By Donald Wittkowski
Usually, the only white stuff found on the Ocean City Boardwalk is the beach sand that flakes off the feet of summer sunbathers while they are rushing to grab some ice cream or a slice of pizza.
But on Sunday, Boardwalk strollers navigated through slippery patches of slushy snow left over from Saturday’s storm that turned the city into a winter wonderland.
The snow, however, didn’t discourage people from venturing out on the Boardwalk or the beaches or from taking a horse and carriage ride downtown while enjoying a day at the shore.
The downtown Asbury Avenue retail corridor, all dressed up in holiday bows, garland and lights, bustled with Christmas shoppers.
People were also stopping in at City Hall’s welcome center to buy beach tags for the 2018 summer season. They also bought admission buttons for the First Night New Year’s Eve festivities and tickets to the Ocean City Theatre Company’s production of “A Christmas Carol.”
“They took a ride today to see the shore,” Diane Stanton, a receptionist at City Hall’s welcome center, said of the crowds.
Evelyn Bonewicz, 89, and her daughter, Dolores Bonewicz, 64, who live together in Bethlehem, Pa., were visiting Ocean City for a weekend getaway. Bundled up for the chilly weather, they first took a horse and carriage ride on Asbury Avenue and then stopped in to see Santa Claus on the Boardwalk.
Santa was posing for pictures with children while sitting in an Ocean City lifeguard boat parked outside the Music Pier. He was pleasantly surprised when Evelyn Bonewicz carefully climbed up some stairs to get into the boat with him.
“She’s 89,” Santa exclaimed. “She’s the oldest person ever to be in this boat. It shows that you don’t have to be a kid to like Santa.”
Evelyn and Dolores Bonewicz are thinking of making Ocean City their full-time residence, so their weekend trip allowed them to scout out some homes while also taking in the holiday sights.
“The town is so clean and the people are so friendly. It feels like home,” Dolores Bonewicz said.
“Actually, we call it home,” Evelyn Bonewicz added.
The Groover family, of Logan Township, N.J., also was in Ocean City on Sunday looking for a new home.
“We come down here a lot and really enjoy it. We may move here,” Bob Groover said.
Groover and his wife, Sharon, were joined by their children, Alex, 14, Brooke and Lexie, both 13, Ethan, 9, and Sienna, 4.
The Groovers were enjoying some family time on the Boardwalk in the brisk, but sunny weather. At one point, they all piled into Santa’s lifeguard boat for a family photo with St. Nick.
Although the snowy landscape on the Boardwalk and the beaches may have made it feel like the North Pole for Santa, it was a bit strange for the Groover family.
“It’s different. I’ve never seen snow on the beaches before,” Alex Groover said.
With the snow crunching under their feet, Amanda and Mike Ambrosius, along with their children, Riley, 11, Molly, 9, and Michael Jr., 5, were on the Boardwalk to buy a pizza for lunch.
Down for the weekend from their Philadelphia home, the Ambrosius family caught up on some Christmas shopping, had breakfast with Santa and took a horse and carriage ride.
For the children, the snow was a blast.
“It’s awesome,” Riley said. “It was fun because we could have a snowball fight.”
Molly admitted that she used some trickery to try to gain an advantage on her big sister, Riley.
“When she wasn’t looking, I picked up a snowball and threw it at her,” Molly said, laughing.
