The end of September signifies a close to the summer as shelves in stores are stocked with pumpkins, scarecrows and other fall — and even Christmas — home décor items. My final weekend in this transitional month was spent at the shore in Asbury Park, New Jersey, for the weekend-long music festival Sea. Hear. Now.

My boyfriend and I headed down to the beach house Friday night after he finished work and met up with the rest of our group. As we were the last to arrive, everyone was ready to head out for the night, starting at Johnny Macs to grab a drink and the free pizza that comes with each beverage purchase. We hung around there for a while to talk and have a good time and then headed down the street to check out the other bars before making our way home to catch some sleep for the big day ahead.

The next day I woke to a couple of friends playing ukuleles, which, in my mind, was the perfect beach weekend way to wake up. Later in the afternoon we wanted to check out a local brewery and headed to Dark City. They had many beers to choose from; my favorites were the sours. After enjoying our pints, it was time to go to the festival and see Frank Turner perform. One of my favorite artists, I was excited to be so close to the stage and, at one point, stand right next to him. The fan girl in me came out for a brief moment. He was the only artist we wanted to see that day, so we went back to the house, played some games and listened to music. Frank Turner’s performance left his songs in our heads, and we all belted throughout the house. I loved it.

Sunday had more musicians we wanted to see, but we wanted to check out another local brewery and drove a short distance to Kane Brewing. At this point exhaustion was setting in, but we still had a full day of music and food to enjoy.

With the sun warming our skin and the sand between our toes, we watched The Front Bottoms and The Menzingers, who put on awesome performances. All of the jumping around made us hungry, so we grabbed food from one of the many food trucks. I had fried dumplings, and my boyfriend had artisan mac and cheese with thick-cut bacon. Both were delicious. With time in between shows, we checked out the merchandise table and art exhibit, where musicians showcased paintings, photos, surfboards and other pieces they created.

As the night came to an end, we watched a little bit of Jack Johnson’s performance before leaving so we wouldn’t get caught in traffic with the 20,000 other people who attended. As tired, sunburnt, blistered and bruised as I was, I didn’t want the weekend to end. Spending time with friends and meeting some awesome new ones was the best way to close out a summer that seemed way too short.

— Audrey Lee, intern