By MADDY VITALE
Vacationers were determined to make the most out of Sunday, despite clouds and some rain.
In fact, they did just about everything they would do on any typical sunny weekend in the resort in the summer.
They strolled on the Boardwalk, albeit with umbrellas at times. Some people lounged on the beach, went in the water and played games.
Whether they were day-trippers or down for the weekend or the week, people made the most of the day.
Dave Girman, of northeast Pa., and his sons, Simon, David and Daniel didn’t mind the rain pelting them as they played a good game of spike ball at Ninth Street beach.
“We are just enjoying all of the stuff we do when we come here for vacation,” Dave Girman said, as he paused for a moment from his game. “We are packing in what we normally do. The rain isn’t too bad.”
The family plan for the week was like it is each summer. “The usual stuff, breakfast, the Boardwalk, junk food and people watching,” Girman said with a laugh.
Ninth Street lifeguards Jesse Hickman and Colin Osborne were busy watching the few bathers in the ocean and scanning the beach.
“We’re just making sure people stay between the green flags,” Hickman said. “This area can get very dangerous because of the jetty. You get a rip current.”
The waters were calm though, Sunday, the guards said.
Their take on the beachgoers, “I guess they come down for the weekend and did everything they could on the Boardwalk,” Hickman said.
“For some people it is their last day of vacation, so they wanted to make the most of it,” Osborne said noting that people usually leave Sunday.
On the Boardwalk, as the rain let up, people biked, took surrey rides, and jogged.
Erika and Dan Carl, of Westchester, Pa., brought their 4-year-old daughter Sophia for some amusements and food.
“My parents have a vacation house here so we can down for the weekend,” Erika said. “We just left Jilly’s Arcade. We got ice cream. Now Sophia wants to take a ride on a go kart. We did the beach yesterday.”
It was easy to find out what Sophia’s favorite thing to do is in Ocean City.
“The rides!” she exclaimed.
Like many vacationers to Ocean City, the Carls said they enjoy the family-friendly atmosphere.
Dan Carl added, “I like the weather at the shore.”
While some people came from an hour or so away, others love Ocean City so much, they came despite a much longer trip.
“We left the house early this morning and got here at 10 a.m.,” said Jackie Doyle, of Geneva, N.Y. “We have a six hour drive to get here.”
Doyle, whose parents, grandparents and great-grandparents vacationed in Ocean City, made it her family tradition.
Now her daughter, Morgan Kowalski, brings her two sons, Tommy 4, and 18-month-old Danny, to make it an even longer standing family tradition.
“We now have a whole new generation of kids who love Ocean City,” Doyle said.
By noon, the Doyle and Kowalski already got coffee, bought candy and took a surrey ride with Tommy and Danny.
Their next stop will be pizza, they said.
“The boys love it here too,” Kowalski added, as Tommy sucked on a lollipop and happily chatted with his mother and grandmother.
Doyle explained why they packed in so many things before the afternoon.
“We only have until Wednesday, so we have to get in as much as we can,” she said with a smile. “We are having a great time.”
