Many spend warm Columbus Day at the shore

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - October 10, 2011

It's so warm, in fact, that lots of people pulled their bathing suits out of the drawer and headed to the beach.

"It's awesome. We love the beach, we come here all the time and so it's great to be able to come in October," said Stephanie Emmons of Pennsville, N.J.

It looked and felt like summer on Monday in Ocean City, New Jersey. The Columbus Day holiday means no work and no school for some and thousands of those lucky folks hit the boardwalk and the beach to soak up every second of the great weather.

  "I'm trying to remember what I did last Columbus weekend, but I know it wasn't the beach," said Susie Cameron of Audubon, N.J. "This is our last hurrah, last time to have our toes in the sand and we're just taking advantage of it."

"The water's a little colder than summer but it's bearable once you get in there," said Bill DeFrancesco of Marlton.

"I can't swim in it," said Vanessa Bonawitz of Northeast Philadelphia. "It's cold!"

The great weather has given merchants another chance to rack up some after-season sales - and lots of people were shopping.

"To end the summer like this is really great. We've had so many people down here it's been a great weekend," said store owner Doc Doctorman.

This is expected to be the last day we'll see temperatures this warm until next spring.

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