More than a couple of tears were shed on Monday, Oct. 12, as the door at Smugglers Cove was locked for the last time. Great memories can often lead to tears. The tears were happy but melancholy, created by so many good times and great memories.

Due to new regulations released by Gov. Phil Murphy, portions of this article have changed. Please visit www.visitiavalonnj.com and shnj.org for the latest event updates.

Thanksgiving festivities begin early this year with the start of the Festival of Trees. Starting Friday, Nov. 20, shoppers can cross off items on their Christmas list while visiting stores throughout town.

It was intended to be a casual walk on the beach on a beautiful late summer day. Or at least that was what Robin Schall assumed when she left her Avalon home on Sept. 21 and headed for the beach. She was around 25th Street when she spotted something unusual along the surf line.

On almost any busy summer weekend night here, it would not be unusual to see more than 20 Uber or Lyft vehicles scurrying around, taking riders to destinations both on and off the island. Now, imagine Seven Mile Beach more than 80 years ago.

Just past 108th Street in Stone Harbor are three narrow streets or “courts” – Bower, Weber and Stone – that are almost a throwback to days of yore.

Retirement, in the world of Lois “Lee” Neuman, presents a brand-new canvas.

Life’s next phase beckons this artist and bookkeeper at the Hugh Merkle real-estate company. The Philadelphia native and longtime area resident recently moved to Jacksonville, N.C., to be closer to six of her grandchildren.

Due to new regulations released by Gov. Phil Murphy, portions of this event have been cancelled. Please visit www.visitiavalonnj.com and shnj.org for the latest event updates.

‘Tis the season to shop locally and support small businesses. Many such places in Avalon and Stone Harbor are open and ready to help you find the perfect gifts for your loved ones. Spa Avalon is under new ownership, and we caught up with Jennifer Weldon for the latest news on the full-service day spa.

Here’s a holiday-season snowball that never grows too large: the momentum of generosity.

The Yacht Club of Stone Harbor, which has extensively grown its charity realm with help from the Chamber of Commerce, real estate agencies and its own members over the last couple of years, launches a final 2020 donation drive.

There are so many amazing stores at Seven Mile Beach. In each issue of the Seven Mile Times, we visit stores and compile a list of the items that we feel everyone simply must have for each season!

Spend any time around a marsh, and you’ll come across a familiar sight: elegant, long-legged birds wandering among the grasses or hunting in the shallow water. These birds – herons and egrets – are some of the wetlands’ most iconic species. They belong to a group known as wading birds, which includes cranes, egrets, herons, storks, spoonbills, and ibises.

Stone Harbor’s Bill Stump will be remembered as an enthusiastic sailor who treasured his family and selflessly served his church, yacht club and local community.

Stump was 70 when he died at home – as he wished – on Jan. 23 after a long battle with lung cancer.

It wasn’t long ago that everyone was wondering when we were going to be able to enjoy our favorite sports again. In my house, they were replaced by baking sourdough bread and gardening while on quarantine. Who would have guessed that after a dismal spring and summer, the stars would finally align and bring about a sports lover’s event of a lifetime?

With COVID-19 spreading more rapidly and Thanksgiving coming up, many of our clients have asked us about testing and quarantining, and whether some combination of the two could make a holiday celebration safer.

With the holidays at hand, here’s a look back at Stone Harbor’s North Basin (since renamed Smugglers Cove) from December 1983. The photo features a tradition started by Lou Bachmann at the Smugglers Cove tackle shop in the 1970s.

Grace Lowe celebrated her 90th birthday with a family brunch Sept. 21 at Isabel’s, the Avalon café and bakery owned by her granddaughters Justine and Rhianne Lowe.

Where did you receive your training? The Culinary Institute of America.

Normally for the Holiday issue, I love to be jovial and discuss all the positives that we have enjoyed throughout the year. But this year feels like Ron Sterling’s “The Twilight Zone.”

In 2020, the world has been obsessed with microscopic organisms, even those with no connection to the coronavirus. As you are probably aware, beer has four ingredients: water, hops, malt, and yeast.

’Tis the season to start planning for summer 2021. While Thanksgiving weekend attracts visitors with activities, shopping, live music, giveaways and family events, attendees are also encouraged to pick up 2021 holiday beach tags for themselves and those on their gift list.