By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Kathy O’Brien and about 25 of her friends snacked on popcorn, shortbread cookies and corn chips during their beach party Monday afternoon at 44th Street.
But there were two other things that the group shared that made it obvious that this was no ordinary beach party in Sea Isle City – goofy looking sunglasses and “eclipse donuts.”
Just a little after 2 p.m., everyone put on their solar glasses and peered high into the sky to enjoy a spectacular celestial show that was out of this world.
“Oh, my gosh, the sun is a bright yellow,” Sea Isle resident Donna Scullin exclaimed while looking at the eclipse in the early stages. “It’s amazing. It’s cool.”
O’Brien, who lives in Sea Isle, organized the eclipse party on the beach. Normally, she and her friends socialize together over games of pickleball on Sea Isle’s courts.
“We’re mostly pickleball players. But I had an idea of all of us meeting on the beach to watch the eclipse,” O’Brien said.
The friends brought their beach chairs, food and comically styled solar glasses. O’Brien ordered some solar glasses from Amazon to make sure everyone in the group would have protective eyewear.
Another member of the group, Thea Jackson, of Cape May Court House, handed out “eclipse donuts” that she baked. Jackson’s tasty creations featured a piece of chocolate that represented the moon on top of some white, frosted donuts that represented the sun.
Some members of the group did some research to find out when the eclipse would start, when it would reach its peak and how much of the sun would be covered by the moon in South Jersey.
“I heard that at some point it might get pretty dark – 90 percent, right? Lori Branco, of Sea Isle, said of the amount of sunlight blocked by the moon during the peak of the eclipse.
The mild weather cooperated to give everyone a good look at the eclipse. There were mostly sunny skies with some wispy clouds overhead of Sea Isle.
The beach wasn’t the only prime viewing area for the eclipse. On the Promenade, the downtown sidewalks and outside their homes, people all over Sea Isle were transfixed by the first solar eclipse in the continental United States since August 2017. The cosmic magic began at 2:09 p.m., as the moon began to blot out the sun.
At the maximum coverage of the eclipse at 3:24 p.m., the sun resembled a thin crescent moon shining in the afternoon sky. The sky gradually faded into a dusk-like grayness.
“It’s amazing. It’s just a little sliver of the sun,” Caroline Fediw said while watching the moon block the sun.
Fediw, of Somers Point, and her friend, Tom Sullivan, watched the action unfold overhead from the oceanfront Promenade. Sullivan, a videographer who lives in Sea Isle, captured footage of the eclipse using a drone and special pair of goggles.
“It’s spectacular,” Sullivan said. “These goggles allow you to fly with the drone, just like you’re a seagull.”
The eclipse ended at about 4:35 p.m. in New Jersey’s skies. The last solar eclipse to cross the United States was on Aug. 21, 2017. The next solar eclipse in the United States that will see the moon completely block out the sun will occur on Aug. 23, 2044.
“I’m hanging in there for it. I’m making a pledge,” Kathy O’Brien joked of watching the next solar eclipse and throwing another beach party to enjoy it.
