Visitors Delight in Ocean City Beaches on Labor Day Weekend

Ocean City vacationers found their perfect beach retreat Saturday at 34th Street, where umbrellas dotted a large swath of sand, bathers enjoyed splashing in the ocean and everyone relished Labor Day weekend’s great weather.

Lifeguard Jason Walsh was keeping watch of bathers on a bustling beach over the holiday weekend, the traditional end of the summer tourism season.

Families enjoyed the cool breezes along the water’s edge. Children and adults splashed in the surf. Some kids did some boogie boarding while others played some tag football.

While air temps hovered in the low 80s, the water was also comfortable.

“The water is about 70 degrees today,” Walsh said of the ocean temp, which earlier in the season was as chilly as 59 degrees. “It’s been cold all summer, but it’s finally warm.”

    Lifeguard Jason Walsh watches bathers at 34th Street beach.
  

Stephen and Carrie Bragg, of Buffalo, N.Y., and Stephen’s son, Jeff Bragg and his children, Darius, 7, and 5-year-old Aiden, set up under a beach umbrella several feet from the water.

The boys were serious about their sandcastles. Darius even dug a hole.

Ocean City may be far from Buffalo, but their ties to the resort, known for its family friendly attractions and beaches, are deep.

“I’ve been coming here since I was two,” said Stephen Bragg, an Air Force veteran, who was born in Philadelphia. “My father George, who passed away, brought me every summer. And I’m 56.”

He said he even proposed to Carrie in Ocean City at 27th Street beach four years ago.

“We got married at sunset on the beach. Ocean City really means a lot to us,” Bragg noted. “I want to be where I’m happiest.”

He also made vacationing in Ocean City a tradition with his son, Jeff Bragg, who is a Marine.

    The Bragg family, from left, Jeff, Carrie and Stephen and children Darius and Aiden enjoy a beautiful beach day.
  Now, the Braggs and their blended family and Jeff and his children come every summer.

“There is a high standard that is maintained at the beach and everywhere around us,” Jeff Bragg said of the beaches and the town. “It’s beautiful and really a family friendly town.”

Jeff Bragg, 30, reminisced about his summer vacations in Ocean City with his father and grandfather.  

“I remember my grandpa building me a car out of sand and my dad building one, too. I will do the same with my boys,” he said.

Two other beachgoers, sisters Kate and Jenna Coleman, both of Philadelphia, watched as other family members splashed in the water.

“It’s just a relaxing day at the beach,” Kate Coleman said.

Jenna Coleman watched her son as he ran back to the water’s edge.

She noted that the water was warm. “It’s just a beautiful beach day,” she said.

For more information about Ocean City visit oceancityvacation.com or ocnj.us.

    Swimmers and sunbathers take to the water's edge for some cool breezes and warm water.