By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
There were people waiting to get inside even before JoAnn Kearney unlocked the doors at the Sea Isle City Welcome Center just before 10 a.m. Saturday.
“I got here about a quarter to 10. By 10 of, I unlocked the doors. There were a couple of people standing outside,” she said.
On a frigid day when many people were out buying snow shovels and rock salt to prepare for the arrival of the next winter storm Sunday, Kearney was doing brisk business selling something else.
Beach tags.
Saturday was the first day that Sea Isle began selling beach tags for the 2022 summer season at the discounted price of $20 each. The seasonal tags will cost the regular price of $25 starting May 15.
“It’s been busy. Sales have been pretty steady. I’ve sold over 200 tags. Everything is nice,” Kearney said of the first-day rush.
With temperatures at the shore stuck in the teeth-chattering 20s on Saturday, the beach tags seemed to be the ultimate antidote for dreary winter weather for Sea Isle resident Suzanne Brindle. She bought eight tags for her family.
“It’s the hope of a happy future and sunny days ahead,” Brindle said of the symbolism of buying beach tags in the dead of winter.
Sea Isle’s colorful 2022 beach tags are decorated with a collage of seashore and summer imagery, including sailboats, beach umbrellas, frolicking dolphins and the blazing sun.
Some Sea Isle vacationers make it a tradition each year of driving down to the shore to buy their beach tags the first day they are available or having a friend pick them up.
Barbara Serge, of Ocean View, bought five tags Saturday for her friend, Dana Phillips, a resident of Upper Chichester, Pa., who enjoys spending summers in Sea Isle.
“She said, ‘Can you go get some beach tags for me?’ I told her, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll get them,’” Serge said of Phillips.
Although Serge was buying beach tags for Phillips, she noted there was really no hurry to pick up any for herself at this time.
“I can come here for more at any time,” she said with a smile, referring to the short drive from her house in Ocean View to Sea Isle.
Beach tags are available at the following locations:
- Sea Isle City Welcome Center, 300 JFK Boulevard, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Only cash or checks are accepted at the Welcome Center.
- Sea Isle City’s Tax Office, located on the second floor of City Hall, 233 JFK Boulevard, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
- Beach Tag Vending Machine, located in the first floor lobby of City Hall. The vending machine is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It accepts cash only.
For more information, call the Welcome Center during the hours listed above at (609) 263-8687.
