Tom Fithian, of Newtown, Pa., and his son, Chase, play a game of catch on a quiet beach near Surf Road in the north end of town.
By Donald Wittkowski
Jacleen Kaer began ticking off all the things that her family planned to do during the Labor Day weekend in Ocean City.
“Boardwalk, miniature golf, beach, pool and lots of ice cream,” Kaer said with a laugh Saturday. “Oh, I almost forgot. We were on the rides Friday night.”
Realizing that summer is fading fast, it was as if the Kaers decided to cram in as much fun as possible in one go-for-broke holiday weekend at the shore before heading back home in Warminster, Pa.
Even the overcast weather Saturday afternoon didn’t seem to bother them as Kaer, her husband, Joe, their son, Joey, 4, and 2-year-old daughter, Malena, were playfully digging holes in the sand on the Eighth Street beach with the help of nieces Monroe and Harlow Kaer.
“We’re making out, no matter what,” Jacleen Kaer said, noting that the family refused to let the gray skies ruin their weekend.
Labor Day is traditionally summer’s swan song at the Jersey Shore. With the parents heading back to work and the kids having to start school next week, everyone seems determined to sneak in just a few more days of rest and relaxation.
Paul Rapello, his wife, Kirsten, their daughter, Cydney, and their service dog, Nash, enjoy a relaxing day at the beach during their visit from Albany, N.Y.
Kirsten and Paul Rapello, their 17-year-old daughter, Cydney, and their service dog, Nash, jumped in the car for the four-hour drive to Ocean City from their home in Albany, N.Y.
Lying on a blanket just a few yards from the ocean, the Rapellos said they were planning a laid-back weekend that would include plenty of beach time.
“There is no such thing as bad weather on the beach,” Kirsten Rapello emphasized.
Paul Rapello said he was going to rest up a little bit before the family grabbed some pizza and ice cream on the Boardwalk.
Cydney said she was looking forward to starting her senior year of high school next week, but acknowledged that she would miss summer.
Holiday crowds stroll the Boardwalk as the Labor Day weekend gets underway.
The summer of 2018 was marked by some unpredictable weather mixing periods of rain with bouts of extreme heat and humidity. Wes Kazmarck, president of the Boardwalk Merchants Association, said at times the heat was so oppressive that it was bad for business.
“We’re always so weather-dependent. I think the heat waves helped nobody,” said Kazmarck, whose group represents business owners on Ocean City’s iconic promenade.
“It was a lot of heat and a lot of rain. That’s pretty much what summer was like,” he added.
Kazmarck predicted that the Labor Day weekend should produce some brisk business for the Boardwalk shop owners as long as the weather cooperates.
“It’s definitely shaping up to be a nice, final weekend to summer,” he said.
David Beck, of Collegeville, Pa., holds an ice cream cone while his 2-year-old daughter, Sylvia, takes a lick.
The Boardwalk teemed with vacationers savoring the last big weekend of summer on Saturday. One visitor, David Beck, of Collegeville, Pa., shared an ice cream with his 2-year-old daughter, Sylvia.
Beck and his wife, Carlee, planned to spend part of the holiday weekend with their daughter in Ocean City and the rest in Cape May. Even though Sylvia is only 2, she insisted on going to the beach, her parents said
“She been asking to come to the beach all week,” Carlee Beck said, laughing.
Sheila and Chris Reese, first time visitors to Ocean City, were looking forward to seeing the Boardwalk after hearing so much about it from friends and family members.
The Reeses, who live in Wrightsville, N.J., were riding their bikes around the north end of town before heading to the Boardwalk. They were enjoying the cooler temperatures Saturday morning under the cloud cover.
“This is the type of weather that is the best time for a bike ride and walking,” Sheila Reese said as her husband agreed.
Despite overcast skies Saturday, beachgoers venture into the surf for a cool dip.
Although the Boardwalk and downtown beaches attracted holiday crowds, the Gardens section in the northern tip of town was much quieter.
Standing on a nearly empty north end beach off Surf Road, Jason Samuels and his 9-year-old son, Gavin, were taking advantage of the ocean breeze to get their hawk-shaped kite airborne.
Samuels lives in Long Island, N.Y., but his family owns a summer home in Ocean City. Labor Day weekend is the family’s last hurrah at the shore before Gavin heads back to school on Wednesday.
“It’s beautiful. As long as it’s not raining out, it’s fine,” Samuels said, enjoying the vast stretch of sand that he and his son virtually had to themselves.
Jason Samuels, of Long Island, N.Y., gets some help from his son, Gavin, while launching a hawk-shaped kite on the beach.
On another lonely stretch of north end beach, Tom Fithian and his 10-year-old son, Chase, were playing catch with a football.
Chase, who starts school on Tuesday, said he enjoys summer vacations, but is anxious for football season to begin so he can watch his favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles, and his favorite player, tight end Zach Ertz.
“He’s good,” Chase said of Ertz. “He can catch, and he’s fast.”
Tom Fithian, a Newtown, Pa., resident whose family has a vacation home in Ocean City, said he hoped the rain would hold off so he could relish one last weekend at the shore before summer draws to a close.
“We’re trying to get in the last few moments of summer – the unofficial end of summer,” he said.
Tom Fithian, of Newtown, Pa., and his son, Chase, play a game of catch on a quiet beach near Surf Road in the north end of town.
