In June I’m going to spend a week in Ocean City, New Jersey. I’m looking forward to it because (i) I love the ocean no matter what, and (ii) my wife, who grew up near Philadelphia, went there every summer in childhood and I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s like, so I’ll understand her stories better.
But I’m going to need a little help, because (i) we’re spending the week in a big rental house with my wife’s whole family (parents, siblings+spouses, nephews/nieces, the works) and (ii) I hear it’s a dry town, so I can’t get a drink (see (i)).
My questions are (i) how do you like to spend your time in Ocean City, and (ii) if you’re one of several brothers-in-law who want to escape for an afternoon/evening of beer/sports/other guy stuff, where do you go? (One of the BiLs is English, so a good pub is extra important.)
My Dad lives in Ocean City. It’s a nice town, but a little crowded. Apart from the beach and boardwalk, there’s a cheap municipal golf course if you’re into that.
There are many bars in Somers Point, right across the bridge. You can’t walk there, so consider taking a cab.
I used to go to Ocean City every summer as a kid, but only sporadically as an adult. It’s been about ten years since I’d been back though, so I’m a little fuzzy. But I remember that you’ll have to pack in your own hooch. Passing time? As silly as it sounds, just lounging on the porch or on the rooftops (many of which are converted into third/fourth story decks with full views) were awesome. The boardwalk was always a hoot too–plenty of amusement parks and shops at night.
It’s a touristy area, and not well populated for a ‘club scene’. There are plenty of off-beach restaurants, but I think those in town are all dry. It’s family friendly, and that’s the way the town always wanted to keep it. Be prepared for massive throngs of people all over town. Oh, and go and tell me if Mr. Peanut is still at the Planters’ store.
Tripler
Summertime childhood resident of Bridgeton/Vineland and Ocean City.
OC is indeed a dry town, but there are liquor stores and restaurants/bars just over any of the bridges (Somers Point or Marmora) that lead to the island. I recommend Yesterday’s, just over the 34th Street Bridge. Since you’re staying the whole week, you might want to bring some liquor with you, so you don’t have to head back to the mainland and fight the traffic.
There’s plenty to do. Besides the beach and boardwalk, there’s a whole strip of shopping on Asbury Avenue, you can go miniature golfing, sunset cruises, bikeriding, fishing cruises, parasailing, water parks, concerts, just about anything “beachy” you can think of. There are TONS of special events (concerts, festivals, parades, etc.) depending upon which week you are there. Usually the weekly rentals have a folder or packet of brochures and discount coupons for all sorts of activities (plus menus), but if for some reason they don’t, you can find them at the Tourist Welcome Center or most hotels and restaurants have a rack of brochures (plus the local free tourist newspapers are chock-full of advertisements for activities).
These sites have all sorts of info about things to do/events in town.
If you have a weekly rental, it probably comes with beach tags (you have to have a tag to sit on the beach - it’s $15 per tag for the season, or $5 per day, and the beach tag checkers come around several times per day and they DO check your beach tag), so make sure they are included in your rental. Kids under 12 do not need a tag.
If you need more specific information, please PM me and I’ll be happy to help you out.
When I was growing up in Philly, we went to Atlantic City all the time, but never to Ocean City because they would not rent to Jews. Maybe they’ve changed. I would still never go there.
A beach tag is a tag issued by the town that you have to wear to have access to their beach. They’re pretty common at the Jersey shore and at least in theory are to help defray the town’s maintenance costs related to beach use.
Tags can be purchased either by the day or by the season, and the use of a beach tag is usually included when you rent a place at the shore. (The owner purchases them for the season, so you have to give them back to the owner at the end of your rental week.)
More about Jersey shore beach tags, coming from someone who grew up in New Jersey and currently lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
Jersey shore beach tags are basically meant to keep out folks like I was in the late 60’s while keeping in folks like I am today.
When I was a teenager and living about 45 miles from the Jersey shore, we would load up a car with like-minded teenagers, a couple of lawn chairs, and a cooler of sandwiches and drive to the shore. Usually Ocean city, as it happens. We’d park the car a block or two from the beach, drag our stuff to the beach, lounge around all day, and drive back home at night. We’d end up on the beach all day and probably leave some litter behind (I didn’t, but I’m sure some of my friends did). Total dollars spent at the shore: zero. I don’t believe that beach tags existed back in the sixties, but if they did we might have balked at spending $5 just to lie on the beach.
Nowadays my wife and I will occasionally rent an apartment or house at the shore for a week. Usually Ocean city, as it happens. We’ll spend quite a bit of money in apartment/house rentals, restaurants, and miniature golf. When our kids were little, we’d spend a ton of money at the amusement parks. Complimentary beach tags typically come with the rentals.
And I have to admit that I can see why beach tags exist. I believe that keeping the beaches clean and paying for the folks (like lifeguards) who keep folks safe there are costs of the town.
(Unfortunately, I can’t help with the questions in the OP. I’ve never gone to the shore with adult buddies (other than my wife), and have no idea what I’d do in Ocean City under those circumstances.)
You do realize that Southern beaches just let any old white trash on? And on most of them, you can look around you and see maybe two people? My DC cousins came down to my parents beach house on Amelia Island and planned to go out at dawn to stake out their spots. My parents had absolutely no idea what on earth they were talking about. The idea of a crowded beach is completely foreign to me, although once in Europe I ended up in Warnemunde, where I saw way, WAY more pinkened German flesh than I had ever wanted to see.
Not trying to spoil anybody’s party, just bemused by the whole idea that you’d pay to go on a beach. That had a bazillion other people on it. That didn’t even have warm water or a particularly good beach.
I’ve only been to the Ocean City area once and that was to see Lucy the Elephant. I drove over a hundred miles out of my way to see it and I thought it was worth the trip. You’re only going to be about two miles away.
I drove over a hundred miles out of my way to see Lucy…to find out she was closed on Tuesday. Goes to show you can’t always trust the AAA tourbooks. Still, it was pretty neat, and I’m glad I got to see it in person.
As a side note, I have to say that driving down Atlantic Avenue on that dreary, overcast morning in early May was kind of depressing. Everything just seemed so drab and lifeless.
Thanks for your feedback, everyone. It sounds like I’ll have no trouble finding ways to enjoy myself, which is nice to know. I appreciate all of your help with my vacation.
There’s no hidden depths here. It’s a building shaped like a giant elephant sitting in the middle of a residential neighbourhood. I guess I just find that incredibly amazing.
The appeal of Lucy? In my case, I was on an extended road trip–visiting roadside attractions was part of the agenda. (So I suppose saying I drove “out of my way” isn’t entirely accurate.)
Lucy is one of the first and last examples of “zoomorphic architecture”, on the register of National Historic Landmarks, and just a cool-looking building. For anyone who feels the lure of roadside Americana, Lucy is something you love to add to your life list.