Ocean City Beach Vacation

It was a very happy weekend for the Jake & Jill Adventures clan. With all the problems we've been having with the boat (engine) and the knowledge that several engine parts were not due to arrive for at least 5 days, we had nothing to do and nowhere to go. But thats perfect! I mean we have a car for a little while longer, might as well get some use out of it. Lets go somewhere for a few days.

So Saturday AM we got on the "internet machine" and spent the better part of the morning researching places nearby to visit. We were both itching for a little beach holiday getaway, so that made it easy to choose Ocean City as our destination.

Normally when we travel, we try to save our pennies and do things on the cheap. But we decided to splurge a bit for this trip, and booked a room in the #1-rated hotel right on the beach, The Dunes Manor. We thought a two-night stay would be perfect time to relax and rejuvenate.

We were pretty amped come Sunday morning, packing our boat up and getting ready to leave. This would be our first trip away from the boat, but we weren't sad about that!

We left around 11AM and pulled into the hotel around 1:30PM. We were told our room may not be ready until 4PM, but we lucked out because it was ready and waiting for us! We got a corner room on the 4th floor, so we were surrounded by ocean views. It had a large balcony, 2 large queen-sized beds, a bathroom with RUNNING WATER, a refrigerator, giant luscious pillows, free internet, a microwave, a TV, and air conditioning! We were in heaven :)

Since we didn't have much stuff, we unpacked in about 5 minutes and headed down to the beach. It was 80-degrees and sunny but the ocean was much more frigid! We gave it a shot, but bailed after about 20 minutes because we couldn't handle the cold. Should have brought our wetsuits! So instead we laid out in the sand under a deserted umbrella. At some point I thought it'd be fun to bury Jake in the sand, to which he reluctantly said yes. Though after he was completely covered (except his head), he said he was quite comfortable. I let him bury half of me, and then he turned the 'leg portion' of my sand-covered self into a mermaid tail. It was very silly and cute and fun.

A random girl walked up to us asking about our umbrella; I guess you are supposed to rent them. But we didn't want to pay for it so we let her take it away :(

Oh well...we were hot and in the mood for a real shower, so we headed back to the room. We took our time since we had no real plans, then decided it'd be fun to explore the 'downtown' portion of the city for a bit.

If you haven't been to the OC, I can describe it as a mini-vegas with beaches and boardwalk instead of 'the strip'. There are young people half-naked EVERYWHERE. Lots of booze and debauchery. Super kitschy stores and shops line the boardwalk mixed with food and bars. Then tons of hotels and small 'apartment' rentals; all loaded with people. I imagine Jersey Shore is very much like this (and probably any other coastal city).

We thought it'd be fun to explore on our folding bikes...good thing we packed those! We rode about 6 miles round-trip through the back alleys of the city, since the boardwalk was packed. The bikes were perfect for sight seeing and it felt good to get some exercise.

That night we hit up a little mexican restaurant right across from our hotel. We gorged ourselves on fish tacos and margaritas! After dinner we played a leisurely 27-hole round of mini-golf, which was right next door. It was fun, but took over 2 hours to get through the course due to the large, slow parties of people in front of us. By the time we left, we were both totally wiped out, and looking forward to sleeping in a big bed!

Monday morning commenced with another gorgeous day, though a little more windy and chilly. We decided to get breakfast in the hotel restaurant, which has a fantastic view of the water. Since it was so windy, we thought walking the boardwalk and doing a little 'window shopping would be fun. We probably walked for 2 hours before the hot sun drove us back inside the glorious A/C.

That afternoon we spent some time in the hotel and then decided to drive out to the western part of OC. We did a bit of sight seeing, drove through a bunch of private land to get a taste of the Bayside of the town. It was so quiet and peaceful and GORGEOUS. I can see why so many people want to live there, and why its so expensive!

After some time we thought we'd ride our bikes but it was way too windy to enjoy so we bailed. Instead we thought...well I thought...it'd be fun to do a pampering night. I really needed a mani-pedi and convinced Jake he needed one too. I also desperately needed a hair-makeover (mostly due to the crappy water we have to endure at the marina). So we hit up a CVS and picked up a few goodies, along with a super healthy dinner at Juice Bar. We enjoyed mango, spinach, pineapple and cucumber smoothies, turkey avocado wrap and some cookies for dessert.

That night we hung out in the room. Jake enjoyed HGTV while I played in the bathroom with my hair and some much needed pruning and pampering. After I was all sparkly and new again, I decided that Jake needed a mani-pedi too. He was hesitant at first, but gave in and ended up really enjoying it. Although I didn't paint his nails, I did give them a good buffing and shine. He said he loved it and couldn't take his eyes of his feet the next day! I think he'd do it again :)

Nassau Valley Vineyard, Lewes, DE

The Nassau Valley Vineyard is a ridiculously adorable place! It is the first in the entire state, and the only one to win awards for several of their wines. The vineyard lives on several acres of land and all of it was super lush and green and gorgeous. We did a self-guided tour through the grounds and inside the winery, itself.

Then we made our way to the end and did our wine tasting. The great thing about this place is that for ONLY $5 you get to sample 6 different wines. Each wine had its own special flair. Our wine server was one of the owners, so she told us a lot about the history of the vineyard. She also taught us about wine in general. Each sample was paired with a different food (like ginger crackers or chocolate) to help enhance the flavors in the wine.

All of them were spectacular, and we don't even really like wine that much. We decided to buy a bottle of 2012 Laurel’s Red (Semi-Dry Red), which is really good for Sangria (aka my favorite summer drink). Jake got to sample some of the *Special Limited Edition / 2010 True Blue Blueberry Reserve (Semi-Dry Red), which doesn't have ANY grapes in it. It is actually 100% organic blueberries that ferment but really it tastes just like juice (which is dangerous!). It was really delicious and tasted amazing with chocolate.

As we sat chatting with the owner, she mentioned that we should go visit the town of Lewes and particularly a restaurant called, The Buttery. It was around lunch-time by this time, so we figured why not?

The town, itself was super cute, small New England-type beach town with so much character and charm. We walked around a bit and then found the restaurant she recommended. It looked like an old english manor that was converted to a restaurant, and it was AWESOME. The food was perfect and the ambiance even better. After lunch and more walking around, we decided to hit the road back to the marina.

One of my favorite things about impromptu-trips is the happening of new places. I would have never thought to visit a place like Lewes, Delaware but am so glad that we did. Plus, it was such a great break from everything and allowed us to get some much needed R&R before the trials of water tank installation and 'hopefully' engine repair-age.

Our main goal with this whole sailing adventure thing is to explore new places, cultures and hopefully find a new place to live. Even though we didn't get to sail, it still fulfilled the ultimate quest of discovery that we signed up for. Can't wait to start traveling like this on a daily basis on our boat!