Beach Buffet: The All You Can Eat Experience

Remember the pie eating contest scene in the movie "Stand By Me"?  The characters stuff and stuff and stuff themselves until...well...you know what happened.

Last Saturday night, I was trying to think of a place to take my Mother for dinner.  I knew that she wouldn't care for the type of restaurants that I like (aka anywhere that doesn't serve a baked potato with butter/sour cream toppings) so I did a quick Google search for "Ocean City MD restaurants".  At the top of the list was The Bonfire on 70th St.  I read a few of the buffet menu items to my Mom and she seemed pretty excited so, even though it was only 4 PM, we headed south.

The Bonfire is huge.  It's a dizzying maze of dining rooms, bars, buffets, mirrors, windows, and mish-mash décor (sort of a mix of late 80's/early 90's brass and floral with some nautical elements thrown in, along with a strange landscape mural in a fully enclosed rock and water garden).  The hosts and servers were extremely friendly and we didn't have to wait long before we were guided to our table, which was somewhere toward the back of the restaurant (I think).  It was easy to get lost in the sea of people carrying plates full of crab legs and dessert items.

The food really isn't bad.  Since they have pretty much every type of food known to man on the buffet, there is something for everyone.  Mom tried the baked ham, prime rib, and crab legs while I munched on chicken wings, salad, and mac and cheese.  The dessert buffet offers all sorts of pies, cakes, ice cream, and cookies as well as home made fried doughnuts (yum). 

Did I eat my $34 worth?  Definitely not.  But, from what I could see, there were plenty of people there that did!  I think it was worth the money just to experience the buffet phenomenon.  Everyone there seemed pretty happy to be indulging in the vast array of items that they had to offer. 

Although the focus was more on quantity than quality, I expected a less tasty experience.  Most of the items that I tried didn't excite my taste buds, but it wasn't like cafeteria food either.  It was more of the type of food that you want to stuff yourself with on a Sunday afternoon in front of a football game right before you take a really long nap to sleep off your food coma.


Mom seemed to enjoy herself and had to eat more than a few Tums that evening. So glad she didn't eat the blueberry pie!

Beat-Up Beach Home Decor

Gone are the days when you pick up a decorative item for your home and put it back on the shelf because it has a scratch on it.  People are now paying lots of money on "distressed" home décor. 

This trend seems to be a bit more prevalent at the beach, where it gives a home or condo a more rustic, surf shack feel.

I admit that I like it.  I paid way too much money for a set of nesting tables for my living room that look like they have been left outside for 10 years with no protection.  I also have been scouring antique stores to find items that have a "weathered" look or have been restored to look like they've been used. 

I love Remember When on Rt. 54 in Selbyville, DE.  This store takes used items and paints them in cool, beachy colors, then gently distresses them to give them a weathered or rustic look.  I found two great stools there that I am now using as plant stands on my sun porch.  Eclectic on Coastal Hwy. in  Fenwick Island is another store that is re-painting old furniture in beachy colors and also offers antique items.

"Distressed" stool from Remember When in Selbyville, DE

I found an old, metal pail from my father-in-laws garage that, at one time, was painted mint green on the outside.  I am now using it to hold rolled-up beach towels.  The only thing I did to it was wash it out. 

Distressed metal pail from my father-in-laws garage

"Distressed" frames with old-timey beach photos

A few weeks ago, I purchased some new, wooden frames at a discount store in N. Wilmington.  They were painted solid blue, so I took a penny and some sandpaper to rough them up a little bit.  I searched the internet for some old-timey black and white beach photos found a couple of funny ones to pop in the frames.

I'm not calling this "shabby chic" because I think it's a bit different and I know that many people (including me) are combining the distressed items with brand new.  Plus - I hate the term "shabby chic". 


Many of these items are colorful, unique and have a retro feel.  And, perhaps what I love best about this trend, you never have to worry about scratching the furniture!



September = Sun, Sand, and Sleep

This past Sunday was, probably, the most beautiful day that I've spent at the beach since I bought my house in March.  After doing a bit of yard work, my husband and I spent a lazy afternoon watching football, reading, and falling asleep on couches.  It really isn't anything different than we would have done at our home in Wilmington, but it felt so much better doing it there!



