It was intended to be a casual walk on the beach on a beautiful late summer day. Or at least that was what Robin Schall assumed when she left her Avalon home on Sept. 21 and headed for the beach. She was around 25th Street when she spotted something unusual along the surf line.

Retirement, in the world of Lois “Lee” Neuman, presents a brand-new canvas.

Life’s next phase beckons this artist and bookkeeper at the Hugh Merkle real-estate company. The Philadelphia native and longtime area resident recently moved to Jacksonville, N.C., to be closer to six of her grandchildren.

‘Tis the season to shop locally and support small businesses. Many such places in Avalon and Stone Harbor are open and ready to help you find the perfect gifts for your loved ones. Spa Avalon is under new ownership, and we caught up with Jennifer Weldon for the latest news on the full-service day spa.

Here’s a holiday-season snowball that never grows too large: the momentum of generosity.

The Yacht Club of Stone Harbor, which has extensively grown its charity realm with help from the Chamber of Commerce, real estate agencies and its own members over the last couple of years, launches a final 2020 donation drive.

Spend any time around a marsh, and you’ll come across a familiar sight: elegant, long-legged birds wandering among the grasses or hunting in the shallow water. These birds – herons and egrets – are some of the wetlands’ most iconic species. They belong to a group known as wading birds, which includes cranes, egrets, herons, storks, spoonbills, and ibises.

Stone Harbor’s Bill Stump will be remembered as an enthusiastic sailor who treasured his family and selflessly served his church, yacht club and local community.

Stump was 70 when he died at home – as he wished – on Jan. 23 after a long battle with lung cancer.

Grace Lowe celebrated her 90th birthday with a family brunch Sept. 21 at Isabel’s, the Avalon café and bakery owned by her granddaughters Justine and Rhianne Lowe.

Normally for the Holiday issue, I love to be jovial and discuss all the positives that we have enjoyed throughout the year. But this year feels like Ron Sterling’s “The Twilight Zone.”

’Tis the season to start planning for summer 2021. While Thanksgiving weekend attracts visitors with activities, shopping, live music, giveaways and family events, attendees are also encouraged to pick up 2021 holiday beach tags for themselves and those on their gift list.