A Month Left of Summer

I love Wednesday mornings in Ocean City. After I drop the boys off at camp, Charlotte and I head down town for a farmer's market. It seems like such a local thing to do--buying my fruits, veggies and other treats from area farmers. A lot of other people seem to enjoy the same routine, strolling down a section of the Tabernacle grounds, sturdy baskets and shopping bags in hand.

At this farmer's market, I always see one of the teachers from Carter's school. She helps out with afternoon carline, so I see her, during the school year, almost every day. In the beginning of the summer, I ran into her at the farmer's market--she has an Ocean City vacation home on the bay.

Since then, I run into her every week. We briefly chat about clams (her favorite weekly purchase) and hot pepper jelly (mine) at the farmer's market. Then, our eyes wide and our hearts heavy, we launch into our countdown until school starts. It's not something I really want to think about yet, but I realize that the clock is ticking. This week marks the end of July and once August is here, September is not far behind.

As I think about our summer coming to a close, I start to panic a little. Did we have enough fun? Did we do all we wanted? I keep finding myself reviewing a mental list of activities, making sure that we've really taken advantage of this great town and all that it has to offer.

So, this week, we really tried to cram it all in.

Monday, we met cousins Kate and Lindsay in Sea Isle for an afternoon at the beach. The evening was welcomed in with a torrential downpour, making us all run for cover. After we cleaned up and the rain stopped, Lindsay took us back down to the beach for the Sea Isle lifeguard races. Lindsay was a Sea Isle lifeguard in the past, and her brother Matt is now. At this event, lifeguards from Sea Isle, Upper Township and Wildwood competed in tests of strength and endurance, including swimming, rowing, paddle boarding and running. It was an exciting evening. Even not knowing anyone competing, it was a fun thing to watch. Will especially enjoyed watching it, especially the rowing. The ocean was rough that night, and the air was cold, making the competition that much more difficult, I'm sure. We'll definitely try to catch it again next year.

Tuesday, after camp, we headed to the Wetlands Institute. It was a nice, hot day. I had planned an afternoon at the beach, but Will was itching to get back to the Wetlands. In the aquarium, they have an empty tank, waiting for a local octopus to fill it. The boys are intrigued by this vacant exhibit. The first thing they always want to do is check to see if they found an octopus yet. (If you yourself are interested, I can save you a trip and tell you that there is no octopus yet, but they have the tank all ready for its capture.) We looked at our usual favorite exhibits and then took a stroll down the Salt Marsh Trail to the dock. The boys have gotten good at identifying the different creatures and plants along the way, remembering details that I have long forgotten. They could probably lead the Salt Marsh Safari themselves. When we reached the dock, we were lucky enough to spy a horseshoe crab running around the shallow waters of the bay.

By the time we got back to the main building, it was time for the aquarium feeding, something we've never seen before. What a treat. I'd expected an intern to throw a couple of fish into a tank and call it a day, but I should have known to expect more from this great place. One of our favorite interns, Heather, brought out a box with a turtle named Pretty Girl in it. She talked a lot about the turtle to the spectating children, explaining what turtles do, what they eat and how they know Pretty Girl is indeed a girl. Then, each child got to feed the turtle, which just involved throwing a pellet of turtle food into her container. Next, the children got to help feed a boxful of baby turtles. They feasted on brine shrimp. Finally, Heather opened up the touch tank and the kids got to learn a little about each of the animals in it, including horseshoe crabs, sea urchins, fiddler crabs and sea stars. Carter held the sea urchin, which wiggled its spines as it sat in his hands. He was thrilled. Will held the horseshoe crab, an animal that has really captured his attention this summer.

Tuesday night, we headed to the Bayside Center for a program on Arctic Ice Caps. Although a little dry for most of the children in the room, it held Will's attention. They talked a lot about polar bears and Will was full of facts and figures following the presentation.

After camp today, we went to the Ocean City Historical Museum for their drop in program. It was lead by Miss Elyse, who we met last week at the Bayside Center, and my boys were the only ones in the program today. She gave them a brief tour of the museum, with a special emphasis on the history of the boardwalk. Then, they sat down together to decorate shells with beads, buttons, glitter and pipe cleaners. They loved it. The Museum does a drop in program every Wednesday for $2 a child. We'll definitely try it again next Wednesday.

