Welcome to Maryland

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We all slept really well in the hotel, thanks in part to the cocktails! We got up, found a Dunkin', and headed to our final destination. The trip took way longer than we anitcipated. First, Theresa's tire was low on air and we had to stop at two gas stations to find an air machine that worked. Then, the traffic was really rough in places, particularly around Philadelphia. There were no easy rest stops, either. We had to pull of and enter a busy town every time we had to make a pit stop. The first place we stopped at was a store called Wawas, which I've never heard off. It was a pretty busy place, full of travelers looking for a bathroom.

The second time we needed to stop, we were in Delaware. We were desperate, and got off the ramp in Frederica, Delaware looking for a place. Beth was so desperate, she was trying to pee behind a barn, but there was no place to do it without cars passing by. The only establishment in Frederica that we could see was a pizza restaurant, so we decided to have some lunch.

It turned out to be a good decision. We really wanted to get to Ocean City before having lunch, but that wasn't going to happen. The place was clean and friendly, and the food was pretty good. The waitress told me she loved the calamari, so I ordered it, although a bit hesitantly. Turns out, it was pretty good! I like to eat light on travel days, and this hit the spot. The girls had Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, I guess in honor of the horiffic traffic we just trudged through. We felt full and refreshed, and managed to make it to our Airbnb without stopping again.

We were stayed in Berlin, Maryland, not wanting to reside on the touristy, loud Ocean City strip. Once we arrived, we were very happy we stayed here. The town was cute, semi-quiet, and had everything one would need. We spotted a Dunkin' on the corner, and knew we'd hit that every day!

Our cabin was adorable. The owners lived on a large property. They cleared some area in the woods next door and built a few little cabins to rent out on Airbnb. We unloaded the car and looked around at our new temporary home. The place looked small from the outside, but was open and modern on the inside. Theresa and Beth stayed in the back bathroom, and I opted for the couch. The couch was a pull-out, there was a cot in the closet, and I brought an air mattress, so I had plenty of sleeping options but the couch was comfortable and made a good bed. We were impressed with the modernity and cleanliness of the cabin, and found the decor to be cute and vacationy as well. There was even a beach mural on the family room wall!

The property was nice as well. There was a garage-type structure with laundry inside and a foot wash outside. There were trails leading to the two other cabins, and there was a fire pit with adirondak chairs all around. We were surrounded by shady trees, and even had a nice porch with plenty of seating. There were cute little decorations all around the property as well, like faces in the trees and little garden statues. The owners must have had fun collecting paraphenalia for this little side-hustle. They even had a statue of liberty in their fron lawn!

We decided the first thing we should do was head to the Ocean City boardwalk. We tackled the traffic and found a parking lot and headed to the beach. It was wonderful to see the ocean again. I just love ocean beaches! I took many trips to Florida and South Carolina in my youth and have fond memories of walking the beach in the morning, or playing in the waves all day. I went decaces before seeing the ocean until my trip to Maine last year. The ocean coasts in Maine were beautiful, but too cold for swimming. I believe the last time I actually got to play in the waves was about 1993 on a trip to Hilton Head. It's been too long.

We made plans to head to the beaches in the morning, and moved our walk over to the boardwalk. We walked amongst the crowds, ducking into souvenir shops every now and again. We walked to the end of the island and found a fishing pier. I really wanted to walk on it, but they charged admission. Who ever heard of such a thing? We stopped into a bar called the Purple something, and found it too loud so we left. We started to get really hungry and looked for a place to dine. The boardwalk was absolutely packed with people, so every restaurant had about an hour wait time. We settled on Hammerheads, which had a cool, beachy look to it, and served Maryland crab, of course, which Beth and I were eager to try. We were so hungry during our wait that we got some ice cream before dinner at a little place called Julia's. I had a devil food cake cone. Not sure what that means, but it was delicious with chunks of chocolate cake.We headed back to Hammerheads and sat on a cement wall while waiting to be seated. Beth dropped her purse and had to jump over the wall to retrieve it. I wasn't sure she'd be able to get back up, but she did it.

We finally got seated. The wait may have been long, but the service was super fast. We had our food in no time. I ordered Crabby Tots, which were tater tots covered in what had to be the best crab dip I ever had. I also tried my first Orange Crush, the signature drink of the area. I was concerned the crushes would be too sweet and fruity, but it was a very light, refreshing cocktail. I was very happy with my first official Maryland meal and vowed to eat all the crab I could.

We had a successful first official day of our girls trip and went home to our comfy little home away from home.

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