By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Some people toss coins in a fountain. Others propose a champagne toast. Still others throw salt over their shoulder.
But Sarah Hurley, Laura Ries and Anna Funchion came up with another way to bring them good luck and good health in the New Year.
As the waves gently lapped the shoreline in Sea Isle City on New Year’s Day, Hurley, Ries and Funchion walked out to the water’s edge, bent down and touched the ocean.
Then they broke into laughter.
“It’s the best way to start off the New Year on the beach,” said Hurley, who was the first to think of touching the ocean for good luck.
The three friends from Delaware County, Pa., were among the crowds that hit the beach in Sea Isle on a beautiful Sunday morning to celebrate the arrival of 2023.
After a drizzly and foggy New Year’s Eve, the weather did a 180-degree turn to bring sunny skies and spring-like temperatures in the high 50s to the shore for New Year’s Day.
“Look at the people,” exclaimed Maureen Zakrzewski while pointing to all of the beachgoers taking advantage of the great weather.
“We’re enjoying this beautiful day,” she continued. “It’s a gift. It’s a nice way to start out the New Year, to look out at the ocean.”
Zakrzewski, who has a summer home in Sea Isle, was joined on the beach by her daughter, Kathleen Fusco, and her grandsons, Vinny, 10, and Sonny, 6.
“We all come here for the holidays. We make it a tradition. We’ve been doing it for 13 years,” Zakrzewski said of the family’s getaways to the shore.
Zakrzewski, Fusco and the children spent New Year’s Eve playing games and banging pots and pans outside to welcome the arrival of 2023 at midnight.
Their New Year’s Day, though, was decidedly more tranquil. They strolled along the beach searching for seashells.
Vinny and Sonny wore their Philadelphia Eagles jerseys. They were hoping for an Eagles’ win over the New Orleans Saints, but did not get their wish for the holiday.
Kathleen Fusco confided that she had a New Year’s resolution.
“I’m going to try to not do so much work,” she said with a smile while emphasizing the word “not.”
While many people enjoyed the beach, others walked or biked on the Promenade, did some shopping downtown or grabbed a bite to eat for the holiday.
Members of the McCabe family, from Pennsylvania, were taking a leisurely stroll on the Promenade after taking their two dogs, Goldie and Georgia, for a walk on the beach.
Brittanny and Bryan McCabe had their daughter, Ella, 9, and son, Brooks, 6, with them. Kevin and Angela McCabe were with their 12-year-old son, Justin.
The kids and the parents were hoping for an Eagles win over the Saints, but were disappointed with a loss instead.
But not all was lost.
Ella was enjoying her holiday time away from school and Justin was looking forward to having a treat.
“I want sticky buns,” Justin said, prompting everyone in the family to laugh.
It wasn’t sticky buns, but mimosas, that friends Kelly Cappello, Colleen Niles and Jean Nelson were enjoying on the Promenade for the holiday. Their husbands looked on in amusement.
Residents of Pennsylvania, they have summer homes in Ocean City and Sea Isle. They couldn’t believe the sun-splashed weather that allowed them to celebrate New Year’s Day outdoors.
“We’re just walking around enjoying the weather,” Cappello said. “It’s gorgeous.”
“We’ve been down here on days when it’s been in the single digits,” Niles added about the extreme cold at the shore on some New Year’s days.