After leaving the library, we headed to the playground at 9th and Bay. We pass it during our excursions to the Bayside Center and Carter especially has been dying to try it. During the heat of the afternoon, most playgrounds are empty as area kids are soaking up the sun on the beach. The boys and Charlotte had a great time exploring every corner of this playground, which includes a digger that the boys can sit in and scoop up sand, and monkey bars that are low enough that Carter could easily swing across. Our favorite playgrounds on the island have each earned a special name from us, meaningful to only us. This playground, forever to be known as the "purple and green playground" joins the ranks of "the fish playground" at 52nd and Haven, and "the playground that used to be wooden" at 34th and West.

From the playground, we went to the Bayside Center. We've been there plenty of times in the evening for programs, as well as the Night in Venice, but never during the day. They accept donations, but entrance is free to the public. Again, we were the only people there. We've gotten to know the woman who works there and she cheerfully opened up the new touch tank for the boys. They very knowledgeably identified and handled most of the tank's inhabitants, including horseshoe crabs, sea urchins, a spider crab, a hermit crab and more. The Center also has a huge sand box full of ocean treasures--shells and egg cases of all shapes and sizes--and a huge magnifying glass. The boys loved looking at all of these familiar things under the microscope, paying close attention to the new details. In the back of the room, the kids could sit at the huge picture window with a pair of binoculars to spot birds flying over the bay. The Center also has a room of life guard memorabilia, as well as another room of ship models, but the touch tank and shell exhibits were the favorites of my crew. The beach was really windy today and this was a great alternative.

But we didn't stop here. Wednesday is $6 pizza night at Blitz's Market, a deal that can't be beat! I picked up two pies and met our friend Julie and her three boys at the 34th Street Playground (otherwise known as "the playground that used to be wooden." The old wooden climbing structure was recently replaced by several modern structures, and the old wood chips replaced by a nice, soft rubber ground cover.) We had a picnic dinner of pizza and juice boxes. The kids could hardly contain themselves long enough to sit down and eat a slice of pizza. They were soon up and running, having the time of their lives, even Charlotte. She discovered a small slide at the playground. I'd take her to the top of the slide and drop her down into Julie's waiting arms. Charlotte would wiggle herself free, and run over to me to start the process over again.

The sudden rain storm didn't dampen the fun. We moved our party indoors to Pino's, a nearby ice cream shop. The rain really started to fall as it was time to go home. We don't usually drive to this playground, but I am so glad we did today. We ran to our car, laughing at what we have started to call God's shower. The boys insist that it got them clean enough to avoid a bath.

I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring. Beach, boardwalk, activity or craft? We're all going through our mental checklist, making sure we've done it all. Yes, I love Wednesdays in Ocean City and am so glad to have a few more before summer comes to an end.

Night Venice

This is the start of the true platinum weekend in Ocean City. You might think it is Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, but while those are all prime weekends at the shore, nothing beats Night in Venice, a boat parade that sails through the bay and lagoons of Ocean City. Boats and bay homes are decorated with a specific theme, this year, the Philadelphia Phillies or Ocean City's 100th Baby Parade. The town seems to take the preparation and competition quite seriously.


Or so they tell me. This is our second summer in Ocean City. Last year, we were still getting our sea legs here, getting used to shore living and an infant, so somehow missed the festivities. I have no idea how it all went over our heads, since everywhere I turn now, I see something about Nights in Venice.

We kicked off the weekend with a date night on Friday. While Maggie watched the kids, Craig and I headed downtown to the Asbury shopping district for the Merchants of Venice seafood festival. Two blocks of Asbury will filled with food vendors, selling all types of seafood, from crabcakes to calamari, as well as plenty of non-seafood fare. At two corners of the street, bands played. On either side of the block were kid activities. I have a strict rule about not seeing any one's kids when I am not seeing my own, so we stayed away from these areas filled with moon bounces, pony rides and a little train. Next year, we'll bring the kids. . . maybe. It was fun to be able to eat what I want, sit where I want and not have to mediate any arguments or get anyone a napkin, even though the night could not have been any more kid friendly.

