If there's a silver lining to the fact that Northeastern summers are now hotter than they used to be, it's that the six weeks between Labor Day and Columbus Day are often the most pleasant time, weather-wise, to take your summer vacation. Gone, too, are the maddening crowds that routinely turn otherwise charming resort towns and spectacular beaches into aggravating obstacle courses. Rooms suddenly become available (often at significantly reduced prices), as do tables at popular restaurants and seats on tours and at entertainment venues.

Throw in those traditional end-of-the-season sales, and it's no surprise that for many flexible-schedule travelers, Labor Day is no longer the unofficial end of summer but its practical beginning.

Here are three quintessential coastal destinations: one fe

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