Surrey with the Fringe On Top

It's no secret that I love the Ocean City boardwalk. Yes, it can be fun to stroll down the boardwalk to snack, shop and people watch. But for me, a trip to the boardwalk is more about the journey than the destination.

My goal for the summer is to ride the boardwalk from end to end, a six mile round trip, from where it starts at 23rd Street all the way to the North end of the island. Will has made the trip a few times with his buddies next door. Carter, Charlotte and I usually make it to about 12th Street, where Carter declares that he is simultaneously tired and thirsty. Tired legs are an insurmountable obstacle to a stubborn 4-year-old. Will usually catches us on his loop back to 23rd Street, finding me walking alongside my cruiser, with Carter sitting on my bicycle seat, Charlotte in the back, and Carter's two-wheeler precariously balanced on my front basket. Old ladies cluck their tongues, and knowing mothers who have been there and done that give me crooked smiles. Will likes to pass us with a smirk and impatiently wait for us at the end of the trail.

With the two boys in camp last week, I thought Charlotte and I would finally make it to the end of the boardwalk. We made it to Oves Restaurant, close, but not quite, to the end. When she started to fuss, I reluctantly turned around, knowing there was still unexplored territory ahead.

Make no mistake, the boardwalk is just as fun to explore by foot. When Mom was visiting last week, she tested out a new pedometer. Our strolls on the boardwalk alone helped us log way over 10,000 steps a day. Of course, the adrenaline rush from jumping out of the way of racing bikers, sweaty runners, wayward surreys and swooping seagulls turned our leisurely steps into more of an aerobic workout.

But is there any better way to tour the Ocean City boardwalk then by surrey? Nope, no fringe on these surreys, but who wouldn't feel like singing while pedaling this part bicycle-built-for-4, part Flintstones car? I dream of one day having my own surrey that I'll park in the garage and use to pedal us all to the steps to the beach or to haul our kayaks to the bay. I have my someday-surrey already decorated in my dreams in red, white and blue for the annual 4th of July parade, in which, one day, I will win first prize.



For now, I'll settle to rent one. My friend Jen and I (of Uncle Bill's fame) decided, after our ill-fated restaurant trip, that we'd take all seven of our children on a surrey ride. The babies rode up front in the baskets. Will sat in front, next to Jen and me, the brave captains of the surrey, where he was always willing to lend a hand by unexpectedly pulling on the brake or "helping" steer. The remaining four crammed into the back, squished together as we pushed the surrey occupancy limits and tested the strength of our flip-flopped feet.


The hardest part of riding a surrey is the trip up and, as you might imagine, the trip back down, the ramp up to the boardwalk. We realized halfway up the ramp that with only two adults pedaling, we couldn't make it up the ramp. I'm not sure how we did it, but Jen and I managed to hop out of the surrey and muster up all of our inner mom strength to push that vehicle--and its wiggling, screaming occupants--up that ramp.

Surreys aren't permitted to explore the boardwalk in its entirety--only from about 14th to maybe 4th Street where the walkway is at its widest. We used part of our hour rental pedaling down the ocean side, enjoying the breeze and laughing at the attention we attracting. (Do onlookers smile because the kids are cute or because they pity for us? We're still not sure.) Yet, those demons Hungry and his evil brother Thirsty struck--all 7 kids. We tried to satiate these persistent brothers with hot, fried donuts and icy lemonade from the food court, while the surrey rested in front of a not-yet-open Mack & Manco's Pizza.

Hungry and Thirsty were soon chased away by other well-known twins, Hot and Tired. (Perhaps you know them, as well?) We loaded back onto the surrey and pedaled back down to our starting point. The trip back down the ramp was as frightening as the trip up. I held onto the handbrake, several of the kids squeezed their eyes shut, and we shouted warnings of our uncontrolled descent to the unsuspecting bikers in our path.

Whether by bicycle, surrey or by foot, I've explored almost every inch of the OC Boardwalk--with the exception of those elusive last few blocks. Yet, each time is its own adventure. When we arrive back home, our hair is windblown, our skin is salty, and often, our tummies are full--and we're already planning our next journey down the Boardwalk.