Saturday was the Night in Venice. Earlier this month, I had purchased tickets to watch the festivities at the Bayside Center on 5th and Bay. The Bayside Center, as the name suggests, has a considerable amount of bayside property. They set up bleacher seats all around the perimeter of the bay, and there was plenty of room for others to set up a beach chair and get a perfectly good view. The gates opened at 5:00, and the parade was scheduled to start at 8:00, a full 30 minutes later than usual due to a low tide.

Although so much of our day is centered around the ocean, during Night in Venice, the bay is king. Those lucky enough to have a bayside home watch the parade from their own docks. Those lucky enough to know someone with a bayside home join their friends for a house party. Those who are even luckier and happen to own a boat, sail out and drop anchor along the watery parade route. The rest of us poor souls watch from the Bayside Center or from the bleacher seats set up by the bulkheads.

I would have been content to sit with my feet up and watch the water float by, but the kids are another story. Luckily, the Bayside Center was equipped for them, with a scavenger hunt, craft projects, including macaroni and shell necklaces and coloring activities, and a band. Craig and I stayed busy keeping the kids engaged and out of trouble--we were lucky to have Brian with us to help save our seats!

We brought our dinner, a bucket of chicken fingers and fries from Blitz's Market, but the Bayside Center was also selling hot dogs, water ice, sodas, cookies and other treats. Perfect parade fare.

The parade began just as the sun was setting. Although I've never really wanted a boat, now I wish I had one. Everyone looked like they were having so much fun. Many of the boats were decked out in lights and palm trees and filled with happy singing people. My favorite boat was a couple in a dinghy. As one person rowed, another held up a sign that announced "someone Madoff with my yacht." Carter's favorite boat was a Star Wars theme, with its occupants dressed up like characters from the famed movie, all holding light sabers. Will liked all of the boats decorated for the Phillies. Charlotte liked them all and was mesmerized by the lights and music, showing off to all by calling out one of her new words, "boat, boat."

At around 9:00, it was time for us to call it quits. We saw enough of the parade to say we'd been there and now know more about it so we can plan for next year. Who knows? Maybe by then, we'll have our own boat. . .

Maxed Out at IMAX

I thought we'd escaped the rain that has been plaguing the rest of the state, but, alas, today was a total wash with heavy rain from sun up to sun down. What's a mom at the shore to do?


I planned a field trip, that's what. After lunch and (another) painful quest to locate shoes for everyone in the house, we piled into the car and headed to Atlantic City. We've spent a lot of time this summer learning about sea life, and so I thought a trip to the Atlantic City Aquarium, followed by a viewing of the IMAX movie Life Under the Sea at the Tropicana, would be a perfect experience for us.


Our shoe search and the drive to the Aquarium took longer than I had expected. We no sooner got to the Aquarium then it was time to turn around to get to the Tropicana for a 3:00 showing of the movie.


I'm not a casino fan. It's no secret among those near and dear to me. Too many people, too much noise, too much money being poured down the drain. We walked into the Tropicana and Maggie, baby sitter extraordinaire, commented that Charlotte was on sensory overload. I think we all were. It was Christmas in July in the Tropicana, complete with carols and fake snow. We both felt kind of funny heading into a casino with three kids and no intention of gambling.


The thing about finding a fun activity in the rain at the shore is you are not the only one with the idea. We arrived at the theater about 30 minutes before the show was scheduled to start. I stood in line to order tickets and then in another line to buy snacks--Twizzlers for Carter, popcorn for Will and M&Ms for Charlotte. The lobby was already packed with people in line to go to the movie. It was a true feat of balance, strength and coordination for two adults to get three kids, four drinks, three snacks and a stroller into the theater.


The show was sold out. My goal in a public viewing of anything is to get an aisle seat next to a door, in case I need to make a speedy exit. Once everyone was seated, there was not an empty seat, and much drama as ushers checked tickets to make sure that everyone in a seat had a ticket.

The movie was in 3-D and the special effects were cool. All of the kids in the audience would reach out to try to grab an unsuspecting clown fish or dodge an aggressive eel.

Much of the movie was lost on me. I had been feeding Charlotte M&Ms to keep her quiet and happy during the show. She was, however, fascinated by the 3-D glasses. I should have just gotten her a pair of her own, since she kept grabbing mine and they were soon covered in chocolaty, sticky fingerprints.