I've been looking forward to these days of cooler temps and have been curious to see what it's like to live like a local - even if I'm only doing it on weekends. 



My Sun Room (Nap Headquarters)



My first test was my ride down on Saturday afternoon.  When I didn't hit the usual back-ups in Rehoboth and Dewey, I knew that the season was over.  Saturday night, we went to Bethany and had dinner at Bethany Blues.  There was a short (20 minute) wait and we had no problem finding a parking space on  Garfield Parkway.  Dinner was great and we headed back to OC to spend a relaxing evening with friends.



I also noticed that many of the little shops that I would have loved to have gone in to were closed Saturday evening.  I guess the shop owners can't justify staying open for the smaller crowds, but I think that they are missing an opportunity for sales from the people who are coming to town for dinner or an evening stroll on the boards.

As usual, my weekend beach fix helped me to forget all the stress and strife of my "real life" and calm myself enough to face the week ahead.  I know that, some time soon, I will have to start spending more weekends in N. Wilmington and focus on the things that I've been escaping from since Spring.  But, for now, I'm going to squeeze in as many lazy beach weekends as I can. 



9/19-9/21 Beach Weekend: Sunfest, Sunshine, and My Mother

I just checked the weather for this coming weekend and it looks like another beauty in the DE/MD resort towns. 


On Friday, I will be taking my Mom back to the beach for some more (well-deserved) R & R.  I'm hoping that we'll be able to attend Sunfest at the Ocean City inlet, but I'm not sure about if Mom will want to do a lot of walking.  Perhaps, if we go early enough, I can park in a municipal lot and we can catch the tram to the inlet.


Last time Mom visited my beach house, I introduced her to Go Fish! in Rehoboth.  She has been craving their fish and chips since June, so I think a trip back up North is in order.  If we go on Friday, it would work out great because it is Senior Beach Day in Rehoboth!  From 9 AM - 2 PM, there will be free health screenings, entertainment, and vendors all throughout Rehoboth (beach, bandstand, and convention center).  I'm sure that Mom would love to have her blood pressure taken after she eats a plate of fish and chips!




Dewey Beach Music Conference
Sept. 18-20

One place I know Mom won't want to go is to Dewey Beach for the 2014 Dewey Beach Music Conference.  After checking out the website for this event, it seems like a "must attend" for all local (and not-so-local) musicians.  Performances will be at Rusty Rudder, Bottle & Cork, Gary's, Jimmy's Grille, McShea's, Port, and Ivy.  There are also panels and speakers scheduled, as well as vendors selling merchandise.  The performance schedule lists mostly local musicians but also some from far-away lands, like California. 

MS Bike to the Bay is this weekend -
watch out for the cyclists!

TRAFFIC ALERTS:  Bike to the Bay and Dewey Beach Triathlon/Duathlon are both this weekend.  Please be careful when driving on Route 1!  Expect lane closures on Sunday morning between Bethany to Dewey Beaches. 

As always, have a wonderful, safe beach weekend!

Boardwalk Food

Whenever I walk the boards, I am overcome with sensory overload.  Besides the flashing lights and the noise of the rides and games, it is the smells of the food that hits me the hardest.  In most cases, it's not necessarily a bad smell.  It's more like a deep-fried nuisance kind of smell.  

What is this?  It doesn't look like chocolate or bananas!

In a few short blocks, you can find a walk-up doughnut stand that puts ice cream on top of their fried goodies, Polish water ice, deep fried Oreos, Funnel Cake, Street Tacos, and beach fries sold by the bucket.

Much like the sea gulls that scour the boards looking for dropped French fries and discarded waffle cones, we become seaside vultures that scour the boardwalk eating garbage. 

There never seems to be real healthy choices.  Then again, you are walking and burning off calories so you can afford to treat yourself, right?

The history of boardwalk food began during the Depression, when elaborate ocean-front hotels that used to offer fine dining gave way to a "fast food" stands offering pizza, hot dogs, and ice cream at an affordable price.  The Alaska Stand on 9th St. & Boardwalk in Ocean City, MD has been around for over 75 years and offers breakfast, lunch/dinner platters, as well as on-the-go treats such as ice cream, smoothies, funnel cake, and lemonade.

