ALMA, N.B. -- As the hot summer continues across the Maritimes, people are doing what they can to find relief from the hot weather.

That includes heading to the coast, which is providing a different kind of relief for coastal businesses fighting to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the mercury soars, many Maritimers feel a call to the coast.

“Oh yeah, I don’t like the heat, don’t like the heat at all,” says Rhonda Squires, a resident of Mill Cove, N.B.

That’s why Squires took a day trip to Alma, N.B., on Tuesday to cool off, despite having a pool and air conditioning back at home.

“It’s beautiful here,” explains Squires. “We try to get here at least every year.”

“Moncton is like a furnace. Here you can breathe in the air and enjoy it,” says Kara Cawthra.

With a 10 to 15 degree difference in temperature from their home in Moncton, Cawthra and her family decided to camp at nearby Fundy National Park.

“The air in Moncton just feels dead,” says Cawthra. “Here it’s just a beautiful breeze and you feel like there’s movement, and yeah, much cooler.”

As people head to the coast to cool off, businesses in places like Alma say they are benefiting from the extra traffic.

“People are still coming through the week, as much as they are on the weekends,” says Angela Elliott, owner of Kelly’s Bake Shop in Alma. “The day-trippers, they want to get out of the house, they want to go somewhere and Fundy is a great place to go.”

Luckily there is lots of coast in our region, but not all Maritimers are seeking the breeze off the water to try to beat the heat.

Much of the Maritimes, including Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, is under a heat warning -- but some people don’t mind.

“The heat here has smoothed it all out for me,” says Annapolis Valley resident Ace McKay. “I love it, I love Wolfville, it’s a great spot to live.”