Thousands pack Ocean City's beach ahead of Fourth of July
OCEAN CITY, N.J. (CBS) -- Thousands of people packed Ocean City's beach and boardwalk to celebrate the July 4th holiday.
Lynn and Frank Kolpak drove nearly 100 miles from West Chester, Pennsylvania, to Ocean City for the long holiday weekend.
Lynn Kolpak said she's been coming to Ocean City for decades.
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"As a little kid, the grandfathers used to wear coats and ties on the beach, and we have many pictures of them sitting on lounge chairs in their coats and ties because that was the thing to do way back when," Lynn Kolpak said. "It's kind of fun to look back on that type of attire and today's [attire]; how society has progressed."
Alyssa Barber, her boyfriend and her son Kai drove more than 90 minutes from Franklinville, New Jersey to Ocean City.
"There's a lot of people, but honestly it's not nearly as crowded as I thought it was going to be," Barber said.
John Viehweger runs the boardwalk business TLC's Polish Water Ice, and he's hoping to make memorable profits after a rocky start to the season.
"It really helps out because we had a rough spring," Viehweger said. "May was cold, windy and cold, and half of April and June was rocky weather."
The long Independence Day Weekend marks the first holiday since Ocean City implemented a teenage curfew and boardwalk backpack ban in June.
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"We walked around at night. It's been pretty pleasant actually, so it's been very nice to walk around," Michael Lemma, of Princeton, New Jersey, said. "Nothing crazy with all the stuff that's been happening."
An Ocean City spokesman said their police officers, lifeguards and EMTs have been extremely busy this summer, but he said there have been no significant issues with large crowds of teens gathering on the boardwalk or beach.
Due to the threat of severe weather, the free Ocean City Pops concert scheduled for 8 p.m. Monday will move indoors at the Ocean City Music Pier.
A second free concert remains scheduled for 8 p.m. Tuesday at Carey Stadium.