The Oc Season List

Retail Season in OC Good, Not Great, on the Walk

Weather toyed with city merchants throughout the summer sales season, according to several retailers.

Just think of these nasty bookends:

Easter weekend, the city's seasonal kickoff, was a bit cooler than the year before.

And on the penultimate weekend before Labor Day, a mandatory hurricane evacuation order closed stores and scared tourists out of the city for neary three days.

August, in the heart of the season, was particularly rainy.

And often when the rain came, even outside of August, it came at the wrong time -- late in the afternoon or early in the evening, sending people home without hitting the Boardwalk or Asbury Avenue.

Or worse, the rain came in the wrong form -- a deluge -- keeping people from even coming to Ocean City.

And finally, there weren't enough overcast and showery days, a favorite of merchants because beachgoers hit the Boardwalk or avenue when the weather is just a bit icky, but not too heavy.

Bill Westerman, the owner of George's Candies on the Boardwalk, may not be a weatherman, but his 17 years as a Boardwalk merchant qualifies him as a keen observer of the cause and effect of weather on business.

"This was a good year, not a great year," said Westerman, whose store has been in business since 1954.

This is the first year since 2003 -- when a major overhaul was completed -- that Westerman will not see an increase in sales and profits over the previous year.

Irene especially put a damper on sales.

"Being closed three days at that time of the year was like losing three weeks earlier in the season," he said.

And early evening rain, as was prevalent this season, often killed 70 percent of a day's sales.

Westermen said his collegues in the accommodation business tell him people were bargain hunting, but the weather appeared more of a factor than the economy there, too.

O.C., The - The Complete 4th Season (5 Disc Set)

High school is over. Time to move on. But events conspire to reunite Ryan, Seth and Summer in posh, seaside Newport. And there may even be a new Core Four. Because after Taylor Townsend says a quick if not passionate au revoir to her education in France, she just might pursue Ryan until he catches her. Time, too, for the series to move on with these 16 final episodes. Seth marries Summer? (Maybe.) Ryan goes through life like it's a steel-cage brawl? (Sometimes.) Kaitlin tries to hook up her mom Julie with a billionaire? (Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.) But things happen, sometimes quite unexpectedly. Time to hit the beach for all the surprising events of a cool, compelling and revealing conclusion of The O.C.

The Lacuna, A Novel

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The kite runner

The Help

The Jungle