Another day in Ocean City and another lunch at the Sunset Grille. I had an intern I wanted to take to lunch and she had never been to this favorite Ocean City restaurant. Shocked, I took her to my favorite lunch spot in West Ocean City. We ate outside enjoying the sun and the gorgeous view of the harbor and Ocean City’s hotels and amusements across the bay. Walking into the restaurant is a pleasure as well. Anywhere you go, you encounter the most spectacular tropical flowers. There are hibiscus in every color you can image, from bright sunny yellow, to pink, to orange, and the traditional red. Nowhere but in Panama 25 years ago have I seen such a spectacular display.

Where else can you go in Ocean City where the lunch specials are only $4.99 during the week? Cheap is only true in the financial sense, however. The food is homemade and delicious. Today’s choices for this great price included a turkey burger with avocado and cheese with chipotle baked beans, fish and chips with a side of cole slaw, a romaine salad with chicken and dried strawberries, a cup of soup (Gazpacho or Maryland crab) and half a roast beef sandwich. I’m sure I’m leaving a couple of options out.

If you miss the $4.99 lunch special during the week, don’t despair. Although the prices are much higher off their regular menu, they are still competitive with other restaurants in Ocean City and you can’t beat the quality and flavor of their food. Try Sunset Grille, you simply can’t go wrong.

I heard that there was a burglar scaling the balconies at the Days Inn Oceanfront Hotel on the Boardwalk in Ocean City this week. Guests of the hotel saw the robber, called the police, and notified the hotel. Because of their quick action and the stupidity of the burglar, all property was returned and another bad guy got away with NOTHING! I say, “Good job!” to the guests who were observant and quick to action. The hotel and the Ocean City Police Department also deserve congratulations for a job well done. Perhaps the next person to consider robbery in Maryland’s finest beach resort will think twice! Who needs Hitchcock?

Ocean City today reports that our lifeguards have been making a record number of rescues lately, up to 1,000 over the past weekend. The service reports that most of the rescues were related to increased currents and riptides created by Hurricane Bertha, causing the ocean to be unusually choppy. While there were a couple of close calls, most were just swimmers who were having difficulty getting to shore. OC Today quotes the service’s captain Butch Arbin as saying, “we’re not going to let anybody struggle in the water.”

While the lifeguard service has expanded for the peak of the season, Arbin says that this number of rescues is highly unusual. Usually the number of swimmers in need of rescue in one weekend is closer to 100 or 200.

I heard on the news this morning that oil prices are finally starting to drop, so maybe eventually we’ll all drive up to the Shell station and have a pleasant surprise for once. In the meantime, Ocean City offers a few great alternatives for travelers who would rather leave the car in the hotel parking lot and take a vacation from buying gas, too.

In terms of all-around practicality, the Coastal Highway Transit bus is hard to beat. For $2, you can use the clean, safe bus all day to take you anywhere along Coastal Highway — in other words, pretty much everywhere. ococean.com has a full schedule listing by time and season.

If you’re spending your day on the boardwalk, though, you might end up riding on the Boardwalk Tram instead. In addition to the amusement value of seeing confused pedestrians scurry out of their path, the tram’s passengers get transported up and down the entire length of the boardwalk, including a detour down the pier to get up close and personal with the ocean — all for a $3-per-ride fee.

My personal favorite, though, would have to be the adorably touristy Ocean City Trolley, which makes its way through Downtown OC and drops its passengers off at the Convention Center. What a great way to attend events and concerts downtown without worrying about gas or parking! The all-day pass is only $2 for as many trips as you need.

Public transit is in more and more demand these days as a way to reduce stress, save money and do your part for the environment. On your next trip to Ocean City, why not see what all the fuss is about?

The 4th of July weekend is always a peak time for tourism and activity in Ocean City, and this summer has certainly been no exception. The town’s population reached 344,756 on Friday the 4th, and 326,249 Saturday and Sunday. Many businesses reported that this was one of the best 4th weekends ever for them, bringing in plenty of new and returning customers.

