Ocean City, MD.

[hi725]

Tell me your favorite things to do here, favorite places to eat (with kids), that might be open in the off season. We brought the kids down for a few days, but we got here after dark, so I can't tell what's closed until mid-April, or what's only closed until tomorrow morning.

Thanks!

[cleo29]

Do you like ribs? Nick Idonis (Nick's Original House of Ribs) is fantastic and the onion loaf is great. Harpoon Hannah's might be open, that is bay side in Fenwick. There is an indoor mini golf place that is probably open.

[cleo29]

I would still walk on the boardwalk.

[Smallstar]

Dead Freddies is always a good place to eat and has a play area for kids. If you're there through the weekend, there's an Easter thing happening at the Convention Center on Friday and Saturday.

[suzyp]

Walk the boardwalk. There's also an indoor skating rink or something like that at the Carousel hotel on the northern end of town. Drive over to assateague to see if you can see any horses. More things should open up on the weekend if you're still there.

[donutsmakemegonuts]

Dumser's for ice cream and Grotto's for pizza

[melissa]

I second Dead Freddie's. If it is not too cold they have an outdoor play area for the kids. If the weather is nice the 125th street north side park is a great play area for the kids to run around. There is always indoor miniature golf, walking the boardwalk as some shops will be open, there is a small movie theater, or ice skating at the Carousel hotel.

As far as restaurants are concerned, I am a fan of Grotto's for quick pizza and Bayside Skillet for a yummy crepe breakfast.

[Pirategal]

Boardwalk for sure! Also get some ice cream at Dumsers and then follow up the sugar high by stopping at Candy Kitchen. Also, you can go to one of the Old Pro mini-golf places. 

[frozentoes]

The besssssssssst donuts ever are at The Fractured Prune. I miss them.

[ninjabridemom]

I don't remember what it's called, just that it's at one end of the main road paralleling the boardwalk, but there's this great crab shack. It's where we had MD crabs for the first time.

Unless you want to walk a lot that's probably not helpful but, maybe.

We went at the very beginning of the season as part of our honeymoon and the boardwalk was still awesome.

[pagas]

get fries at Thrashers

[eponinepontmercy]

Definitely ice cream at Dumser's. I had a scoop of coconut chocolate chip last summer that I still think about.

[jinkies]

Seconding Fractured Prune donuts.

I really don't know what is/isn't open in the off season though.

Have fun!

[peachmojito]

It's Hooper's Crab House! We went there last year for my 30th birthday dinner and they brought me a crab with a candle in it lol. JR's is also still open, ribs are delicious. Walk on the boardwalk, some things should be open, especially at the south end. There's a marina over there that does some boat tours, no idea if they would be open yet. We took a tour over to Assateague and saw the wild horses and played in the tide pools, it was pretty cool. This website could also be useful: ococean.com/events

[Smallstar]

If you cross the Route 50 bridge (near the inlet) there's a go-kart place, outlets, and stuff like that across the bridge and you can always drive over to assateague to look for ponies. Ripley's on the boardwalk should be open and the Ocean Gallery is always one of our favorites to browse through.

[thebuddhagouda]

Now I really really really want some boardwalk fries with malt vinegar. Stupid Mississippi.

[nicanmatt]

Apr 1, 2015 8:48:35 GMT -5 melissa said:

I second Dead Freddie's. If it is not too cold they have an outdoor play area for the kids. If the weather is nice the 125th street north side park is a great play area for the kids to run around. There is always indoor miniature golf, walking the boardwalk as some shops will be open, there is a small movie theater, or ice skating at the Carousel hotel.

As far as restaurants are concerned, I am a fan of Grotto's for quick pizza and Bayside Skillet for a yummy crepe breakfast.

Bayside Skillet is what I was coming in to suggest! Their fresh squeezed OJ and crepes are INCREDIBLE. Can get pricey if you get a lot of add-ons, but the sides are enough for several people to enjoy. YUM!!

There's a couple of great playgrounds in the area and the Carousel's ice skating rink is a lot of fun.
Hope you guys have a great time!!!

[YahYahs]

Definitely Dead Freddie's! Very kid-friendly. Foam pirate swords and big pirate ship playground.

[auntie]

Fractured Prune is a must do.

Seacrets and Fager's island are nice in the off season. I generally avoid them during the summer. Hooper's and Harrison's Harbor Watch are pretty reliable as OC eateries go.

My favorite thing to do in OC is leave. Berlin is a cute town for walking around. They have their Spring Celebration which is very kid friendly on Saturday-

berlinchamber.org/

Pity they don't do the pig races anymore- they were awesome.

