We went on a short family vacation last week to Ocean City for four days.  The kids had a blast playing on the beach, even though the water felt like we had a swim call on an Alaskan cruise liner.  I don’t understand the science behind ocean water temperature, but it didn’t make a lot of sense to me that it was over 90 degrees outside yet less than 60 degrees in the water!?!

Personally, I don’t like to swim in the Ocean.  When I was a teenager, my cousin and I were body surfing in Myrtle Beach.  A storm was about to roll in and the red flags were up.  This meant that there were no life guards on duty and you were not supposed to go swimming.  The waves were huge and the water was brown and murky from all of the sand being stirred up.  In other words, it was perfect conditions for two stupid teenagers to go for a swim.

The waves pounded the crap out of us, but we kept on going out for more.  After about an hour, there was a lull in the action, apparently the calm before the big storm hit.  My cousin and I were standing about ten feet apart from each other when it happened.  Bam! My cousin got knocked off balance.

Then I saw it.

A six foot shark was in the water between us, and it was heading straight for me.  How did I know it was six feet? Because it was about the same size as us.  Bam! The shark hit my leg with it’s fin too, knocking me back a few feet in the water.  Panic set-in like I’ve never experienced before, and we walked on water out of there.  Fortunately, we weren’t that far from shore, and the water was only about four feet deep.

We probably should have known better to be out there alone, especially since we were swimming right next to the pier where a world record for the largest tiger shark ever caught on rod-and-reel happened (Cherry Grove).

Anyway, that’s why I don’t like to swim in the ocean, unless I can see everything around me.  Or, like when I was in the Coast Guard and sailed across the Atlantic and we stopped in the dead center for a swim call, only crew members were posted along the bow and stern with rifles just in case.  Even then, I jumped in and got out quickly.  The only times I have really enjoyed swimming in the ocean are when we’ve gone snorkeling or diving in the Caribbean, but that’s another story altogether.

Back to Ocean City and the family vacation.

I played with Ty a lot on this trip.  We built sand castles; we went for walks; we swam in the outdoor pool; we swam in the indoor pool; we walked for several miles each morning (he rode – I pushed the stroller); and, we got to explore the parking lot of every restaurant we went to while everyone else ate.  As long as we were doing an activity, Ty was awesome!  As soon as we stopped to do something else, he pitched a fit.  Typical 2-year-old stuff.

In addition to the beach, we also went down to the boardwalk two of the nights.  If you’ve never been to the boardwalk in Ocean City, it’s like going to a carnival only you’re at the beach.  There are tons of rides and games, as well as shops and food stands.  It is a decades old remnant of the past, but it’s nostalgic in a fun way.

Ty and his little cousin got a chance to go on some rides by themselves for the first time ever, since both of them had finally exceeded the 36 inch tall requirement.  It was fun seeing them experience both fear and exhilaration, and it really made me think how the last two years have flown by for us.  Ty is getting to be a big boy now.

In between the sand castles, carnival rides and meltdowns, the best thing about this short vacation was that we added dozens of new and exciting family memories to call upon and remember when we get older.  I’m not sure if Ty will recall the fun we had, but we did take a bunch of pictures to remind him – here’s a few of them:

Daddy and Ty building sand castles

Daddy and Ty say Hello from Ocean City

Mama and Caitlin lounging

We squeezed into the caboose at the boardwalk carnival

Ty (right) and his little cousin on the teacup ride

Ty (right) and his cousin on the roller coaster

Ty on the red shark airplane

Ty four wheelin, bouncy fun

Daddy and Ty on the caterpillar coaster

Fun times at the beach and boardwalk!

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