Those numbers reflect the dominant trend in this summer’s tourism figures: lots of people come to visit over the weekend, but few stay longer than one or two nights. While vacationers of previous summers were more likely to store up vacation days to stay for a longer trip, this summer they’ve opted to come in on Friday and leave on Sunday, which many say indicates that the expenses of an Ocean City vacation have exceeded what many visitors can afford for more than a couple of days. On the other hand, perhaps due to worries about the economy and gas prices, hotels, restaurants and other businesses have had great luck with sales and promotion packages that promise to save money for guests. Hotels have reported plenty of success with special deals including golf packages, week-long deals, and more.

In general, while some things have been tough for OC this summer, it’s hardly been as bad as some locals were predicting in the spring. The numbers from the 4th of July weekend prove that any rumors of doom and gloom were highly exaggerated.

Play it Safe is in its 19th year, and this may turn out to be the best summer yet for the citywide program, which aims to provide fun, supervised, drug- and alcohol-free activities for teens visiting Ocean City. So far this year, 13,000 teens have showed up at Play it Safe events, and for the first time ever the program has included more than 60 events, with new ones including rock climbing and educational activities like a “drunk driving simulator” that allows teens to safely experience how scary it can be to not be in control of your vehicle.

There isn’t much time left in the program, but it looks like this summer has got a good shot of beating last year’s record of 13,148 kids. Let’s hope they make it!

Full MD Coast Dispatch story here: http://mdcoastdispatch.com/article.php?cid=18&id=3705

Berlin has returned to the Maryland Main Street program, the state’s initiative to revitalize small towns and neighborhoods throughout the state. This means that the Ocean City’s historic neighbor will be able to receive funding and training from the program to help create new community projects, improve the standard of architecture and public art and design, and, in a new wrinkle on the 10-year-old state program, develop “green” business and government practices.

Governor O’Malley announced Berlin’s return to the program during a special visit to the town, his first trip to Berlin as governor. Local officials were excited about the visit and the announcement, pointing out that Berlin hasn’t historically received a lot of attention from the state government, even during times of economic success. Berlin’s officials are hoping that this announcement marks the beginning of a new era for the charming town that Ocean City visitors know as an escape from the noise and crowds of the beach towns.

Delmarva Bike Week, traditionally hosted at Ocean Downs racetrack, has decided on a change of plans for this year. Rather than spending the entire week in Ocean City, the event has been redesigned as a motorcycle tour of the Delmarva peninsula, with six major stops including Ocean City and Ocean Pines as well as Salisbury, Seaford, and Wicomico County.

The new road map is a creative solution to the problem caused by heavy bike traffic in Ocean City during previous Bike Weeks. Keeping bikes moving is intended to reduce the pressure on OC’s roads as well as giving bikers more of a chance to, well, ride their bikes. That’s why the slogan for this year’s event is “This year we ride.”

OC businesses shouldn’t worry too much about the lost business from the bikers. The organizers are planning big events at local venues including Seacrets, Sunset Marina, Francis Scott Key resort, and, of course, Harley-Davidson of Ocean City. In the meantime, the tour’s shorter stay in Ocean City will mean more peace and quiet for non-riding tourists and families. Let’s hope this is one compromise that makes everyone happy.

Last time I was in Ocean City, I talked to a lifeguard who was working his first summer. Just the day before I spoke with him, he’d performed his first ever rescue, on a little girl who’d gotten caught in an undertow. Not being the strongest swimmer int he world, I was kind of relieved to hear that the rescue had gone well and the girl was fine. Nothing like knowing you’re in good hands, right?

Thanks to Ocean City’s Beach Patrol, this year thousands of beachgoers will know that same feeling. That’s because with the high point of the summer season comes an exhaustive effort to make sure that lifeguards are ready for whatever challenges may come their way. In addition to the demanding physical tests applicants to the job must pass, new guards receive 9 days of training and three weeks of supervised probation. Returning lifeguards must re-take their lifeguard tests each year they work, in addition to participating in regular drug tests. Guards who drive dune buggies must also be re-certified to be sure that they remember how to safely maneuver the vehicles.
And while some parts of the country are having to cut down on lifeguards due to a shortage of available young people, the town of Ocean City is actually hiring additional guards this summer to deal with the peak crowds, making sure that every station will be manned throughout the day, and extra guards will be on hand in case of emergencies.

So those of us who have not had a swimming class in a while, or who just happen to have seen Jaws a little bit too soon before going on vacation, can relax — we’re being watched over by the best lifeguarding force Ocean City has seen yet.