For many Marylanders, heading "downy ocean" or "to the shore" means only one thing: a summer vacation in Ocean City. It's often quite crowded on the beach, in the restaurants, and on Coastal Highway, but it's still Marylanders' favorite place to sunbathe, jump waves, eat, shop, and find friends. On a skinny stretch of barrier island less than 10 miles long, the attractions are that wide sandy beach, pounding surf, and ocean breezes. So many visitors arrive that for 3 months of the year, Ocean City is the second-largest city in the state. (Only Baltimore has more people.) Ocean City's entire beach is open to the public.
The 3-mile-long boardwalk, which stretches to 27th Street in the oldest part of Ocean City, is crowded with hotels, some of them dating back to the 1920s. Restaurants, ice-cream stands, and shops fill in the gaps. The boardwalk ends at the fishing pier, which has amusement rides and a huge Ferris wheel.
Out on Coastal Highway, shopping centers, restaurants, hotels, and condos demand your attention and your money. Miniature-golf courses are exceedingly popular: They're all crowded after dark, and there are some dandies. The quieter waters surrounding Ocean City -- the bays of Assawoman, Sinepuxent, and Montego -- attract fishermen, sailors, parasailers, and kayakers.