Assategue is always a nice place to visit, but you'd want warm weather.

[hi725]

Thanks everybody! We are going to try quite a few of the restaurants you recommended. The hotel had a gorgeous pool that seems to be occupying the boys for the time being, but we will probably try mini golf while we are here.

Eta: oh, and the horses, for sure!

[cleo29]

Apr 1, 2015 8:51:04 GMT -5 TR said:

I haven't been to OCMD for-ever, but my mom and I used to go for a week almost every summer when I was little. We always ate at JR's for ribs, but I don't know if it's still there.

Don't forget the onion looooooooooooooooooooooooaf! lol

I still remember those commercials and I still have my small cowboy boot glass.

(I do think Nick's does better ribs though )

Lord, I miss living at the beach.

[Alyssa]

We were there at the end of April 2011 and it was a ghost town.  No one was there, just a couple random people walking up and down the boardwalk.  It was eerily quiet for a beach town. 

[panicked]

I lived in Salisbury (about 45 minutes away from OC) for a few years. I used to drive to the boardwalk nearly every day. I'd park at the park and ride, walk to the boardwalk and walk up and back. Nearly 11 miles each day. (I was working through some stuff.) I absolutely adore the boardwalk. Empty or crowded, hot or cold. It's my happy place and I miss it tremendously.

[sailorgray]

Apr 1, 2015 15:28:13 GMT -5 panicked said:

It's my happy place and I miss it tremendously.

Same here. I used to work on the Boardwalk during college and it was just a dream come true.  I've recently been in touch with old OCMD friends and it's really messed with my mind bc now I want to drop everything, move back down for a summer and wait tables.  Only, I'm now married with kids....wouldn't be the same.  I am going for Girls' Weekend next month, though.  We plan on hitting the 2nd Street Poolbar at the Plim Plaza, Mug and Mallet, Seacrets and just generally hang out and drink, which is no help to the OP at all

[BunnyMacDougal]

Is Fager's Island still there. I can't believe this but its been 10 years since I was there. I loved that place though.

[roo54]

Layton's for breakfast!

[donutsmakemegonuts]

Also, Harpoon Hanna's for dinner. It's on the water and the food is delicious. They have a great bar outside also. And they have a bread girl...she brings a huge basket of different breads around before dinner. The iced oatmeal raisin bread is wonderful

[hi725]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, we had a great time!

For breakfasts we hit Bayside skillet and Satellite. All fantastic, but the crab and cheddar omelette at Bayside was unbelievable!

We went to Dead Freddies and Seacrets, and also had dinner at Harrison's Harbor Watch on our last night.

We walked the boardwalk a few times, there wasn't much open until Thursday, but the kids had a blast in one of the arcades. We also walked the beach a ton, and hung out in the hotel pool. We spent two mornings hiking around Assateague, thank you so much to whoever recommended that, the trails and the beach there were beautiful, and it was pretty cool to explore. We saw the horses both days, they are so beautiful!

On the way back from Assateague the second time, we went to Berlin for the afternoon. We had lunch and wandered the shops. There is a fantastic toy store there that sells lots of educational type toys if anyone is interested. Also, I found THE BEST cupcake shop there. It's called Cupcake's in Bloom and apparently won second place in Cupcake Wars. If they were second, I need to know who was first! We brought a half dozen home and they are gone already (and we got in at midnight last night). We also brought home a crapload of chocolate from Candy Kitchen.

We decided to take a detour on the way home and took the Ferry from Lewes to Cape May, which I highly recommend if anyone is driving back North from OC. The ferry itself was fun, and Cape May was a cool little town. We didn't get a ton of time there, but we went to some of the shops on Washington Street and had dinner at Ugly Mug, which was awesome.

Even though a lot was closed, I still feel like there is so much we could have done and didn't have time for. We may head back next year again. I love beach towns in the off season.

[hi725]

Apr 1, 2015 8:55:55 GMT -5 eponinepontmercy said:

Definitely ice cream at Dumser's. I had a scoop of coconut chocolate chip last summer that I still think about.

Oh, I forgot, we went here, too! And I got the same ice cream, sooooooo good!

The only thing we missed out on (because we totally forgot) was the donuts at the Fractured Prune. Oh well, maybe next year!

[nicanmatt]

Glad you had a great time!!! DS is begging to go to OC. We got there last summer and while we were unloading the truck got a call that my grandma had passed away. We had all been looking forward to a relaxing and fun time, so I hope we can go soon and enjoy our visit.

It's nice to take a family vacation and actually enjoy the time spent together, it sounds like your family did a lot of that!!