About a decade ago, I was living in a rental owned by a family that enjoyed the Island on weekends and most of the summer. They crammed too many people into the first floor and we crammed too many people into the second floor. It was late August and I was chatting with the landlady about the upcoming Labor Day weekend and the mass exodus from LBI that was about to occur.

I was anticipating the cool air of fall, the return of waves over 2-foot, a lighter work schedule, some roommates moving out,…