By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
On a steamy day that saw temperatures hovering in the 90s and the heat index soaring into the low 100s in much of New Jersey, Lauren Farrell used a word that seemed unthinkable.
“Cold” is how she described feeling Saturday afternoon.
Although the weather was broiling in the inland parts of the state, Farrell and her family were lounging on the 59th Street beach in Sea Isle City, mere steps from the ocean.
A cool ocean breeze, air temperatures in the high 70s and a water temperature of 60 degrees were the source of Farrell’s feeling “cold” pronouncement.
Yet she noted that she preferred to feel a little chilly at the shore compared to the prospect of having to endure the oppressive heat and humidity at her home in Abington, Pa.
“It’s a lot hotter there,” she said, emphasizing the words “a lot.”
Kathy Hunter and her daughter, Lauren Farrell, are joined by family members on the 59th Street beach.
Farrell has a summer home in Sea Isle on 59th Street. Sitting next to her on the 59th Street beach was her mother, Kathy Hunter, who also lives in Abington, Pa. Unlike her daughter, she didn’t seem to mind the cooler weather on the beach.
“Heavenly,” Hunter said. “It’s not hot and humid. It does feel wonderful, because it was so hot when we came down (from Abington) yesterday.”
Throughout Sea Isle, the beaches were busy Saturday for the extended Fourth of July weekend. If they weren’t hitting the beaches to escape the muggy weather inland, many people took to the water on boats, kayaks and paddleboards.
Mason Murphy, 11, and his 9-year-old brother, Miles, were sharing a paddleboard at Sea Isle’s kayak launch site on the bayfront at 60th Street. Joining them on another paddleboard were Colin Norris, 10, his brother, Shane, 8, and 5-year-old sister, Brynn.
In the foreground, Brynn, Colin and Shane Norris enjoy the bay with Miles and Mason Murphy on the other paddleboard.
All of the Murphy and Norris kids were having fun. At one point, Miles slipped off the paddleboard and splashed into the bay.
“It’s a little bit cold, but refreshing,” Miles said of the water.
Asked what he would be doing if he had stayed at his home in Chalfont, Pa., in the hot weather, Miles said he would probably be stuck inside in the air-conditioning.
“This is good. It’s way better,” he said of being at the shore.
Danielle Norris, who is friends with Miles and Mason’s mother, Morgan Murphy, said it is great having a summer home in Sea Isle – especially on days when it is much cooler at the shore.
“It would be awful at home trying to keep the kids busy and cool,” Norris said of the hot weather at her residence in Chalfont, Pa.
“Here, we can bob back and forth between the beach and bay, and everybody is happy,” she added.
Savannah Jack, Courtney Hearon, Charlie Fischetto and Jason Hearon spend some relaxing time on their boat docked at the marina.
Keeping cool was exactly what Jason Hearon, his wife, Courtney, and their friends, Charlie Fischetto and Savannah Jack, were doing while relaxing on the deck of their boat docked at Sea Isle’s municipal marina on 42nd Place.
The Hearons, who live in neighboring Dennisville, were happy to flee the heat in their mainland community.
“Heavenly. It’s the breeze here. For us, we don’t have the breeze at home,” Courtney Hearon said of the cooler temperatures in Sea Isle.
Savannah Jack called the sultry weather “suffocating.”
The deck of Jason Hearon’s 30-foot boat, “Big Mel,” named after his father, Melvin “Meb” Hearon, provided some shade from the blazing sun. Jason also took cover under an umbrella on the boat deck.
“We’re just relaxing and having a good time,” he said.
Sea Isle's beaches are busy for the extended Fourth of July weekend.
