Recollections of the Beach

Some weeks ago, while I was still in Maryland, HWMBO and I spent a couple days at the beach at Ocean City.  HWMBO had carefully chosen the moment, one that would fall during the break between the major summer holidays because school had begun but just before the last gasps of Labor Day holidaymakers.  As it happened, the timing and even the weather worked out perfectly for our stay!

We stayed in one of the smaller, older hotels that fronted along the Ocean City boardwalk.  We were still some blocks from the amusement park, the pier and some of the more spectacularly tawdry shops, but not so far away that we were practically in Delaware.  There were still people at the beach, in spite of warnings that Hurricane Earl was on the way and could cause some disruption at the very least.  But the few that were there were nothing like the summer crowds.  As we all know now, Hurricane Earl fizzled out and didn't affect the Maryland beaches much, although it had wreaked havoc in the Caribbean earlier.  But at the time we were there, there was still a nervous feeling of unpredictability in the air ... and the surf was impressive at moments.

We spent some time, as we love to do, just walking along the beach.  We even dared to try going into the surf, but there was a strong undertow that literally took our breaths away, so we didn't go in too far, but certainly far enough to get thoroughly wet.

Considering that I hadn't spent much time in the water, I was amazed to see how much sand my bathing suit had retained and how long it took to rinse off in the shower!

The temperature during the day was warm, but nothing like the sultry heat and humidity we had experienced away from the beach during most of the summer.  At night, there was a nice sea breeze and it was quite pleasant to sit on the large front porch of our hotel and to watch and listen to the surf.  But what was also great fun was to wake up in the morning to see people jogging or cycling along the boardwalk in addition to strolling.  Cycling is allowed there until 11 am.  So we decided ro join them.

We had discussed renting bicycles, but we ended up instead with a two-person surrey.  As I found out, despite the fact that we ostensibly had two steering wheels, only one of them worked.  HWMBO, of course, appropriated the working steering wheel as his due.  !! 

So off we headed towards the amusement park and the pier.

At the entrance to the amusement park, there is a Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" exhibition ...

complete with a Jaws-like shark trying - apparently with some success - to break in.

The parking lot next to the pier is almost NEVER this deserted during the summer!

And a blue marlin, caught in the ocean nearby several years ago, gazes eternally towards the surf that it reluctantly left behind after a long and difficult battle.

Here are a few shots to give a flavor of the Boardwalk near the pier.  Still, the area looks uncharacteristically deserted, almost sedate - absolutely nothing like it does during the "high" season.

Here is one of my favorite stops - the Ocean Gallery.  Yes, it is a bit over the top, both outside and inside.  But I have found some marvelous posters and prints inside and had them framed.

Fortunately for my pocketbook, the Ocean Gallery was closed when we were near and HWMBO paid careful attention not to let me back there during our stay.  It was better that way.

We checked out the sand sculpture on our way back to turn in the surrey.

All told, it was a very pleasant stay.  The citizens of Ocean City, who count on earning their livelihoods during the summer and so look forward to the crowds, probably wouldn't agree with visitors like us, who much prefer the quieter interludes.  But we are glad that we went when we did!