What It’s like Growing up in a Tourist Area
Because no one will believe their vacation spot could ever be dull or unpleasant to a local.
If you’ve lived it, you know exactly what it’s like. But if you’re from one of the places full of people who go flocking to tourist hotspots, then it’s hard to imagine what that tourist paradise is like year-round.
You learn from a young age to simply avoid the tourists.
It’s not that hard, honestly. I grew up in Manahawkin, one of the towns on the mainland right beside the Causeway Bridge leading over to Long Beach Island.
For essentially all of my life until I got my first apartment, it was just common knowledge that you needed to time your driving on the weekends around when the tourists would be pouring either on or off the island.
For example, you would not want to venture west to the WalMart or Shop Rite on a Sunday night when everyone was leaving LBI.
You simply find ways to get around the tourists without their presence inconveniencing you too much, just like a wave flowing around…
