Why I Love Goin’ Downy Ocean

I love Ocean City, Maryland. I truly do.

I have gone every year since I was a baby, and I can’t imagine not going every summer. I know there are nicer beaches and beaches I have yet to explore, but there is just something about goin’ downy ocean, hon that fills me with excitement.

I am always happy at the beach, and I try to plan the trip so that my birthday is always spent there. What is it about this beach town that I love? I realized this year, which was the first year my son could enjoy it, it is the nostalgia that creates the magic for me. The salty sticky air, the aroma of old bay and caramel popcorn, the scent of sunscreen and saltwater…I love it all and I feel like a carefree kid again. I’ve experienced it as a kid and now an adult with a kid of my own and it’s still one of my favorite places to go.

When I was a kid, my parents used to rent a condo for a week. There are so many photos of me playing for hours in the sand, with neon pink zinc oxide under my eyes like war paint. It was the 1980s. We ate at the Alaskan Stand restaurant and I ordered a grilled cheese every single time and then I rode the go-carts. That restaurant isn’t there anymore and I haven’t had a grilled cheese since I was a kid, but it’s such a vivid memory for me.

My parents are older now and they no longer do their annual beach trip, but when I was a little kid, the beach was always time of happiness and relaxation. My mom and dad sat on the beach for hours, playing cards with their friends, and watching me ride the waves. That is back when I used to go in the ocean past my ankles. I would spend hours in the sand, the ride park and the boardwalk. I always ended the week with a sunburn, a few trinkets from the shops and every so often, a hermit crab that would live about a month. It was the best part of summer.

As I got older, my dad would rent a house in Rehoboth and my siblings would come with their toddlers, who are now all adults. Aunt Tasha rode all the rides and played all the silly games on the boardwalk. There is this one game where you roll a ball (almost like a sit-down version of skee ball) into a hole and the more you score, the faster your little horse goes. I have won that game so many times over the years that my photo should be on the wall. I still can’t walk by without playing and trying to a win a stuffed horse that we do not need. Hearing the bell that I had won was electrifying. I didn’t care about the prize. I just loved the adrenaline rush. There was a period of time where the beach had a few “teen clubs” that I found my way into. Overall jean shorts and Doc Marten sandals were my go-to and of course, a seashell necklace. The times when my parents let me bring a friend are when I usually ended up there. Nothing says cool like leaving a “night club” with your parents waiting outside.

In my 20s and 30s, I went to the beach a lot by myself. It is such a different experience. I stayed in a studio condo, and I did what I wanted. I read novels and took naps. I ate when I wanted where I wanted.

Going to the beach with two kids is pretty much the opposite of that. I was naïve enough to think that I could read a book on the beach and watch my toddler. This year the beach was an entirely different experience. Not only did we almost not fit everything in the car (we skipped the stroller!), but the trip itself has a different vibe. It’s all about the kids, which is I guess how my parents felt when they took me. We eat dinner at 4:30 and we are all wiped after a day in the sun and the ocean. Seeing Ocean City through my son’s eyes is really cool.

The same rides at Fun-land are still there and one day he will graduate up from the little tugboats and he scream on the pirate ship and the teacups like I did for decades! He ate Dumser’s ice cream for the first time in his life and he experienced ice cream the way we should all experience ice cream, eating it with his eyes closed, savoring each bite, letting it dribble all over his face. I can’t wait for him to join his dad and sister in devouring Fractured Prune Donuts, which are made to order in the most incredible flavors like cookies and cream and maple bacon. We didn’t eat there when I was a kid, but I love making new traditions with my family.

I took him to the Northside Park which is my favorite place to walk. I never skip a day when I am there. It’s on the bayside and it’s just a nice, clean, park with a walking path, baseball and soccer fields, and a really nice playground. I could walk around the loop for hours and I always feel at peace. I took my son to the playground there when it wasn’t beach weather and he loved every minute of it. Another new tradition for us!

That’s really what Ocean City represents for me: family, tradition and happiness. During the year, it’s just any other small beach town with pizzerias and crab houses on a long highway of t-shirt shops and hotels, but during the summer, it comes alive.

If you’re not from Maryland, like my husband, you probably aren’t as enthralled with it all. The traffic and the crowds might deter you, but for me, it’s part of the whole beach experience.

We travel to other beaches when we can, but no other place evokes the same nostalgia, and no other beach is like home.

Tasha enjoying Ocean City as a child