She enjoyed much of the movie, making fishy sound effects and jumping up excitedly at the action in the film. Soon, though, she was distracted by Carter's orange soda, wanting so much to grab the straw and wave drops of syrupy drink all over the audience. When I stopped her, she screamed--time for a speedy exit.

As my eyes adjusted to the bright light of the casino again, I realized I was covered in M&M technicolor, smeared all over my shorts and t-shirt, as well as all over Charlotte's face, fingers and shirt.

All in all, I'd sum up the day like a backwards Mastercard commercial: price of IMAX tickets for 5, $60; candy, soda and popcorn, $30; parking at the Tropicana, $5; a new pair of shorts and two new t-shirts, $80; an afternoon of navigating through rainy AC streets, dealing with grumpy old people wanting to watch an IMAX show on their own terms, balancing three kids and their gear all for a 40-minute show, worthless.

Maybe on a sunny day or in the off-season, this would have been a more enjoyable trip. The kids did like the movie and, without prompting, thanked me for the day out. But for the next rainy day, I'll think of something else to do.

On the Way to Cape May

It isn't as much what we did on the way to Cape May, as it is what we did once we got there. Cape May is a great day trip from Ocean City, about a 45 minute drive, and we've only scratched the surface.

Our goal for our trip was two fold: see the sunken ship, the Atlantis, and to hunt for Cape May Diamonds.

The Atlantis is a World War I ship, constructed of concrete due to a steel shortage. Not surprisingly, it was quickly decommissioned due to its weight and slow speed. It was towed to Cape May where it was to be used as a loading platform for the ferry. The ship, however, broke her moorings during a storm and has been at Cape May's Sunset Beach ever since. The ship sinks lower into the sand each year and within a few years, will no longer be visible at all.

Will loved seeing the wreckage and spent some time plotting how he could get closer. He soon decided it was probably too far out for him to swim and spent some time trying to convince Maggie, my mother's helper at the shore, to have her father take him out to the ship on his boat. The idea that a ship wreck has become part of a casual landscape, with no fanfare or drama, is baffling to Will.

This trip to the beach was also a treasure hunt. I had heard of Cape May Diamonds before and was even more intrigued when Maggie, who has spent most of her summers in Cape May, said they were fairly easy to find on Sunset Beach.

The beach itself is rocky, and although it was scattered with sunbathers and swimmers, it probably isn't a great beach for relaxing. There's a deep drop off a few feet into the ocean and the waves are calm. But the beach is alive with treasures, and treasure hunters, like us.

Cape May Diamonds aren't diamonds at all, but quartz. The rocks are actually washed up by the Delaware River. They were first discovered by the Kechemeche Indians, who believe the diamonds have supernatural powers, bringing success and good luck. It takes the pieces of quartz thousands of years to travel down the Delaware River. Upon reaching the mouth of the river, the strong flow hits the sides of the Atlantis, which has formed a man-made reef, and propels the pieces of rock up on the beach.

Although rocky, the stones on the beach are all smooth, worn by the waters of the Delaware and the Atlantic. The boys, who do love to dig in the sand, were rewarded with actual treasure this time. We found many diamonds. Carter was just as happy to put any pretty rock into his bucket. Charlotte liked to dump gravel into the buckets by the handle, filling up my bucket, with diamonds by the dozen, with random rocks. Will soon lost interest, lured again by the vision of the Atlantis, and his dreams of exploring it more closely. I, on the other hand, could have searched for diamonds all day long. Once again, I wrestled my bucket away from Charlotte and filled the bottom of it with diamonds. I left it balanced on top of the stroller, only to have a gust of wind knock it down. The kids' attention span was waning, so our trip was shorter than I would have liked. I gathered up as many as I could, probably a dozen or so, and hope to go back again to find more. They would look so pretty in a glass vase on my kitchen counter.

After a brief stop in the Sunset Beach gift shop (where, for those of you not lucky enough to find your own Cape May Diamonds, you can buy them, already polished, faceted, and placed in a jewelry setting), where we enjoyed the air conditioning and bargain shopping, we headed to a World War II lookout tower, Fire Control Tower # 23. Built in 1942, it is one of the last few remaining restored lookout towers. When in use, 8 soldiers were stationed there at a time, acting as lookouts in 12-hour shifts. Now, the tower is equipped with a spiral staircase, but during WWII, soldiers climbed to the top by ladder. Four at a time would sit at the top of the tower, looking for enemy ships and plans. By looking through the tower windows, we could see far into the ocean. It was a great history lesson, and a great view, for us all.

