Today we finally went to the shore. We've been here over a year now and though it's only about 80 miles away - about the same distance as the Pacific was from our home in Oregon - we just hadn't made it.
On the recommendation of a neighbor we went to Ocean City and the Boardwalk. I have such fond memories of the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, and I was transported back there as we walked past the funnel cake stands, mini-golf courses, arcades, and salt water taffy shops. This Boardwalk is big - 2.5 miles long - and the kids hated it. Immediately hated it. They also hated the look of the beach itself. They looked out to the water and saw that they weren't in Oregon anymore, baby.
It was just crammed with people. And huge umbrellas. I mean it was like a solid block of umbrellas. We bought our beach passes anyway and walked down. We read the rules: no picnics. No picnic on the beach? Well, what about those people carrying pizzas down from the Boardwalk shops? Ah, I guess it means no picnics of food brought from home...
We went back to the car to get our stuff and eat lunch in the parking lot, then decided to ditch the boardwalk and go a little south to a beach that might not be so crowded. We drove along the main drag, full of pretty little rental houses. It would be fun to stay there and hang out on one of those shady balconies.... someday, maybe.
Well, we couldn't shake the crowds but we found a place and then hit the water. Once again we were reminded we weren't in Oregon anymore. This water was warm! OK, not bathtub warm but not the toe-numbing cold water of the Pacific that only allows a quick run up to the ankles before the whole body starts to shiver from freezing blood coursing through the veins. We played and played in the waves. I am not a big water lover but it was hard to get out when it was time to go. We'll be looking for boogie- or body-boards or whatever they are called now. And for some less-crowded beaches. Someone said we might have to go to North Carolina to find that...
1 comment:
Hey, we traveled the west coast a few years ago, and we were shocked at the temperature of the water. We were there in August and we assumed it would be warm enough to go swimming, but not so. We have pictures of us in Astoria with the kids standing ankle high in the ocean dressed like it was winter. We haven't traveled the upper east coast, but that doesn't sound like fun. Who has ever heard of not being able to bring a picnic to the beach :-(
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