When C and I lived in the northern Virginia area when I was studying French before heading to Guinea, it was C’s first time going to school in the United States. She was in the fourth grade. I recall that a friend of hers had traveled to Boston with his family and he sent her a text with a photo of a baseball stadium: Guess where I am? C had no idea. He came back, “I am at Fenway Park! Haven’t you ever been?” And C seemed a bit concerned that she hadn’t. I told her to ask him if he had ever been to the Great Wall of China or the Stone Town in Zanzibar or the Maasai Mara? But while that might be a great game amongst foreign service kids, it did not work so well among the other kids. Now that C is in middle school, where it is not so important to stand out but rather to fit in, C had asked me if we could go to Ocean City, Maryland, a place she had heard about many times from these other kids.
We had already had our major trip to Japan in the summer, and with the prices and temperatures in Ocean City higher than I wanted to deal with, I opted to plan our trip for the long weekend in October. The downside would be that some boardwalk attractions, like the small amusement parks, would be closed, and the crowds and lifeguards would be gone from the beaches. I had only been to Ocean City twice; both were as a child with my friend Jennifer, her mom, and her mom’s boyfriend. I did not like the crowds or spending a long time on the beach then and still don’t. I hoped to find enough for both C and I to get what we wanted out of Ocean City.
The weekend started with the drive. I do so love a drive and the three hours that include the Bay Bridge and the Assawoman Bridge on the final approach to Ocean City is a pretty nice drive. We lucked out with the weather! It was almost summer-like hot, but despite a major car show in town for the long weekend, tourist numbers were far below summer levels. A quick check-in to the hotel, then lunch, and then a drive to the northern end of the Boardwalk at 27th Street. C and I walked the full 2.9 miles of the Boardwalk to its southern terminus at the inlet, stopping to take in the beach, grab some snacks, and do a little shopping. C loves to buy t-shirts and hoodies with locations on them and she was determined to acquire some cute Ocean City attire to show off at school.
At the Boardwalk’s terminus, where most of the famous sights and activities are located, we found several arcades. For me, an arcade, especially if it has skeeball (actually, it had better have skeeball), is just part of the Boardwalk experience. Though C loves arcades I do not often take her as she will clean me out. But for the Ocean City Boardwalk, I made an exception. Afterwards, C got some ice cream and I bought a single size of the famous Thrasher’s fries. And C and I walked the whole way back up the Boardwalk together.
On our second day, I drove the 15 minutes south to the Assateague Island Visitor’s Center. C and I last visited in 2019 during our mid-tour Home Leave from Malawi. Then, I rented a bicycle with a carriage to ride around Chincoteague; this time C had her own bicycle and we would explore the other of the two famous islands on two wheels.
We were just over the causeway to Assateague Island when we caught sight of a small herd of the famous ponies grazing near the water. It was the only time we saw them that day, though we still enjoyed our two-hour ride and a short walk along a nature trail in the dunes alongside the remains of the abandoned Baltimore Boulevard (a once grand idea to build a development on Assateague that Mother Nature destroyed leading instead to the protection of the barrier island). Once again the weather was warm and bright, perfect for a ride. We saw only a little more wildlife, including some migrating monarch butterflies and a black snake that struck out at C riding by when her bicycle surprised the reptile sunning itself on the asphalt (both she and the snake were unharmed).
After our ride, we were ready for some lunch and the siren song of Boardwalk goodies called us. Having only tried the deliciousness of Thrasher’s french fries the day before, C and I completely understood why the combination of fresh-cut potatoes, fried to perfection, and then doused in salt and vinegar, have been a Boardwalk staple since 1929. It was not the healthiest lunch, so we went whole hog and chased our fries with some ice cream from Dumser’s Dairyland, another Boardwalk institution (since 1939). C had been telling me for a few months that she was ready for ghost tours, so we opted to give Trimper’s Haunted House, on the Boardwalk since 1964, a try. It’s a simple dark ride where two occupants sit in coffin-shaped car that follows a track through a building’s first and second floors. It is just dark enough with enough creepy design to keep us guessing. But it was really the two live actors that jump out and grab you that really made the ride. C and I were screaming at the top of our lungs. Boy, that sure was fun! (though C says maybe she isn’t ready for another Haunted House for some time). To calm down our fast-beating hearts, we once again hit the arcade.
Thus, C tried to chicken out of our evening adventure at Go Ape. We had signed up for the Fright Night activity. I did not know quite what to expect having not been to any of the Go Ape locations ever, but I thought it would be ziplining in the dark and perhaps there would be people dressed up to make it a bit scary. Instead, it was a two-level ropes obstacle course, with the lower level about fifteen feet above the ground and the second level probably 30 feet. The entire time one is attached to a safety line, but it does not feel as if one is (at least not to me). When guests asked “what happens if I fall?” the staff would respond, “you don’t fall, you just dangle.” C caught on very quickly and completed all the obstacles on both levels. She even purposely dangled several times. I could only complete the first level; though I climbed up to the second level, I stood paralyzed at what looked like the easiest of my scary choices for a good five minutes before heading back down.
On our final day, we first took an hour walk along the beach. The good weather continued and I wanted to soak it in, with sand between my toes and my lovely daughter by my side. Before leaving town, we made one last stop on the Boardwalk. We visited the Ocean City Life Saving Museum. Though small, it provides a wonderful history of Ocean City, which has delighted tourists since 1875, and the U.S. Life Saving Service, the predecessor of the Coast Guard. The museum is housed in a former USLSS station from 1878. Even C found it somewhat interesting, so that is saying something.
Because I love throwing away money on rigged games of chance and enabling my child to do the same, we once again hit the arcade. We had to get enough points on our cards to finally trade them for some items that we could have purchased for far less than we spent (but with much less fun). With her new stuffed pig and stretchy shark, we headed to the car for the drive home. Another successful foray into Americana under our belts.
The Wanderlust Diaries 