Ocean City Visitors Enjoy Warm Day at Beach and Boardwalk

By MADDY VITALE The sight of shirtless beachgoers playing Frisbee isn’t unusual in Ocean City in the summer -- but in February? Yes, unseasonably mild temps in the low 50s brought visitors to the resort Saturday. Some enjoyed beach games, walked along the shoreline, surfed, strolled down the Boardwalk, shopped and even ate ice cream. Emery Whitescarver, of Haddon Heights, N.J., and his fellow Rowan University students warmed up to surf with a game of Frisbee. They were all shirtless. “I do think the weather is beautiful and I’m happy to be out here giving it my all,” Whitescarver said with a laugh. “Nothing stops me from getting out there and having some fun and today is great.” Francis Iuvara, also of Haddon Heights and a student at Rowan, joked, “I’m definitely sweating and running around, which is always good in February." The Rowan buddies even met someone new, fellow surfer Stephen Augustyn, of Ventnor. “I like surfing in Ocean City and the weather is great today,” Augustyn said, adding that it was also nice to meet and make friends with other surfers. Matt Cardinal and his daughter, Carmen, enjoy some time on the beach. But not everyone was eager to head to the shore on Saturday. Matt Cardinal, of Philadelphia, and his 10-year-old daughter, Carmen, took the near hour-long trip down to Ocean City in the morning. “It took less than an hour and we are at my favorite place at the shore,” Cardinal said. Initially, Carmen gave her dad a bit of a hard time. “I just wanted to take a walk at home. I didn’t want to go for a car ride,” she said. Not too long after they arrived and walked along the Sixth Street beach, she had a change of heart. “It’s pretty beautiful,” Carmen said. For the father-daughter duo, there was an itinerary of favorite things to do in the last-minute trip to the shore. “We never come down here in the winter, but her younger brother had something to do, so I thought we should do something spontaneous,” Cardinal said. He added, “I love the beach. It’s my happy place. I want to walk in the sand, and if there are stores open on the Boardwalk, do some shopping and probably eat ice cream for dinner.” Sarah Stern takes her children for a ride on the Boardwalk. While some visitors spent their time on the beach, Rose Mary Wagner and her daughter, Sarah Stern, of Media, Pa., enjoyed the Boardwalk. Wagner recently purchased a vacation home in Ocean City, so they plan many impromptu stays at the shore. “We are just having a nice day walking on the Boardwalk,” Wagner said. “It’s a little unusual to be so warm in February, so we are taking advantage of it.” Stern pushed a stroller carrying her son and daughter down the Boardwalk. The children happily snacked on goodies and enjoyed the mild temps. Stern noted that they wanted to spend as much time as they could outside in the fresh air on such a mild day. “We came down yesterday,” she said. “This morning we walked on the beach and now we are enjoying the Boardwalk. We are just having a good time.” A group of Rowan University students play Frisbee on the beach. Paid for by Michael DeVlieger