Another close by attraction is the Cape May Lighthouse. We could see it from the tower, but didn't the energy left to climb its hundreds of steps.

We'll make our way down to Cape May again. In addition to the lighthouse, there's a World War II bunker, trolley rides, the ferry, whale and dolphin watching--so many things to do. And, of course, more diamonds to discover, as well.

Ahoy Mateys!

We had planned on going to the Family Movie Night in Ocean City tonight. They were playing Charlotte's Web, the original cartoon version. In honor of our own little Charlotte, it is one of our favorite movies.

However, when we heard about the topic for the speaker tonight at the Bayside Center, we made a quick change in plans. Tonight, two women from the Ocean City Historical Museum delighted us with stories and pictures about pirates, shipwrecks and whalers right here in Ocean City.

Will has a fascination with shipwrecks. It started with the Titanic and has continued throughout our time in Ocean City. This area, as you might imagine, is home to many shipwrecks, the most famous being the Sindia (built coincidentally, by the same company that constructed the Titanic), a sailing vessel that was beached in Ocean City in the early 1900s. Until very recently, you could see portions of the ship from the 17th street beach. There is a pavilion on the boardwalk at 17th street, commemorating the ship, named for an Indian Maharajah. Will loves to stop here on the boardwalk and gazes into the horizon, hoping for a glimpse of the Sindia, scheming a way to dig up the old ship.

We learned more about the ill-fated Sindia tonight, with lots of pictures and maps brought over from the museum. Will especially loved the photos of the Sindia throughout the years, where we could see the ship sinking deeper and deeper into the sand.

What little boy doesn't like the lore of pirates? The boys have been inspired to dig even more on the beach, as we now know that famous pirates Black Beard and Captain Kidd probably passed through Ocean City and may have buried treasure in these parts while trying to allude authorities.

We also learned that many Ocean City residents can trace their heritage back to the Mayflower, their ancestors having journeyed down to New Jersey for whaling. A fan of Whale Wars, Will was intrigued by these stories of when whaling was a livelihood.

The presentation culminated with a craft. The speakers had shown examples of antique scrimshaw, intricate carvings made into the bone and teeth of whales. Each person then got to make their own scrimshaw by using a pin to carve a picture into a piece of foam core poster board. Once the picture was carved, the children scribbled over the surface of their artwork with crayon, and then rubbed away the excess crayon with a napkin, leaving just the "engraved" pieces colored in. The kids loved it and worked away quietly on their masterpieces.

The Ocean City Historical Museum is another of Will's favorite places and worth a trip if you find yourself with a spare 30 minutes in Ocean City. Not very big, it is filled with O.C. artifacts, including findings from the Sindia. We found out that they offer drop-in children's programs on Wednesdays, every half hour from 10:30 to 2:30. Each week, they offer a new activity for $2 per child. We'll definitely give it a try.

I'm so glad we made it to the Bayside Center tonight. We ended our trip with a gorgeous view of the sunset on the bay, a really dramatic event from the back deck of the Center. It stopped Carter in his tracks, prompting him to ask what was pushing the sun down. I'm saving the answer to that question, and the viewing of Charlotte's Web, for another night.

Crabby Kids

Thanks to our time at the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, the boys have a new fascination with the water. Dip a net into the water, you almost always pull out something interesting. They love a program at the Wetlands Institute called Catch of the Day, where kids get to pull a seine net through the water and dump its contents into a large tub where they can inspect the wonders of the bay: minnows, shrimp, mussels, jelly fish and seaweed, lots of seaweed. At times, they also give each child a hand net. They love to sprawl on their bellies on the wooden dock, purposefully scooping out the bay's treasures to inspect. Will, surprisingly, is not squeamish and is happy to hold a squirming minnow between his fingers.

Both boys were excited at the prospect of crabbing today. After a brief session of Internet research, Will and Craig headed to a local bait and tackle store to buy some traps. There, they also received the lay of the land, picking up some bait and the locations of some good places to go crabbing.

