OCEAN CITY, Md. -- Work crews were kept busy on Thursday, clearing piles of sand from across the Ocean City boardwalk. Some of those piles were a few feet high, forcing the heavy machinery to get brought out.
From tractors to shovels and wheelbarrows, it was an all hands on deck effort to clear off the boardwalk as quickly as possible. The two large front loaders were focused closer to the beach, picking up sand and dropping it back off.
"The grandkids love walking on the piles and watching the big tractors moving around and stuff so it’s been a good boardwalk day today," said Carol Romberger.
Romberger has been visiting Ocean City since she was a kid. Despite her seasoned status as an Ocean City tourist, she said this is a spectacle unlike any she has seen before.
"Only on television, never in person have we seen the sands this high," said Romberger.
Kenny Graham, who is visiting from Savannah, Georgia, couldn't help but whip out his phone to capture a few photos.
"First time I’ve ever seen the sand on this boardwalk, never seen it like this before," said Graham. "We were trying to realize was this all just from the wind and storm last night and we said it can’t be, but yeah it’s amazing to see that much."
While the tractors handled the tall tasks, there is always room for the little guys. Sand mounds don't pick favorites, so the boardwalk playground was no exception to Mother Nature's wrath.
A few guys were either shoveling sand over the playground fence or shoveling sand into a wheelbarrow.
"They got equipment everywhere they’re trying to keep it clean so it’s not a big deal," said Graham.
Kids on the boardwalk certainly took advantage of the makeshift sandboxes, which there were plenty of. Toddlers were tossing sand up in the air, or at each other.
Parker, his brother Cooper and Mom and Dad are in town for a baseball tournament. They took a detour to the beach before the games get underway.
"I was just expecting to see maybe a little sand, but not this much," said Parker.
One thing the sand did put a damper on today was the boardwalk tram. With all of the sand in the way, the tram was shut down for the day. Ocean City Transportation said once the skies clear and all the sand is gone, the tram will be back up and running.