Ocean City - trip wrap

We had a great time in Ocean City this summer.  Quinn spent hours crashing into waves.  Grandma spent lots of time searching for shells.  Jack loved jumping (and jumping and jumping and jumping) into the pool.  Daddy ran barefoot on the shore several miles two early mornings and followed up with ocean plunges both times thereafter.  Cindy took care of everything else.

We had a spacious 8th floor condo with a great wide view of the beach.  There was a never ending warm breeze that we all enjoyed from it.  The waves tumbling onto the shore made it an easy place to catch a few winks.    

We invited Grandma Jeanne on this trip.  Like us, she enjoyed riding in a speed boat and visiting Assateague Island, where a herd of wild horses roams freely.  They are short and stout creatures, having adapted to existing on salt marsh plants.  According to the literature provided by the National Park Service (the island is a federal park), there are only 150-300 horses on the island.  It seemed like so much more because they were everywhere.  One even crapped right behind our SUV.  The action photo is below.

Assateague Island sits between the ocean and two bays, Chincoteauge and Sinepuxent.  The bays are still quite salty but amazingly shallow.  Had the boys and I wanted to, we could have waded up to 1/2 mile or so to an island.  The Bay water was as warm as a bathtub.  A gentleman we chatted with briefly showed us his haul of clams straight from the bay waters.  Quinn and I enjoyed watching their tiny brothers and sisters burrow into the oceanside shore with each wave rolling in and back out to sea.

Quinn and Jack both let Daddy take them into the ocean water over their heads.  We were all pushed underwater by considerable waves.  They boys were surprisingly resilient given the violence of the water but both came out with a new found respect for the power of the ocean.

Cindy and Bryan enjoyed three nights of local seafood.  It goes great with wine, beer, mixed drinks and shots of alcohol. 

Grandma even tried a few nibbles of crab and shrimp.  She was okay with it. Tequila - not so much.

 The boys achieved a healthy toasty look.  Daddy, despite an honest effort to remain burn free, could not escape some intense reddening.  He looks great now though.

Quinn spent so much time playing in the waves that his legs chafed costing him a day or two without the ocean.

Jack wowed us with his disdain for "lame" kiddie rides.  He asked for - and got - his ride on a roller coaster.  He was just tall enough to enjoy a bonafide coaster complete with butterfly inducing dips and screaming teenage girls in the car behind us. Quinn was in disbelief.  We all were.

Jack also had the chance to try out a kid-sized zipline and climbing challenge.  He was awesome.  Too bad the photos did not come out as well.

There are more nice photos below including family portraits and candid shots of us all.  Ocean City, MD has given the boys some wonderful memories and we would love to spend time there with you all.

Not bad for using the self-timer

Looks like Grandma thinks she is one of the showcase showdown models.

Can't a guy get some privacy?

Jack was really sleeping like this.  He was worn out.

This is the aforementioned "action" shot.

Dinner

With the the trip winding down, Cindy and I needed one last fix of the local delicacy - a pile of steamed and seasoned crabs.  Daddy's lips were sunburned making the dinner a little more of a challenge but it was well worth it.  We simply cannot eat this at home.

A final wrap up posting will come when we arrive home.  There are some nice photos of us on our camera awaiting upload.

Today's Jet boat ride

What goes 53 mph on Assateague Bay with only a minimal amount of shrieking? Our family in a "jet boat" courtesy of Bayside Rentals in Ocean City, MD. While we didn't make it to 53 mph, we certainly went fast enough to get Jack's rear end out of his seat, buck and bounce over waves and give Grandma Jeanne a few more white hairs. We had the run of 8 square miles and opened up the throttle quite a bit.

I only had to speed read 2 1/2 pages and sign several waivers and - presto! - I was officially deemed a licensed Maryland boater.

Everyone is having a great time and no one wants to go home.
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First day at Ocean City

I will try to post more in the days to come but I need to adjust settings on Cindy's phone.  Grandma and the boys are having a blast.  Both boys enjoy being pounded by the waves at the shore.  Both also got pushed underneath after going out with me a bit and came out well from the experience but declined to repeat it.  Lots of fun stuff to come.
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