Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer Refuse to End in Sea Isle

By Donald Wittkowski Contrary to what the calendar says, summer is not ending. At least not in Sea Isle City. People in town refuse to think that the sunny days and 90-degree temperatures will disappear anytime soon. Heck, they don’t even seem to mind having to buy a beach tag. During the last Saturday in August, the beaches remained crowded, bicyclists were out taking rides on the Promenade and banner planes flew overhead pulling advertisements for the local bars. It was all very … well, summerlike. “I’ll be coming around until I can’t stand the cold,” vowed Ligia Pizarro, suggesting that she will be visiting Sea Isle well into the fall. Pizarro, who lives in Philadelphia, was heading to the beach Saturday with her daughters, Olivia, 8, and Annabelle, 4, in tow. They were joined by Pizarro’s friend, Sandra Siqueira, and her daughter, Laura Moraes, 10, and son, Lorenzo Moraes, 4. Joined by friends and family members, Philadelphian Ligia Pizarro, in dark shirt, buys beach tags from Sea Isle beach tag inspector Verity Beck. Olivia Pizarro came prepared Saturday. Even before she took one step on the beach, the young girl had her whole day planned out. “I’m going in the big waves,” she said. “I’m also going to ride on my boogie board. Then I want to go to the pool.” Out on the packed downtown beaches, a sea of colorful umbrellas, tents and cabanas gobbled up prime pieces of real estate steps from the water. One beachgoer, Maggie Grace, of Sicklerville, Camden County, was celebrating her 50th birthday with family members. Grace reluctantly contemplated the waning days of summer while soaking up the sun in her beach chair. “I wish it was longer,” she said. Maggie Grace, of Sicklerville, N.J., standing at right, is joined by family members on the beach for her 50th birthday celebration. Grace’s 18-year-old daughter, Bridget, also made it clear that she didn’t want summer to end. After a summer of lying on the beach and working on her tan, she will soon be in class for the start of her freshman year at Stockton University. “I’m very upset,” Bridget said of having to give up her beach days. Sea Isle requires beach tags until Labor Day, giving the town a little more time to rake in some revenue from their sale. Patricia Allen, the city’s beach tag director, noted that sales of weekly and daily tags remain brisk, despite it being late in the summer season. “They are doing very well,” she said. “The weeklies and dailies are good. The weather is perfect, so we will be selling beach tags straight through Labor Day.” Allen, who has been the beach tag director for 25 years, said sales this summer have been strong overall. Patricia Allen, Sea Isle's beach tag director, is reminding everyone that beach tags are required through Labor Day. In the most recent figures released by the city, Sea Isle had racked up slightly more than $1.3 million in beach tag revenue through Aug. 12, about $7,200 more than the same period in 2017. Year after year, beach tag sales are a key barometer of the strength of the summer tourism season. In Sea Isle’s case, the all-time record was set in 2015 with $1,471,321 in beach tag revenue. The city had about $1.4 million in beach tag sales in both 2016 and 2017. The crowded beaches Saturday ensured that even more beach tag revenue was on its way. Although the beaches were the most popular spot during a sun-splashed day, some visitors decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather to do other things. Kristin DiPasquo and Josh Beisler, a married couple from Philadelphia, were enjoying a bike ride on the Promenade with their 4-year-old daughter, Sofia. Kristin DiPasquo and Josh Beisler, a married couple from Philadelphia, get their 4-year-old daughter, Sofia, ready for a bike ride on the Promenade. On Friday, DiPasquo and Beisler took a trip to the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor. After their bike ride Saturday, they were planning to drive to Corson’s Inlet State Park for a nature outing. “We’re trying to get it all in,” DiPasquo said of their busy schedule. “We’re doing all the things we wanted to do in summer.” DiPasquo and her family are longtime vacationers in Sea Isle. She noted that it is family tradition for everyone to exclaim “Welcome to Sea Isle” when arriving in town for the summer. The tradition was inspired by a “Welcome to Sea Isle” sign that had been on the causeway entering town. DiPasquo lamented that the sign is no longer there and is urging Mayor Leonard Desiderio to have it put back in place. Perhaps that could be one last thing for the city to do before this summer really does come to an end. Even in Sea Isle. Greg Wilson, a "Fudgy Wudgy" ice cream salesman, in yellow shirt, hands out some frozen treats to beachgoers.