Julie Scharper

1 week ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Julie Scharper

A friendly Ocean City waiter looked at us blankly when we asked what new things there were to do in town. Finally he said, “Have you ever been to Assateague?”Yes, we have. If you regularly vacation in Ocean City, it’s easy to feel like you’ve done it all before. That’s part of the draw, of course. There’s something comforting about riding the same ferris wheel and eating the same frozen custard you did as a kid. But sometimes you want to do something a little different. Especially on a rainy day.

1 week ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Julie Scharper

Each summer, as my dad drove our family across the Route 50 bridge into Ocean City, I unrolled the back window and stuck my head out like a dog. Sea gulls whooped overhead, sunlight flashed on the bay and the ferris wheel spun slowly at Trimper’s Rides in the distance. The breeze sprayed a scrim of salt on my skin. “Ocean City, here we come!” I would shout to my parents, siblings and grandparents. As a child, I dreamed all year of this moment. My sister and I began writing a packing list in March.

1 week ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Julie Scharper

If you have never wondered what to do if someone has a high fever or a serious sunburn or a broken bone at the beach, you are probably not a parent. But if you are caring for babies or young children, you have probably considered, or dealt with, some of these issues. And if you have a teen heading off to Senior Week, you will likely be lying awake at 3 a.m. fretting about all sorts of things.

1 week ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Julie Scharper

The summer he was 19, Joe Kroart threw some paintings in his car and drove down Route 50 to his childhood paradise, Ocean City. It was the mid-1960s and several stately old hotels with tall pillars and wide porches still presided over the Boardwalk. North of 40th Street, there were few buildings and the sand dunes seemed to stretch on forever. The old-timers still reminisced about the hurricane that sliced open the inlet.

1 week ago | thebaltimorebanner.com | Julie Scharper

There are three things I look for in a restaurant at the beach: good seafood, a nice salad (surprisingly hard to find in Ocean City), and anything to trigger a pause in our children’s ongoing arguments. Our kids, ages 12, 9, and 7, have intense and idiosyncratic tastes. Our son could eat wings for every meal, but is horrified by tomatoes. Our older daughter’s favorite food is lettuce with blue cheese dressing, which she often eats for breakfast.