Ocean City's Playground for Adults

When my husband and I stayed in Ocean City, MD for Labor Day weekend, we saw a lot of families and children enjoying the beach, candy stores and surf shops. The walkable destinations, casual restaurants in close proximity and games along the boardwalk are clearly conducive to summer fun for all age groups. Some families have been coming here for generations and have taken part in some of the summertime traditions this boardwalk is known for - like Thrasher's fries that you're not allowed to put ketchup on and medium lemonades the size of water buckets.

While young urban couples won't find much in the way of luxury resorts here, they can load up the car or caravan with friends for a fun, beachy weekend escape for under $500 each. Many of the hotels along the boardwalk are old, meaning they were built during an era of small scale size = that'll do just fine. So you'll find a lot of 300 square foot rooms with tiny queen beds for close to $300 per night with a two night minimum during peak summer months. The good news is that they are close to everything and right on the beach. Most, but not all, have pools, albeit small ones either facing the street or facing the beach.

We stayed at the Dunes Manor hotel, and I think we were the youngest couple there by at least a decade. However, we found this old fashioned property to be quite charming. Located on the beach, about one block after the boardwalk ends, this Victorian style hotel gives every room an ocean view, has two bars on the decks facing the beach (one of which has a happy hour beginning at 2 pm), and serves tea in the same lobby where a piano man entertains the gray haired ladies at night on the weekends. The fact that they serve tea and cookies at 3 pm is just too cute.

Their Victorian Room Restaurant has outdoor seating that makes for a perfect brunch overlooking the beach on the veranda. Breakfast here was much more enjoyable than at the Dough Roller. One tradition everyone should check out is eating a table full of crabs on the bay at sunset. An excellent place to do this is at Bahama Mamas. This award-winning crab shack is located at the end of Wicomico Street and gets packed around sunset. Another must-eat-at place on the bay is Mackys, where they set up tables in the sand among the tiki torches and the bar is a scene in itself. Try to arrive before the sun sets to get the most out of this balmy view.

If the daily beach, lunch, pool, bar, dinner routine gets old, I highly suggest shaking things up a bit by going to Seacrets on West 49th Street. The "About Us" section of their web site is a video clip of the owner standing amongst palm trees that canopy bar height tables on a sand floor. He's holding a cocktail and describing how he wanted to create a place that transports visitors from Ocean City to Jamaica simply by entering the building. I think he accomplished it. Seacrets reminds me of those all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean, like Sandals, except much, much larger and diverse crowds.

This large venue holds several areas for various types of music at night, including live reggae on the main stage. I suggest wearing sandals or wedges because the girls trying to dance in stilettos looked like an accident waiting to happen. You have to over 21 to get in at night, but there were folks my parents age enjoying themselves as well. During the day we saw parents with small children arrive for a late lunch as we sat on the beach watching bikini clad waitresses carry trays full of drinks out to the customers lounging in large rafts on the water in the bay. You might think to yourself that, other than the pungent seaweed odor, you could practically stay here. Don't. There are hotel rooms affiliated with the establishment, but they're not kept in the best condition, just like anyone who is perpetually on Spring Break. Overall though, I would definitely recommend this place to friends and will likely visit again soon.