Ocean City is a seaside resort in southeastern New Jersey. It’s known for its family friendly atmosphere, and somewhat remarkably has never allowed the sale of alcohol (since it was founded 140 years ago)! We’ve spent the last two nights here.
The beach is about 10 miles long, and has a wide wooden boardwalk extending for about 3 miles. It’s lined with dozens and dozens of shops and attractions, and the entire place is full of people and incredibly busy.
The above photo by the way is KLS’s reaction when the Atlantic water splashed over her feet. Despite extreme temperatures today, the ocean was very cold and almost no one was swimming!
We had a hotel virtually on the boardwalk and spent much of our time here walking back and forth. Today is was dangerously hot (bordering 100F) so we took a siesta in the afternoon to wait until evening when the boardwalk really comes to life.
Almost everything on the boardwalk stays open until very late, and the crowds seemed to double as the sun began to set.
Once it’s dark and the lights start to come on the lines at the food shops are twice as long as they were during the day. There’s a slight night air chill from the ocean, but not enough to affect the long lines at the ice-cream shops.
The arcades and mini golf places start hopping (I played a Rush pinball machine!) and buskers are out in force. Kids run around with light toys and today we even saw Santa and Dr Strange posing with tourists for photos!
The lights on the rides at the amusement parks (there are two on the boardwalk!) are dazzling and the parks are so packed it’s difficult to even walk through them. Here’s a closer look at that intriguing rollercoaster you can see in the above pic:
I didn’t ride it, but apparently it’s one of the best in the USA. And it’s only about 100 feet from the waves!
We’ve enjoyed our brief stay here by the sea, especially the boardwalk after dark. To think that a few weeks ago we’d never even heard of Ocean City! Another reason why road trips like this one can be so much fun 🙂
I’m jealous you got to play the Rush pinny. I also like the sound of “Jilly’s French Fry Factory”. Ocean City looks like big fun!