By MADDY VITALE
There was one place to forget the COVID-19 troubles Sunday afternoon. That was on any of the Ocean City beaches, where beachgoers did their best to social distance amid the pandemic, enjoy family time, the sun, the surf and a getaway from the rest of the world.
Alicia Crist and her family ventured down from Delaware County, Pa., for the day with her children, Taylor, 4, and 2-year-old son Robbie. Her sister, Nikki Crist, and her boyfriend, Scott Ruoff, made a day of it at the 34th Street beach.
While the adults sat in lounge chairs, the kids had something else on their minds – sandcastles.
And while there wasn’t too much progress, big sister Taylor seemed to like the limelight as she was the star sifting through the sands. Her little brother was a bit preoccupied with a toy truck. Then it was off to find “crabbies,” as Taylor calls them, and other critters in the sand as well as shells, Alicia Crist explained.
The 90-minute trip from Delaware County to Ocean City was not a first jaunt to the family-friendly resort for the Crist sisters.
“Our grandparents have a condo on 34th Street. We have been coming down since as long as I can remember,” Alicia Crist said. “My kids have been coming since they were babies. They are just having a great time.”
Umbrellas dotted the landscape at the beach known for its long mobility mat, a feature that also attracts parents with their strollers and wagons to roll — rather than lug — beach gear onto the sands.
Marie Miller, who lives in Delaware County, Pa., and has a summer home in Marmora, looked around from under an umbrella she used to shield herself from the hot afternoon sun as temperatures hovered around the mid to high 80s.
“I am very happy people are social distancing,” Miller noted.
Raven Carey, of Montgomery County, Pa., and her son, 16-month-old Kiegan, came down for the weekend. Carey’s friends, Jess and Steven Lutz, and their 1-year-old daughter Layla, also came along.
There were other beaches in other shore communities they could have chosen, but Carey said it was a simple decision.
“We were down two weeks ago. Here it feels safe,” she said. “I can go right down to the beach. People social distance. We went to Wildwood for the day and it didn’t feel safe. Everyone was walking at me and there weren’t many people wearing masks.”
Carey and Jess Lutz both work in a hospital and realize that safety and security when bringing their families on a day trip, or any trip for that matter, is of utmost importance.
“Here we feel safe and it is nice to get away from it for a while and just have fun at the beach,” Carey noted.
Some people visited Ocean City for the first time Sunday, while others make it a tradition. And others make it an anniversary gift each year.
Katie and Nick Foley, of Stratford, Camden County, are celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary.
The couple held their 21-month-old son Reis’ hands as they picked him up and gently put his feet back in the surf.
The little boy giggled and then ran with his dad to play.
The Foleys, who are expecting their second child in October, continue their tradition in their favorite beach town, Katie Foley noted.
“We come down for the day on as many weekends as we can. I run a summer swim camp in Cherry Hill. It just started,” she explained. “I did a lot of research and I read, while social distancing, it is important for mental health to get out and do what you love. That is what we are doing.”
