Leaf Peeping & Shell Seeking

I'd like to introduce you to Marianne. She stakes her claim in life as a “wife, mother, daughter, sister, granddaughter, aunt, cousin, teacher, friend, student, OC Insider, photographer, and artist.” Wait, did you catch that? Yep, you sure did! OC INSIDER, stuck right in the mix with wife, mother and friend. Every day I am amazed at the influence Ocean City Md has on a persons heart and soul!

I looked up the word tourist in the thesaurus, because I dislike the way that sounds when describing our visitors. Especially when I am attempting to describe a lady who has been visiting Ocean City with THREE generations of family! I mean, she might as well be dubbed a Local!

“I cannot pinpoint a specific time that I fell in love with OC. It's always been in my blood!”

Marianne our “vacationist” from Middle Earth, MD has shared with me a few of her favorite memories from her many vacations in Ocean City, MD. Her top childhood memories are filled with trips to the condos at Thunder Island with her grandparents and sneaking in to swim in their pool. While she was trying to blend in at the swimming pool, her family would be attending the V.F.W. Convention that was taking place in OCMD. All of the different V.F.W. Posts would fill the streets, hotels and condos of Ocean City in celebration! Her grandmother’s famous words while squishing her toes in the sand were always “It doesn’t get any better than this, hon!”

However as years have gone by, Marianne has learned it does get better. Now she’s creating her own traditions with her husband and two sons Travis and Vince. Travis and Marianne love to get out of their hotel room at The Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites first thing in the morning for an early morning stroll on the beach. Why do they need to get in that stroll on the beach so early, you may ask?  Well because they need an excuse to go get a box of Fractured Prune DONUTS of course! Not to mention the morning beach views and sunrises are fantastic!!!

Her typical afternoon could consist of a short drive to the Roland E Powell Convention Center to throw out a line, or two, or three in an attempt to pull in some flounder or even some Maryland Blue Crabs. If Marianne did not succeed at catching their dinner, she would drown her sorrows in a vanilla milkshake from Dumser’s Dairyland and call in reservations at The Shark in West Ocean City, MD. A word of advice from the wise, you are supposed to ask for the VooDoo Special and always order the lobster mashed potatoes on the side!!!

Before heading over the Route 50 bridge to eat dinner, she might make a quick pit stop for a ride on The OC Rocket. If things go as planned she might just catch some dolphins swimming in the sparkling Atlantic Ocean while she admires the coastline from the bright yellow speedboat. After dinner she might head up town to 68th street Old Pro Golf for a round of miniature golf on the Prehistoric Dinosaur course. Nothing beats enjoying the salty ocean air while playing a little putt putt and crossing your fingers for a hole in one.

If Marianne can manage to snag a weekend away from her duties as mother, teacher and wife, she might grab a few of her best girlfriends for a quick trip to Ocean City, of course! Can you imagine the look her friends gave her the day she drug them out on the beach to wash their faces with wash cloths soaked in salt water?? Marianne shared this beauty secret with me for a clear complexion, who would have thought!?  She told me that when she’s hanging with her girlfriends they “never know what is going to happen in OC, so we don’t plan too much. In fact, last trip we were serenaded by young men from Salisbury University!” It’s true, you NEVER know what you will find waiting for you around the corner in Ocean City, MD! Fun is always sure to find you.

Marianne has been an OC Insider since 2007. The message boards on The Town of Ocean City webpage used to keep track of member participation by assigning points for talking about your favorite places to eat or stay. Marianne says, “I started earning points for talking about my favorite place although I didn’t care about the points. I love OC, I want to see it stay a nice, family place and I love the people that I volunteer with and meet.” Her favorite questions to answer on the OC Insider forums are questions relating to parents with young children because she feels like she has “been there, done that.” Also, since her husband plans their Ocean City adventures around all the restaurants he wants to visit, she finds herself quite knowledgeable in that department as well!

Marianne left me with some advice, “for those new to OC - take it easy, take your time and relax; for those familiar with OC - try something new, you may be surprised!”

If you want to find more advice from Marianne you can ask her a question on Ask an Insider. And of course you can find Meaghan on the Holiday Inn Suites Facebook page.