"Unlocking of the Ocean" kicks off Memorial Day Weekend at Jersey Shore
OCEAN CITY, N.J. (CBS) -- The "Unlocking of the Ocean" in Ocean City on Friday afternoon kicked off the Memorial Day Weekend down the Jersey Shore. Thousands of people have already arrived in Ocean City for the start of the weekend. Many people came early to witness two Ocean City traditions.
With the turning of this ceremonial wooden key, Ocean City officially unlocked the Atlantic Ocean for the summer.
Dennis McCain and his parents drove all the way from Pittsburgh to watch this annual tradition.
"I drove 6 hours and I got about two and a half hours of sleep," McCain said, "and so I'm a little tired right now. But it was definitely worth the trip down here. Basically, running on adrenaline right now."
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Adrenaline was what many of these fully-clothed businesspeople were running on as they marched into the Atlantic Ocean to mark the first swim of the summer.
Among them was Shriver's candy store owner Hank Glaser.
"I've been in it every year," Glaser said. "This is about the roughest so I didn't go in too far because I was going to get knocked over."
If people do get knocked over by the water, Ocean City mayor Jay Gillian urges people to swim close to their nearest lifeguard.
"Please look out for each other," Gillian said. "That's what Ocean City does. We look out for each other and we take care of each other."
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It's that attitude that McCain loves about Ocean City.
"Ocean City to me is like family. It's peace. It's love," McCain said. "It's memories, and it's all those things I have, and I just absolutely love coming down here. It's absolutely my happy place."
It's also Danielle Bosenbark and her 2-year-old son Luca's happy place. She and her son chose to create memories by biking the boardwalk.
"We grew up here so we have a lot of fun family memories that just," Bosenbark said. "Now, we have next generation to bring in and create some more memories here, which is always so nice."
Making May memories her son may eventually pass on to the next generation.
Ocean City says a lot of people will be making memories here. The city expects more than 100,000 people to visit the beach through the weekend.