not sought the refuge of a northern vacation (though we’re not in the same league as the pioneers of a century ago, who managed to survive summers here without the air-conditioning units that have become a ubiquitous part of the landscape).
However, we must also ’fess up: It isn’t all bad. It is so much easier getting reservations at popular restaurants in the summer. And many of them have special deals to make the meals a little easier on the wallet.
Divers took advantage of the super-popular lobster mini-season at the end of July, and fishers here in September get first dibs on snook.
It’s even a little easier on the roads, with traffic not quite as bad as when the snowbirds return and tourists arrive en masse.
But road projects, which were once targeted for the less-populated summertime, are something drivers now can’t get away from no matter what time of year it is. That includes the just-starting Federal Highway construction project in downtown Boca Raton that will last more than a year, and work on underground water pipes along State Road A1A in Ocean Ridge that will be stopping traffic there intermittently for pretty much the rest of the year. Not to mention the ongoing work around the Interstate 95 interchange at Boynton Beach Boulevard.
This year, the tropics may be quiet, with current predictions still indicating a mild hurricane season (although it only takes one to make for misery) — and possibly some not-so-royal king tides.
So, while South Florida’s summer won’t be over for a while, maybe you can catch a deal when you’re out to dinner or catch a snook when you’re out on the water — or fishing from a dock, bridge or beach — and maybe we all can catch a break weatherwise.
Any of those could help cure any lingering summertime blues.
— Larry Barszewski,
Editor
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