By MADDY VITALE
Visitors to Ocean City made the most out of spectacular weather on Labor Day to relax on the beaches, splash in the surf and savor the last bit of the traditional end of summer before school begins and others go back to work.
Nicolina Rynkiewicz, 17, of Bensalem, Pa., and friends Lauralie Tansey, 17, of Bristol, Pa., and her 14-year-old sister Hanna, got an early start Monday by getting down to the resort early enough to watch a Labor Day race on the beach at 7:30 a.m.
After the race, the friends headed to the wide, sandy beach at 34th Street to lounge. They picked a spot where some talented artist left a shark sand sculpture.
“It was here when we got to the beach,” Nicolina noted. “We don’t know who made it.”
Nicolina and her friends often take trips to the resort.
“My cousin has a place here, so we come down almost every weekend,” she said with a smile.
But Monday marked a bittersweet day since school is beginning for some and already has started for others. Both Nicolina and Lauralie are entering their junior year in high school. They won’t have the same amount of time to visit the shore, even though the weather will typically be nice for weekends into October. The same goes for Hanna, who is going to be a freshman.
“I’m happy to go back to school, but I’d rather be learning on the beach,” Lauralie said with a laugh.
While the three friends relaxed on the beach, where air temps hovered in the low 80s, others took advantage of the roughly 75-degree water temps.
Alli Corley, of Ocean City, watched from the water’s edge as her sons, Ryan, 7, and 8-year-old Parker had a great time coasting in on their boogie boards.
The boys go back to school this week. The holiday marked a day just to enjoy the end of the summer season, before school life takes center stage for the boys.
“It’s great today. The water is warm. It isn’t too hot out,” Corley said.
She summed up what the summer of 2022 meant to her and her family.
“I think celebrating what a great summer we have had as a family is what made it special,” Corley said. “We got to see everyone and have a good time.”
Shane Huseyinogue, an ice cream cart operator for Ocean City Ice Cream, walked down the beach mat at 34th Street and signaled with a bell that ice cold treats were just a short distance away.
In about five minutes, beachgoers began to form a line for the icy confections.
“It was good, really a good year,” Huseyinogue said. “In my five years here, this year was better than any of the past summers.”
What was the favorite ice cream treat for kids this summer?
“Definitely SpongeBob,” he said as he pulled out a sample.
For adults, it was the ever-popular oldie but goodie.
“A Chipwich,” he said.
Leigh Ann Upshaw, of Vineland, brought her children, Quinn, 3, Lucas, 7, and 9-year-old Mia to get some ice cream.
“We are just here for a day trip,” Upshaw said. “We come down all the time. We love it.”
As the children selected and started to eat their ice cream, there was one thing the siblings could all agree on.
When asked how they liked their ice cream, they exclaimed, in unison, “It’s good!”
