Saturday, September 6th
The drive down to Ocean City, Maryland was longer than expected because remnants of hurricane Hannah dumped heavy rains and blew gale force winds across the highways. Megan slept really well and was very good and quiet, though. We stopped to visit Jamie, Stephanie, and Rosemary (and saw their cat Fireball) for dinner in their new home in Newark, Delaware. Rosemary is learning more and more sign language. I also got to see the University of Delaware campus, somewhat flooded.
When arriving that night at Charlie’s place at Sunset Landing, the winds off of the Bay were so strong I could barely climb the stairs. We were treated to a very nice, spacious condominium decorated with Charlie’s favorite lighthouse artwork and “puffy pillows” to rest on. The living room deck overlooks the bay and is mostly calm and full of geese, cranes, herons, ducks, and plovers, which Megan loved to watch. In the distance, Jet skis zoomed around and Para-sailors floated above. Sunsets were awesome.
The day cleared up nicely and it was not too hot, so we took a 20 minute drive to Assateague Island. We were told that it was no guarantee that we would see the wild horses, but we were pleasantly surprised to see two herds on both sides of the drive in. When walking to the beach, we encountered four more brown horses standing right at the edge of the tide. The surf was rough, probably from the storm, but the water is warmer than it is in Maine. Horse poop is everywhere, but that didn’t stop a nice drive and walk through the beach at the park.
The coastal highway is full of tall hotels and amusements and reminded us of Las Vegas. There are more mini golf courses here than anywhere I’ve been, in the styles of : “Galaxy”, “Pirate”, ”Maui”, “Garden of Eden”, “Medieval Castle”, “Dragon”, etc. There are plenty of places to drink for adults as well. We walked the boardwalk in the late afternoon when shadows from the buildings kept us cool. It is like a circus with games and fried foods.
Monday, September 8th
Today is our beach day. We went back to Assateague Island and saw some white and brown horses and a pony. Down further, a herd of 15 to 20 were at the water’s edge. I tried to unsuccessfully put together the “Nantucket cabana” we borrowed from Cathy and Frank, but broke it and happily resorted to a beach umbrella for shade. Megan slept while I tried out the body board on the surf. I was dragged under by rip tides and stronger than expected waves at least 10 times, never successfully riding a wave like the abundant surfers had been. It will be a long time before I get all of the sand out of my swim shorts.
For dinner, we went to Fager’s Island restaurant which is within sight of our deck and I had my new favorite food: a salmon BLT on flat foccacia bread with pesto mayo. Great food and a spectacular view of the setting sun made this a nice end of a long beach day.
At night, we went out for ice cream at Dumser’s and had coconut and chocolate/peanut butter sundaes. I poked my head in at “Seacrets” night club, but Christina stayed with Megan outside. We would have been amongst the youngest of the crowd anyhow…
At night, we went out for ice cream at Dumser’s and had coconut and chocolate/peanut butter sundaes. I poked my head in at “Seacrets” night club, but Christina stayed with Megan outside. We would have been amongst the youngest of the crowd anyhow…
Tuesday, September 9th
Today started off cloudy with rain forecasted – a good day to rest from yesterday’s beach activities and last night’s emergency run for saline nasal spray for Megan. She is either teething or irritated by the beach sand and spray. Christina and Megan did some outlet shopping and I started these first blog entries. I also got some work done that I had to do.
After the rain, we visited the boardwalk again during the afternoon and saw some dolphins at the inlet where the sea meets the bay! For dinner, we decided that there was no where nicer than at Fager’s Island and we enjoyed another great meal.
At night, I ran the boardwalk from 26th street to the main entrance at 1st street and back (it measures approximately 3.5 miles round trip). I was the only person jogging tonight and one drunken heckler said something to the effect of “…I don’t know what you ******* did, but this man sees you….” – he must have thought I stole something and was making a run for it.
After the rain, we visited the boardwalk again during the afternoon and saw some dolphins at the inlet where the sea meets the bay! For dinner, we decided that there was no where nicer than at Fager’s Island and we enjoyed another great meal.
At night, I ran the boardwalk from 26th street to the main entrance at 1st street and back (it measures approximately 3.5 miles round trip). I was the only person jogging tonight and one drunken heckler said something to the effect of “…I don’t know what you ******* did, but this man sees you….” – he must have thought I stole something and was making a run for it.
Wednesday, September 10th
Today is another travel day – we took a trip to Baltimore to see the Aquarium. We crossed the 4 mile Chesapeak Bay Bridge on this beautiful day. We did not have time to stop in Annapolis.
The inner harbor is very clean and visitor friendly – we would definitely return here. We saw Camden Yards (where the Baltimore Orioles baseball team plays, and the Baltimore Ravens football team stadium). The shops and restaurants along the harbor were top notch.
The inner harbor is very clean and visitor friendly – we would definitely return here. We saw Camden Yards (where the Baltimore Orioles baseball team plays, and the Baltimore Ravens football team stadium). The shops and restaurants along the harbor were top notch.
The aquarium was a lot of fun – besides all the fish (sharks, sting-rays, dolphins), they also had an open area with tropical birds, a frog display, and hands-on areas for kids.
Thursday, September 11th
The forecast is for rain again tomorrow. Bike week in Ocean City officially started today – it will probably be a crazy weekend. Weary from the prospect of more travel, the fact that Megan (and we) had not slept well because of her ongoing congestion and possible clogged tear duct from the beach, and hoping for a weekend to recover from vacation, we decided to leave two days early. We also missed Bailey, but Gram (GiGi) and Gramp (PopPop) Rickert took good care of him, as usual.
So, this ends our first long-distance vacation together as a family with Megan. Thankfully, she was as well behaved as was” infantly” possible while not feeling 100%. We definitely enjoyed the nature.
Thanks to Charlie and Don Feuerstein for this nice vacation at your place in Ocean City!
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