August 8-11, 2021
We just spent four days visiting Lauren’s sister, Marion, and brother-in-law, Jeff, at their beach home on the Jersey Shore. This isn’t the shore of Guidos and Guidettes made famous in the MTV reality series. In fact, Ocean City, put us more in mind of the pristine seaside town of the 1988 movie, The Truman Show, starring Jim Carrey. We have never seen such immaculate houses and gardens. Here are a few examples.
Ocean City is famous for its boardwalk which extends for two and a half miles along the beach. On a hot afternoon we walked its complete length there and back. The southern end of the boardwalk is lined with impressively large ornate beach homes.
After half a mile or so we passed by one of the only high rise buildings in the town and started walking by scores of fast food joints, tourist shops and entertainment arcades.
Not surprisingly, during such a hot day, the boardwalk was pretty quiet with most people preferring to enjoy the adjacent beach, as evidenced by the hundreds of umbrellas that we could see in the distance.
After a long hot walk, it was nice to enjoy a cool drink and the view from Marion and Jeff’s deck.
In the evening, the boardwalk is a much more crowded and much more magical place.
Adding to the excitement was a parade by a Mummers club marching band. These clubs are a Philadelphia institution, competing for glory in the Mummers Parade held each year on New Year’s Day. The clubs make their own elaborate costumes and perform routines while playing music guaranteed to make you smile and tap your feet. The parade traces back to the mid-17th century and blends elements of European and African heritages. The first official parade was held on January 1, 1901.
On the next day, we decided to join the beach crowd.
This gentleman found himself a quiet spot to watch the surfing.
Speaking of surfing, this is the first time that we’ve seen a police vehicle carrying a surfboard.
Mal and Lauren 