Lifeguards watch over swimmers at the Ninth Street Beach.
By MADDY VITALE
Mary Ann and Pete Summa decided to give their four children a real treat Saturday and kick off the Labor Day weekend in Ocean City.
“We drove down this morning,” Mary Ann Summa noted of their trip from their home in Morristown, N.J.
By the afternoon, they stood on the Boardwalk in front of the Music Pier with their kids, Andrew, 13, Pete, 11, Gillian, 9, and 6-year-old Nolan, enjoying Polish water ice.
But before that, like the throngs of other holiday visitors to the family-friendly resort, the Summas hit the beach.
“It was a great day to go to the beach. It’s a long weekend, so we thought we would make a day of it,” Pete Summa said.
The Summa family, of Morristown, N.J., enjoy their Polish water ice.
Andrew and Pete enjoyed the water and did some body surfing. Gillian said her favorite part of their trip was seeing their cousins and she also liked drinking birch beer.
“I like the ice cream and the birch beer the best,” Nolan said with a laugh.
The Boardwalk bustled with visitors taking in the holiday weekend, which marks the unofficial end of summer.
The air temps stayed in the 80s and the water temp was around 70, according to Dan Casey, a lifeguard who was at the Ninth Street Beach.
“It feels very good,” he said of the water. “The water is pretty calm. It’s really starting out to be a good weekend.”
Tamara Fisher, of Philadelphia, and her son, Jarel, center, and nephew, Isiah Jones, enjoy the 70-degree water.
Visitors walked along the Boardwalk eating ice cream and pizza and just enjoying the sights.
A craft show was going on in the loggia at the Music Pier. People browsed some of the items.
Umbrellas dotted the landscape along the beaches. Some kids played in the sand, made sand castles and waded in the water.
Tamara Fisher, of Philadelphia, brought her son, Jarel, 7, with his cousin, Isiah Jones, also 7, for a day trip.
The boys splashed in the water, swam and just had a good time.
“It’s really a beautiful day and the boys are having a lot of fun,” Fisher said as she watched from the water’s edge.
The Boardwalk bustles.
Lifeguards Dan Casey, bottom left, Mason Medolla, and Scott Horner, on top of the stand, keep watch at Ninth Street beach.
