Photograph by laverrue on Flickr

It's the unofficial start of the summer! According to WCBS 2, "AAA estimates 3.8 million people from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania will travel this weekend - that's an 8 percent increase from last year. Analysts credit lower gas prices for the higher travel number, but AAA says because of a still fragile economy, families will likely spend less this year on summer travel, taking more road trips instead of a flight."

Okay, the fragile economy is a downer, but staking out a spot on the beach isn't: Tomorrow, the city will officially open up the beaches. In other beach news, Wildwood was named NJ's best beach and Southampton's Coopers Beach was named the best in the country by "Dr. Beach" Stephen Leatherman: "Leatherman, director of Florida International University's Coastal Research Laboratory, makes his annual picks after weighing beaches by 50 criteria ranging from the caliber of changing facilities to the presence of offending odors. Among his deal-breakers: polluted waters or too-frequent closures. Leatherman's lone criticism at Coopers Beach: the 'pricey' $40 parking fee for nonresidents."

And watch out, drivers—there are usually more police patrolling for potential DWIs over holiday weekends. Back in 2008, Nassau County launched the controversial "Wall of Shame" over the Memorial Day Weekend.