Ocean City NJ Vacation - Preserving the Memories Part I

Ross and I spent the week of August 16th-23rd with Jen, Derek and the grandkids in Ocean City NJ.
I am writing these next few posts to preserve precious memories for my daughter, son-in-law and grandkids and maybe even great-grandkids.
 
Part I

We had near prefect weather each day.   The house we stayed in was only three short three blocks to the beach.
We were on the south end of the island.   It’s much quieter there because it’s further away from the busy boardwalk area.
We had our own little neighborhood joints, though.  Mike’s Seafood

was on the corner.  Mike’s has a fresh fish market, if you want to cook your own.  Otherwise, you can enjoy one of their prepared platters and eat on picnic tables under the covered patio.  Their biggest business, however,  is their take out.  We had a good vantage point from our place watching people as they walked back to their cars loaded down with shopping bags filled with styrofoam containers.

Every evening Bella and Ryan would look out across the street to see how long the line was at A la mode Ice Cream Parlor.







Then, one block from the beach there was Ross’ favorite, Mallon’s Bakery.
They are famous for their sticky buns.  Ross was pretty bummed out when the young lady behind the counter informed him that you had to buy six of one kind.  He was hoping for a variety by mixing it up with one of each kind.
But they don’t sell them individually.
If you are interested they deliver all over the country.

One of the best things about the house we rented was the large covered front porch.  It was always cool and breezy.  Since it faced a fairly busy street, we were provided with great people watching entertainment.

Jen, Derek, Bella, Ryan and Jackson would head on over to the beach every day.   Just like most of the families with kids, preparation included loading up the beach cart.

Beach Fun

In the evenings it was boardwalk time.  There are mandatory stops to make on the OC boardwalk.  For the kids, and kids at heart, of course it’s the amusement area rides.

And it has to be Johnson’s Popcorn, Kohrs Brother’s Custard, and Manco & Manco Pizza.

One day, as I was sitting on the porch, I overheard a conversation between a woman and her grandson, as they were walking by.
The little boy, who appeared to be around 6 or 7, was very excitedly asking his grandmother if she would take him to the boardwalk later that evening.
“Grandma, grandma, please, please can we go on the rides later?  Please?
The grandmother stopped and knelt down so that she was eye level with the boy.
In a serene and calm voice, she responded, “Johnny, dear, let’s just stay in the moment and enjoy our walk, okay?”

Good advice, grandma.  Very good advice!

I hope to have a guest contributor help me with one of these posts.  It will be interesting to get her perspective of our vacation.

To Be Continued...