Even the thumping music from across the street became a comfort sound that helped me sleep. But also common was the sound of a summer novice vomiting in our grass. By summer's end, of course, overdrinking is nothing to an educated stomach. And by Labor Day, physical wrenching sounds gave way to emotional wrenching as summer romances came to an end. And they are gone.
Summer is over.
Peace is at hand. By the end of September, the population of Ocean City drops to about a third of its summertime census. The great de-camping of freshman fry cooks and sophomore waitresses creates a vacuum quickly filled by a mellower atmosphere, with cooling temperatures that appeal to everyone from the beachcomber and the bicyclist to the bundled book reader on the empty beach. In the fall you can come down here and canoe and kayak on the bay. There's great bird-watching in Assateague and along the whole peninsula.