I have fond memories of eating Vanilla soft-serve ice cream cones on the boardwalk as a kid.  I remember having to finish them quickly to keep the warm temps and salty air from making them a sticky mess that ran down my arm.

As bad for you as it is, there is something nostalgic and satisfying about taking that first bite of a freshly-spun cotton candy and feeling it turn to hard sugar once it hits your teeth.  Or, what's better than buying a pound of fudge for a relative at home and eating half of the box before you check out of your hotel room?

The boardwalk provides you with a large variety of food choices, quick service, free entertainment, and low prices.  Sometimes there is limited seating, but benches empty quickly and most items can be gobbled up while walking (which you should definitely do a lot of 'cause that most of that crap is really fattening).  All things considered, it really is the best dining value at the beach. 



THOT Attire: Dressing For Success

Each summer, I like to look at the T-Shirts hanging in the shop windows on the boardwalk to see what the most popular designs are.  Last year, there was plenty of Breaking Bad and Duck Dynasty references.  This year, Miley Cyrus seems to be pretty popular, as well as shirts using the likeness of Marilyn Monroe (?), the use of the word "Swag", red Solo cup references, and the usual "I Survived Senior Week" items.


This year, I noticed a lot of decals referring to THOT.  Having no clue what that means, I asked my twenty-something kids and their friends.  They didn't know either.  So - off to the Urban Dictionary I went and found it defined as follows:  A THOT is a hoe.  It is an acronym for That Hoe Over There.


Whenever they sell one of these shirts, they should give away a free "I'm With Stupid" shirt to the friend of whoever is buying the THOT shirt.  That way, at least people might feel sorry for the girl.


Given the fact that my twenty-something kids didn't know what it meant, I am inclined to believe that it is a term that is being used by teens or very young adults.  This makes me a bit sick to my stomach.  I can't imagine why any young lady would want to wear a shirt advertising her status as a hoe (unless she wants to be more of one).  Maybe I'm sounding a bit old.  I don't care.  It's trashy and I have more of a problem with this decal hanging on the boardwalk than I do with the pole dancer hanging on the boardwalk (literally). 


Freedom of speech and all that....blah...blah...blah.  Sure.  But no self-respecting young woman should ever be seen wearing some of the shirts I've seen hanging in these store fronts this summer.  How low must their self-esteem be?  This is why girls grow up to marry men who beat the crap out of them in an Atlantic City elevator (too soon?).


Tacky, fringed beach cover-ups - fine.  String bikinis with beaded ties - o.k.  But even slutty beachwear has its limits.  I think these decals crossed a line and raised the bar higher for next summer's most popular demeaning decal.

OC Bike Fest 2014

Cover your ears.  The 14th Annual Delmarva Bike Week is happening this weekend (September 11-14).


I will be down to celebrate and watch some of the festivities.  I don't own a motorcycle.  I've never even been on a motorcycle.  I'm just thrilled that most of the visitors to the resort area this weekend will be my age or older!


Since I'll be on Ocean City, MD, I went to www.ocbikefest.com to find out if there is anything that I'd be interested in checking out.  There is not.


Friends of mine will be riding in to town on their Harley and staying with me.  Perhaps they will want to go see one of the concerts (Kashmir the Led Zeppelin cover band, Travis Tritt, Marshall Tucker Band, and Don Felder of the Eagles will be performing while we're in town) or maybe they will want to check out the "Wall of Death" stunt that is taking place at the OC Inlet.  Perhaps they won't be terribly offended if I don't join them.


There are other events and attractions happening in Salisbury, MD and Seaford, DE so be sure to check out the link at the top of this post.


I may just have to leave town and head to Selbyville, DE to attend the Arts and Jazz Festival at the Freeman Stage at Bayside.  It starts at 10 AM on Saturday 9/13 and it's free!  They recommend bringing your own chair so that you can relax and listen to some cool jazz, then look at some cool art. 


Traffic Alert:  Be careful if you're driving through Dewey Beach this Saturday.  It is hosting the 18th Annual Dewey Beach Triathlon .  This is a charity event benefitting the Sussex Family YMCA. 


Since I'm not an athlete or a biker, it will be fun to watch people doing things on two legs or two wheels.  Let's hope everyone has a safe and sun-filled beach weekend!