A Week in Ocean City

A grand house steps away from the beach. (click on photos to enlarge)
TD and I are back from a much-needed vacation in Ocean City, New Jersey, where we rented a nice beach bungalow for a week. TD is from the area and his mother lived nearby so the idea was to spend some time with her but you may recall that she passed away very quickly in June. We were glad to go to Ocean City anyway and visit with his relatives and enjoy its spectacular beach.

Ocean City is actually an island located south of Atlantic City, which is also an island. Methodist ministers founded Ocean City in 1879, and the town is still "dry," with no alcohol sold within its borders. Ocean City is well-known for its big boardwalk, complete with an old-fashioned ferris wheel.

We stayed in the northern "garden district" where there are still many old homes like the big one pictured at the top of this post. Grace Kelly's family, which came from Philadelphia, had a summer home in Ocean City. Writer Gay Talese was born and raised in Ocean City, and owned a family summer home there until his wife, editor Nan Talese, unbeknownst to him, bought another weekend home in Roxbury, Ct.
We rented bicycles for the week, and enjoyed pedaling around looking at the  houses and gardens.

Some of the big family homes made quite a statement, but I also liked the smaller, simpler bungalows. Tendrils of green ivy were painted on the front of this charming cottage.

Many of the houses had awnings over the windows to keep the hot sunshine out of the interior rooms. Awnings came in many striped color combinations but I was drawn to those in tailored grey and white.

This grey bungalow had a handsome "pinstripe" awning, and the yard was surrounded by chic white impatiens plants. I personally like things to be simple like this; I don't like a lot of clashing colors distracting the eye.

We saw Ted's family on several nights, and it was fun to hear them recall old reminiscences. Every day we went to the beach which is long, wide and crowded with aficionados. Whole families, from great grandparents to infants, came down to the beach, with wagons and carts loaded with chairs, umbrellas, lunch, and all kinds of accoutrements. This community takes its beach-going very seriously!
A path to the ocean -

Stairway to heaven -

Clear skies ahead -

One day dark storm clouds rolled in but other than that we had good weather.

Lifeguards on duty -

TD pedals home from the beach -

On the beach at dusk – we are coming up on our 28th anniversary! 

The beach is always relaxing and restorative for us. And being with Ted's family, I learned more about him, even after all these years. It was a quiet, peaceful vacation; one of those places that was hard to leave, both physically and mentally. I hope you are enjoying these August days too.