When people discover that I travel out of state to vacation in a different Ocean City, despite having one right here in Maryland, they do not understand why.
My family has been vacationing in Ocean City, New Jersey over the week of the Fourth of July ever since my mother was a little girl. It was a time for her to connect with her entire family, making memories that they would all look back on and cherish. The annual summer vacation has lived on, and we continue to go each year, back to the same beloved small town.
Here are a few reasons why:
1. Manco & Manco
Their pizza is absolutely out of this world. Throughout our vacation, we eat Manco & Manco at least three times, and nothing can match it (according to my father, that is).2. Kessel’s Korner
We used to have a house on 28th street, and the trip to the best peach sundae and excellent service was just a short walk away, and it was well worth it. Even after the house has been sold, we still make the trip because the experience is still the same, and it is something that makes my entire family happy.3. Family Day
In downtown Ocean City, there are family days on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Every year on our week long vacation we take the Thursday to make a trip downtown and participate in the various activities such as face painting, balloon animals, shopping, and the infamous man on stilts. I am worried that as my smallest cousins are getting older that the tradition will cease, but the experience is one that all should have when visiting over the summer.4. The Clam Bar
Nothing beats the clams served in Somers Point, NJ, right over the bridge outside of Ocean City. My family likes to go and devour multiple dozens of clams with no regrets. Being that is on the water the view is great, but the clams are even better.5. Wave Running
My family has two wave runners, and every summer my uncle drives them down on the back of his truck, doing all of the manual labor to make sure we all have a fun time out on the bay. My favorite part of this tradition is the time when my uncle takes me out alone for some niece and God father bonding, followed by lunch at the Clam Bar. There is something about the breeze on the water and the views you cannot experience from land that opens your eyes.6. The Memories
While OC, NJ might be a dry town, that does not have any effect on my family. The memories I have made with all of my aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins from my mother’s side will last me a lifetime. From attempting to take massive family pictures on the beach, to at least one person getting pooped on by a seagull, to getting overly excited over a game of spoons, it is the one time a year, aside from Christmas, that all of us get to be together, and I would not trade it for the world.
While Ocean City, Maryland might be a fun place to vacation with friends as well, nothing compares to the family and home-like atmosphere that comes with Ocean City, New Jersey.
I believe I can speak on behalf of my entire family when I say that there is nothing we would trade for our time spent at the shore, and I hope that this family tradition never dies.
