For Laura Pallay and her family, summertime means the Jersey Shore.
Pallay, a broker/sales associate with RE/MAX InStyle Realty in Skillman, and her husband, Gary, a risk manager for a Japanese bank, have a beach house in Point Pleasant Beach, which is where they spend all their free time.
Their children—30-year-old Joe, 27-year-old Rachel and 25-year-old Sarah—grew up summering on the beach.
“My husband’s family has been coming here for four generations,” Pallay says. “Even though our children are all scattered in different states now, everyone convenes at the beach house at every opportunity.”
Pallay, who became a real estate professional a decade ago, covers the Northern Shore towns. “This is a second career for me,” she says. “I love looking at homes and doing renovations and getting to know people and connecting with them.”
Although she doesn’t have grandchildren—yet—she and her one-year-old grand-dog, Loki, who Sarah got when he was a 5-month-old rescue, are spending a lot of quality time in the sand and the water.
Here are some of Pallay’s favorite ways to while away the dwindling days of summer.
You’re likely to see Pallay and Loki at Manasquan Dog Beach a couple of times during the week. Loki, 60 pounds of pure puppy, has a great time running and playing on the beach.
“He loves other dogs,” Pallay says. “The beach requires leashes, and I have him on a 40-foot one so he can roam and run wherever he wants without pulling me into the water.”
Loki’s other favorite thing to do is to go to Canines & Cocktails, an event held every Tuesday night during the summer at Jenks Inlet Bar. “Everyone brings their dogs and sits outside,” Pallay says, adding that she sips vodka and hand-squeezed orange juice while Loki washes down treats with a bowl of water. “It’s a dog lover’s paradise.”
NJ Movies on the Beach “attracts a lot of families,” Pallay says. “The films are shown on a huge screen, and everyone sits in lawn chairs.” Pallay and her husband also pack popcorn and snacks to get the full in-house theater experience. (Loki stays home as dogs are not allowed.)
There are many fishing charters on the Jersey Shore, and Pallay and her family have been passengers on the Dauntless, which has sailed daily all year round, for decades. The charter, family-owned and family-operated, has been in the business of navigating deep waters for wrecks so anglers can cast their lines since 1958.
Learn more about Laura Pallay at LauraPallay.com.
