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This year since we weren’t allowed to gather for Thanksgiving we decided to head to Ocean City, MD for a family vacation on the beach.  As with our Chesapeake Bay getaway we booked an airbnb, packed up the car, finished our school day in the car, and were at the beach in time for dinner and the sunset.

Typically we don’t go to Ocean City (or down the ocean as they say) because the heavy traffic makes the trip long and also stressful.  COVID-19 took care of most of the traffic though and we reached our ocean front airbnb in just under three hours.  Just our second stay in an airbnb, we again got exactly what we were expecting.  The condo was about a three minute walk to the beach and our balcony looked out onto the ocean.  What a wonderful greeting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The unit was nice and clean with stunning views of the beach and ocean.  It wasn’t very updated, but had two large bedrooms, two bathrooms, a nice living space, a nice dining area, a well stocked kitchen, and a laundry room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our first morning, we made the mandatory trip to the Fractured Prune.  The walk only took a few minutes and was a nice beginning to the day.  Since it was off-season and we were at the northern end of the city we were able to walk right in without waiting in line (unlike during the summer).  The donuts were great and they even threw in a free one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For lunch we walked across the street to Primo Hoagies.  Everyone chose a sandwich to order online, we walked over to pick them up and brought them back to the condo to eat.  All the subs were very good!  After lunch we all went down to the beach.  The waves were pretty big and we all enjoyed a relaxing afternoon on the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our first night we went a few blocks down the street to the Crab Bag.  The crabs here are good and they have a nice outdoor patio with heaters and a large fireplace.  Perfect for November during COVID-19.  The crabs here are good too.  I also had an Orange Crush and Grapefruit Crush, both were good.  On top of that they also sell Natty Boh for $1.75.  Everyone really enjoyed this night out and Fionnuala doesn’t like seafood.  Gold star for ambiance, Crab Bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our second day was Thanksgiving.  We had brought all of our food with us as grocery stores in Maryland are limited to 50% capacity and we didn’t want to get caught in lines to pick up any missing items.  After a leisurely morning, we headed down to the beach before the wonderful meal that Sarah prepared for us.  Two days in and everyone was noticeably more relaxed.  Exactly what you hope for on a vacation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We began Black Friday with some more beach time.  We had just realized that the sun is stronger in the morning at this time of year.  So even though the air temperature was a few degrees warmer in the afternoon it actually feels warmer in the late morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn’t do much else during the day because we were headed to Winterfest of Lights that night.  I’m so glad we did this too.  Both children loved it.  In a typical year this is a one mile display and you ride on a tram.  This year it was reduced to a half mile circuit that you walked though.  Though there was a large crowd, people did a good job giving space to each other and I never felt uncomfortable.  Entrance was $5 cash for adults, both children were free!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we finished looking at Winterfest of Lights, we headed down the street to Cafe Mirage for dinner. They have a nice outdoor patio with heaters. I had steak and crab, Sarah had fish, Fionnuala had a steak, and Liam had a burger.  All of it was very good!  They also have really good deserts.

Ocean City is known for its boardwalk.  We waited until Saturday to head down since I thought there would be more things open on the weekend.  Thankfully we had a nice, sunny day for it.  We found some free street parking on 12th Street and began our day.  We started our walk to the south (the lower numbered streets).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We we almost reached the the southern end of the boardwalk and stopped in to buy some salt water taffy at Dolle’s Candy.  They’ve been making salt water taffy in Ocean City since 1910!  It felt like the obvious place to stop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped for lunch at Brother’s Bistro.  We all got very good brick oven pizzas except for Liam who got another burger.  All the food was very good.  I also got another Orange Crush.  This one was good too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch we rented a four seat bicycle called a Surrey.  Dandy’s Don’s had the best prices and the bicycle was in much better condition than the one we rented in Virginia Beach last year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to our airbnb for some down time before dinner.  After an amazing last sunset, we headed to the Crab Bag again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We we arrived at the Crab Bag it was packed and looked like a long wait for a table, especially on the patio.  So we ended up at Cafe Mirage again and it was great again.  Everyone had the same thing except me, I had Rockfish Chesapeake (rockfish with a crab cake on top) and the food again was delicious.  A wonderful last day to end a great, much needed vacation.

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