If you’re not too afraid of the cold, it’s a great time to get out and explore the nooks and crannies of the Ocean City Boardwalk. The place just looks different when there are fewer people. As part of my latest Ocean City photo adventure, I started in the Inlet parking lot and then worked my way up to Somerset Street and finished with a Facebook Live broadcast on the pier. When I go on these adventures, I often also post photos on Instagram, if you want to follow Ocean City there. If you want to share photos of your own adventures anywhere in Maryland, we can help with that. Click here for information about having us help you photoblog in Maryland.
I climbed the stairs at one of the local restaurants to get an alternate view of the Inlet Indian and the view of West Ocean City beyond.There’s something a little off kilter about an empty amusement park. Not one to eschew hamfistedness, I took this photo. Also, to be fair, I wanted to get the water tower as well as the rollercoaster and composing it was tricky.I grew up near the Jersey Shore and developed an affinity for Boardwalk Skee Ball early on. I’ll be honest, I don’t like the new games, with their plastic balls and 100 point ringers. Give me a nicked up wooden ball, a mostly-warped sideboard and a handful of quarters and I’ll come home with the tackiest ticket treasure you’ve ever seen!Although it was a quiet enough day in Ocean City, there were still some people about. I waited, though, for the foot traffic to clear around Somerset Plaza to get this straight through shot.Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! still was decorated for Christmas, but that was fine with me. I captioned this photo on my personal Instagram account this way: “And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.” It’s from the last paragraph of “A Christmas Carol” so that makes it doubly appropriate.This was my view of the boardwalk as I made my way from Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! to the pier. There hardly was any wind, so it made my work a little easier.Nearly ready! Several shops were open and others were doing what, for the beach shop owners must be the equivalent of Spring cleaning. The kid in me was tempted to peek in and maybe boost one of those broomstick ponies, but really just for the thrill of the trespass. I am a grown man after all. Plus, I already have a broomstick pony.
Tony Russo has worked as a print and digital journalist for the better part of the 21st century, writing for and editing regional weeklies and dailies before joining the team that produces OceanCity.com and ShoreCraftBeer.com among other destination websites. In addition to having documented everything from zoning changes to art movements on the Delmarva Peninsula, Tony has written two books on beer for the History Press. Eastern Shore Beer was published in 2014 and Delaware Beer in 2016. He lives in Delmar, Md. with his wife Kelly and the only of his four daughters who hasn't moved out. Together they keep their two dogs comfortable.
