Beach Trip

Last month we spent a week with my wife's family in Ocean City, MD. Although we went to the beach last summer just a couple of months after Jack's birth, this year he was old enough to really start taking everything in. He thoroughly enjoyed the sand and surf, preferring to play just at the water's edge. His proud grandfather spent a good portion of our days on the beach capturing Jack's every move in both still and video imagery. The only problem we had was getting Jack to take his afternoon nap on the beach. There simply were always too many things going on for him to settle down in his Pack 'n Play SPORT and go to sleep, so we had to start taking him up to the condo for a few hours after lunch each day. However, nobody seemed to mind taking turns staying up there with him while he slept.

One of the evenings during our trip, we ventured out, just the three of us, for a night on the boardwalk. Jack loved walking around, taking in all the sights, sounds, and people. We had dinner at our favorite boardwalk pizza joint, Tony's. Afterward, we took Jack down to Trimper's Rides, a place near and dear to my heart. Things have changed very little there, especially the indoor rides for the younger children, since I used to be taken there by my parents almost thirty years ago. Jack and I rode the antique carousel and then he rode several of the kiddie rides. We finished off this perfect evening with a stop at Thrasher's Fries. The thing that always amazes me about Ocean City is that as much as it is constantly changing, so many things remain the same. My parents, sister, and I likely carried out the same itinerary one evening a quarter century ago. Perhaps a few decades from now, Jack will do the same with his children. I must admit, being able to share some of my favorite childhood memories with my own kids is one of the best things about being a dad.