Winter Weekend in Ocean City, Maryland with Kids

As I have stated before, I am a native of Ocean City having been born and raised here as well as living here for the past 46 consecutive years. Therefore, there are probably are not too many establishments that I have not visited, at least once, in and around OC. And, like most natives, I can usually tell anyone that asks where an establishment is located now, what it used to be before, who owned it and other historical facts.

 

However, I had a unique opportunity one recent weekend that turned into quite an unexpected pleasure. My first grandchild was visiting for his 2^nd birthday weekend. OK, no big deal, right? I was confident I could handle this; no problem. We have made every effort to have my grandson visit one weekend a month since he was born. However, keep in mind that my “baby” is 20 years old. Therefore, it had been a long time since I had the need to entertain a two year old in Ocean City…. in the winter. My grandson has visited for long weekends other times of the year and, of course, with the beach, Assateague, Salisbury zoo, local playgrounds, etc; we never ran out of fun and age appropriate things to do. This time, however, I had to pause for thought. As every grandparent knows, the goal is to completely wear out said grandchild so that they SLEEP; therefore physical activity is a must…. But it was COLD.

 

First, I made a call to a long time friend and arranged for us to spend time at a local hotel with an indoor pool that was geared towards kids. In short, it was fantastic. What a great way to get a break from our recent deluge of snow. The pool water was 82 degrees, crystal clear and fun was had by all– including me who got some much needed time in the hot tub while my husband, otherwise known now as “PopPop“, played with the little guy in the pool. We had so much fun and it was just like a summer day at the pool; except that we had to bundle my grandson back up in his snowsuit before leaving!

 

A great morning accomplished, it was time for a quick lunch. We went to our favorite West Ocean City place for pizza – Mione‘s. I do not think I have ever witnessed a two year old eat so much pizza but, then again, it IS awesome pizza at a great price in a family friendly environment.

 

As we were already at the outlets at the White Marlin, we decided to stop in to the Carter’s outlet and others stores for some new clothes for my grandson (that are more to my liking) as well as some new little Reeboks; all at great outlet prices of course. Then, we made a quick stop in the Candy Kitchen for some well-deserved treats as well as Michael’s for some finger painting crafts for later in the weekend. Last, but not least, I took advantage of the chance to visit the Jockey Outlet for the last time as they were closing and offering 90% OFF— what amazing sale. And, I would be remiss not to mention while it was not a day at the zoo, my grandson greatly enjoyed walking thru Petco looking at the fish, turtles, guinea pigs, ferrets, hamsters, parrots, cockatiels, parakeets, lizards and more.

 

After being clued in my another new grandmother, I then took my grandson to Planet Maze located at 3305 Coastal Highway for a couple hours of play in their indoor fun center. For the amazing cost of only $7.21 my grandson got to play on all the many slides, ropes, tubes, tunnels and in the great ball cage. He had an absolute blast and most certainly did not want to leave.

 

With my mission of wearing him out accomplished, he barely made it though dinner at home and bath time before climbing willingly into bed and was asleep in 5 minutes; and stayed that way for almost 10 peaceful hours. Ahhhh…. This grandparent thing is pretty cool after all with a little planning.

 

We played at home Sunday morning but with one more afternoon to go before his leaving, we then took him to Old Pro INDOOR mini golf on 65^th street for his very first game of mini golf. While he definitely had more fun looking at all the sea life then he did actually playing golf, fun was again had by all. Last, but definitely not least, a late lunch was had at the Captain’s Table which was another well kept secret as far as being kid friendly. The service and food are awesome and the kids are neither forgotten nor expected to eat only the usual kid’s meal food. I was impressed to say the least with the kid’s menu.

 

As my grandson gets a little older we will be adding movies and bowling into our winter weekends. However, I just found out that NEXT winter we will be doing our winter weekends with TWO grandchildren in tow. However, I will have no hesitation knowing that I can easily keep them active and occupied in Ocean City, no matter what the temperature outside. Gee, if I did not already live here it would be the PERFECT weekend escape! In all fairness to the rest of Maryland, however, our May weekend has been planned for the Baltimore Zoo and National Aquarium but I cannot wait to hit the beach in Ocean City for our June weekend!