Sea Isle Beachgoers Prepare to Say Goodbye to Summer

Yikes, what the heck happened to this summer at the shore? It seemingly flew by faster than it takes for most sunburns to fade.

Memorial Day weekend wasn’t that long ago, kicking off the start of the cherished summer tourism season, right?

Now, vacationers and beachgoers in Sea Isle City are sadly contemplating the inevitable end of summer. Labor Day arrives next weekend to signal the traditional closing act of summer at the shore.

“It’s sad. It’s too short,” Beata Mendys lamented of summer while relaxing in a beach chair near the water’s edge.

Mendys, of Moorestown, N.J., was joined by her best friend, Faith Austino, of Mullica Hill, N.J., on Saturday during the last full weekend of August for the summer season.

“Yes, it’s pretty much over. I’m depressed,” Austino said glumly. 

    Best friends Beata Mendys, left, and Faith Austino want more days on the beach before summer ends.

Mendys and Austino were enjoying their second beach trip to Sea Isle this year, but were determined to return for some more days at the shore in September to stubbornly cling to whatever is left of the summer of 2024.

“We promised ourselves that we would come down again three or four more times before the season is over to sit on the beach and relax,” Mendys said.

“We plan to do nothing,” Mendys added, before Austino chimed in, “and talk about everything.” Both women laughed.

Even the ice cream man and the lifeguards in Sea Isle were feeling a bit sad about summer’s end.

“It feels like I was just out here in June,” Rocco Diaz said while selling ice cream on the beach from a cart.

    Ice cream man Rocco Diaz makes a sale.
  Diaz noted that his days on the beach are growing short. He is preparing to return to Rowan University for his senior year as a business management major.

For Kaylee Dougherty, a Sea Isle lifeguard at 40th Street, this is her last weekend at the shore. She is returning to Temple University on Monday for her senior year as a marketing major.

“I hate it. It’s sad,” Dougherty said of the summer’s end.

Dougherty and fellow 40th Street lifeguard Bridget O’Hanlon are “sitting together” this weekend for the last time this summer. O’Hanlon is also getting ready to return to school, as a preschool teacher in Medford, N.J.

    Kaylee Dougherty, left, and Bridget O’Hanlon, share the 40th Street lifeguard stand this weekend for the last time this summer.
  

Another beach lover, Andrew Barnett Jr., 5, is also getting ready for school. He got a fresh haircut Saturday to prepare for his first day in kindergarten Monday in Philadelphia.

“He got his haircut at 7:45. We’re making it a very long day. We packed the cooler. I told them this is our last hurrah,” Andrew’s grandmother, Rita Fox, said of what was probably their last beach day of the summer.

Andrew was also joined by his 3-year-old brother, Daniel, for some beach time. When asked how much he will miss summer, Andrew responded, “A lot.”

Fox, of Philadelphia, said she spent nearly every weekend at the shore this summer. She, too, will dearly miss summer, she said.

“Yes, we’re sad because this might be the last time I get here,” she of the beach trips to Sea Isle.

    Beach tag inspector Carole Yoder, right, says hello to brothers Daniel and Andrew Barnett and their grandmother, Rita Fox.
  

On their way to the beach, Fox and her two grandsons stopped to say hello to Carole Yoder, a beach tag inspector at John F. Kennedy Boulevard.

Not far from where Yoder sits to greet beachgoers, is a kiosk that includes a digital advertising sign that has messages about upcoming special events in Sea Isle.

One message that flashed on the screen Saturday proclaimed, “Happy Labor Day.” Although the “Happy Labor Day” message was premature, it was another reminder that summer is just about over.

“That’s depressing,” Yoder said when told of the message.

    Beachgoers take a dip in the ocean.