April 02, 2016
The best beach contest is now mano a mano, Philly-area favorite Ocean City, New Jersey, versus Huntington Beach, California.
Ocean City got to Coastal Living magazine’s championship by ousting tiny Tybee Beach, Georgia, in the Final Four online voting last week.
But the championship looks to be formidable fight.
Huntington Beach, in Orange County, has a permanent population of about 200,000 and a temperate year-round climate. It’s the home of a surfing championship and a surfing museum. And it has abundant parks.
Ocean City? Well, about 11,000 people, one state park. Oh, and mummers on the Boardwalk during the summer and the Miss New Jersey Pageant.
RELATED STORY: Ocean City in final four
Ocean City spokesperson Doug Bergen acknowledged it will be a dogfight: He watched the Huntington add thousands of votes in just a few hours in it last face-off.
"If the contest were decided by an electoral college, we'd win by a landslide. We lead in 46 states," he said.
"As of Saturday morning, the tally included almost 13,000 votes from Pennsylvania.
“Ocean City is a part of life for many in the Philadelphia area and throughout the U.S. That's what distinguishes it from the other beaches in the contest.
“It's not just that pretty beach they visited once. It's their beach, said Bergen."
Show your love for Ocean City and vote here. Voting closes at midnight April 3.
