- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- home style today articles
- home style today q&a
- traveling today articles
- traveling today q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Ocean City
Paradise Awaits in This Maryland Family Fun Spot
By Sue Marquette Poremba
When we weren't playing in the ocean (or in my case, reading novels on the beach), there were a lot of other options. Miniature golf was popular with our teenagers, and it seemed like there was a themed miniature golf course every couple of blocks. The best time to go is early in the day. Not only are the courses not crowded during the prime beach times, but we saw that several of the courses had "golf until 6 p.m. for one price" offers.
By sunset, the courses are packed, so that's the time to explore some of the other family entertainment options. Our little group loves arcades, and we found plenty of them both on the main highway and on the Boardwalk. There are also amusement parks and water parks. We didn't make it to any of those, but they seemed very popular as we drove by.
One of the great things about Ocean City is that the ocean is mostly for swimming, surfing and boating, while the bay side is for other water sports. Jack and I and our friends decided to try parasailing. After searching around for prices that fit our budgets and times that fit our schedule, we settled on Bay Sports Unlimited, where we sailed into the bay with Captain Glenn and his "first mate" Tyler. When Tyler noticed I was a little nervous, he explained that parasailing is a safe sport. "If the rope breaks," he said, assuring me that it never had in Captain Glenn's 10 years of running the parasail boat, "you're attached to a parachute. You'll float down into four feet of water"