August 13 - 20, 1999
Cast: Me (John), My wife Andie, Natalie (6) & Charlotte (2)

We drove from Westchester County, New York (25 miles north of New York City) to Ocean City. According to MapQuest the drive was 279 miles, and my odometer bore this out. The drive down was uneventful, though a bit slow. I had to go to work for a few hours that morning (my boss had been on vacation the previous 2 weeks and we were in the middle of a big project, so he wanted to meet with me before I left), and I took a train from my office in the City to White Plains, where Andie picked me up. From there we went across the Tappan Zee Bridge, caught the Garden State Parkway South, connected to the New Jersey Turnpike South, then took Routes 113 & 1 South through Delaware to Ocean City. We left White Plains at about 11:30 and arrived in OC at about 7:00 that evening. OC is just south of the Delaware border, part of a slender string of islands that stretch from Delaware to Virginia.

We didn't have any real specific plans for the trip beyond just relaxing. One thing we did know we wanted to do was to visit Assateague Island, just south of OC. Natalie is a horse lover and we hoped to see some of the island's famous wild ponies. (Assateague is just north of Chincateague, made famous by the story "Misty of Chincateague").

We checked into our condo first thing, which entailed going to the real estate management office, paying the balance and getting the key. Since it was well past the kid's suppertime we went straight out for supper.

We settled into our OC vacation routine, which consisted of rising early, having a leisurely morning, doing something until lunchtime, napping after lunch then going out for supper.

The weather was not perfect while we were there, but it was certainly passable. Most days were quite hot, and the skies were usually a bit hazy. There was rain our first two nights, but not until we were in for the night. Also, on our last night there we were treated to an amazing thunderstorm.

Ocean City is a narrow island. The main road into OC is Route 50, with a bridge that crosses the harbor from the Maryland mainland and deposits drivers on Division Street. South of Division lies the Inlet and OC's impressive Boardwalk. North of Division are numbered streets that start at 1st just north of Division and run up to about 150th. There is one main drag, Coastal Highway, that runs down the center of the Island from south to north.

Ocean City is a terrific place to vacation with kids. Neither Andie nor I were familiar with it, and we were somewhat surprised by how built up it is. The entire island is covered with hotel, motels and vacation properties, as well as a vast array of amusements. There were literally dozens of mini-golf courses, several amusement parks and water parks, and many restaurants to choose from. The one thing the town is lacking is shopping. There is the usual assortment of souvenir stands and resort wear shops, but no real upscale shopping. In fact, overall OC has a very working-class vibe about it. I think there is the potential for it to become a more upscale resort I think, but as of now the town seems comfortable catering to a more cost conscious crowd.

Click on the links at left for some more detailed thoughts on specific aspects of Ocean City.