So, joined by Colleen and Brian, we piled in the car and headed to our location. I’m not sure I want to tell you exactly where, since we were the only ones there to crab (we were joined by some spectators) and had a moderate amount of success.

For bait, Craig had picked up two frozen fish, which he bravely hacked right in two for a fishy set of heads and tails. There was some debate by Carter whether “front bait” or “bottom bait” would be better for catching crabs. We started with the tail section and threw our nets into the bay.

Within a few minutes, we had caught our first crab, a feisty blue claw, so angry at his capture. We used our leftover bucket of chicken container from a recent dinner at Blitz’s market to hold our crabby prisoners. Once we had a few crabs, we had to put the lid on to keep them from escaping.

After a few hours of crabbing, we had six good-sized crabs. That was enough for dinner for all of us. Will and Carter wanted to keep them, but were undecided about dinner. I believe they had delusions about having six new friends for their hermit crabs. Will had the honors of depositing the crustaceans back into the bay, with he did with one delft swing of the bucket.

We’ll go back again, probably to catch the same six crabs. We all had fun catching crabs, but am not sure we have the heart to actually eat them. We'll save our crab appetite for a restaurant, where we don't know the crabs quite so well.

When Life Gives You Lemons

If it is possible for a child to have an entrepreneurial spirit, Will truly does. His favorite thing to play is "store," and he has finally succeeded in training Carter to join him in a pretend game where they sell their toys, artwork and pretend food, at a price, to willing family members, namely, Craig and me.

Last year, for his birthday, Will asked his Aunt Colleen for a lemonade stand. And she delivered, giving him a nifty little contraption that looks like an old fashioned peddler's cart, squeezing lemons and dispensing the tart juice into cups.

He's been thinking about selling lemonade for many, many months. We decided it would be a perfect venture for him at the beach in Ocean City, where he could provide a refreshing beverage in the afternoon, just as tired-out beach goers are on the long, hot walk home.

Our lemonade stand took more planning than you might imagine. First, we took a trip to the farmer's market we like for some lemons, 2 dozen to be exact. The next morning, we went on a walk down the boardwalk, scoping out the competition. Since fresh squeezed lemonade runs about $4 a cup on the boardwalk, we knew we'd catch the bargain shoppers with our 25-cents a glass sale. Then came the actual lemonade making. Craig found a tasty recipe for the perfect cup of lemonade and made up a batch of simple syrup.(Here's the recipe:

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000479perfect_lemonade.php). He and Will then squeezed the juice out of several lemons and added ice, putting our poor ice maker on over drive. Finally, the sign. Will thought long and hard about his wording, finally selecting "real, homemade lemonade," illustrating a picture of his wares as well. My favorite part of his stand was Will's tip jar, his very own idea. He took one of his lemonade cups and stuck a piece of masking tape with the word "tips" written in magic market on it, something he must have picked up on one of the boardwalk stands.

We set him up in front of our house, where he immediately attracted attention. Our upstairs neighbors were the first customers, requesting a cup to be delivered to them directly. Dog walkers and bike riders also stopped. Will went through a few batches right in front of the house and, unless Craig or I was there to remind him, he conveniently forgot to offer people change. He's cute enough that people must not mind paying a 75-cent premium.

All good businessmen know that three keys to success are location, location, location. And Will is no different. Once he realized that he was missing prime business from people walking down the cross street, past his location on Central Avenue, Will picked up and moved business to the corner--his own idea. Thinking I would help him out and buy a cup, I walked down to the corner only to find him absolutely mobbed--and sold out. He was devastated since many people had said they would be back for more. Craig consoled him by explaining that another key to business is to always leave the people wanting more. As you might imagine, Will is already thinking about his next lemonade stand.

Will's first day in business was a success and he banked about $18, a pretty good profit for a few hours of work, considering he didn't even buy the lemons. There's money to be made in the lemonade business, especially if you're a gap-toothed, smiling 7-year-old. Sure, I bought the lemons and Craig helped with the actual concoction, but Will, with a little help from sidekick Carter, did all the selling himself. He sat there in the hot sun, unwilling to disappoint his customers who might find themselves both thirsty and with a quarter in their pockets just as they pass him by. I'm sure by the end of the summer, he'll have a loyal following, and some fond memories of his first real store.