Weekend Getaway to Ocean City, Maryland

Ocean City in Maryland is a popular destination due to its beaches and boardwalk with all of the activities. It is a location that is important to us as it is where we met thirty-four years ago and this was our first time going back since that time. It was interesting to see that much of the city was the same as it was years ago, but obviously a lot of it had changed and it has certainly grown over the past few decades. The city resides on a narrow strip of land that has the bay on one side and the ocean on the other, which makes it very scenic. You can watch the sun rise over the ocean side of the city and then watch the sun set over the bay side.

Giant Ferris Wheel
Waves on the Beach
Crowds on the Boardwalk

We spent most of our time walking along the beaches along the ocean and enjoying the different places along the boardwalk. Even though the official beach season has not quite yet started, the boardwalk was definitely quite busy with a lot of tourists. We can only imagine how busy it actually gets during the summer when all of the tourists descend upon the beachside city. There are many resorts along the beach as well, which is where we stayed, but there are also lots of vacation rental properties as well.

Carousel
Mussels in a Spicy Tomato Sauce
Resort on the Beach

In addition to enjoying several wonderful meals while were in Ocean City, we also made sure to get some ice cream and we brought home some saltwater candy as well. Another common item to get while walking along the boardwalk is fresh fudge and you will likely see people walking with small buckets of fries. The biggest draw to the end of the boardwalk are all of the carnival rides and giant Ferris wheel. Although we didn’t go on any of the rides, we certainly saw lots of children and adults enjoying all of the various rides.

Roller Coaster
Tea Cup Ride
Sunset Over the Bay

Besides the boardwalk, the main reason that people go to Ocean City is to enjoy the beach and swim in the ocean. We also saw several surfers out riding the waves as a storm had passed through the evening before. We will definitely go back to Ocean City at some point, but probably not until autumn when the summer crowds have subsided. It was certainly an interesting trip down memory lane for us and brought back lots of wonderful memories.

Unique Art on the Beach
Scallop Risotto
Ice Cream on the Boardwalk
Another View of the Sunset
Games on the Pier

The Taste of Colorado

So Much to See

We went to Denver over the weekend to enjoy the Taste of Colorado, which is an annual event with a variety of vendors. It wasn’t exactly what we were expecting, but it was still a lot of fun. We expected it to be mostly restaurants as well as local breweries and wineries, but it was actually a lot of vendors selling crafts as well as a small carnival. There were restaurants and food trucks, just not as many as we had expected and some of them were chain restaurants. We were able to get beer and wine, but the only brewery was Coors, so there wasn’t a selection of craft beers, which was more of what we were expecting.

One of the Food Vendors

Items for Sale

Dinosaur Costume

Giant Trampoline

Food Trucks

Fun for All

The event itself is free, but you need to buy tickets in order to get food and drinks. It isn’t exactly cheap, but it is typical of these types of events. There was also plenty of free music with different bands playing throughout the four days and each evening there were some fairly big names playing. It was pretty warm over the weekend, so it was nice to sit in the shade and listen to some music at times. We enjoyed hearing the Confluence Music Group, The Afters, Hypnotic Vibes, and Boys II Men.

Sitting in the Park

Confluence Music Group

The Afters

Native American Art

Very Crowded

Plenty of Choices

Obviously we weren’t there with kids, but we did enjoy seeing all of the children riding on the various carnival rides. There was a wide variety of rides for the children to enjoy, including some things for the older kids such as a zip-line and a mechanical bull. The floating hamster wheels looked like they would be a lot of fun. We’re not sure if we can handle all of the spinning and whirling, but the children were definitely enjoying it.

Flying Cars

Having Fun

Ferris Wheel

Mechanical Bull

Hamster Wheels

Zip-Line

We didn’t buy anything while we were there, but there were definitely a lot of interesting crafts available. There was everything from African masks to various types of artwork. If you were looking for interesting trinkets to put in your home, there were plenty of choices. It was great to see all of the different and unique items for sale, but it wasn’t what we were expecting as we thought that the event was going to be all about the food from Colorado.

Masks

Colorful Shirts

Crafts

Whimsical Art

Artwork

Metal Sculptures

We really had a great time, but it was definitely a busy place to be and it was very crowded. In addition to everyone being there for the Taste of Colorado, there was also an anime convention going on, so there were people dressed as their favorite character on every street corner. Living in Colorado Springs, we had never heard of the event before this year, but we will definitely keep it in mind for the future as it was a lot of fun and now we know more of what to expect.

Furry Friends

Dressed Up

Hats for Sale

Obstacle Course

Doing Loops

Giant Owl Statue