This weekend, K. and I went to Ocean City, Maryland, where her dad and his girlfriend were renting a condo overlooking the beach. Being mostly used to sleepy little shore towns full of one or two story cottages, Ocean City was a shock. Dwelling-wise, it's all massive apartment towers and hotels, especially along the beach. The restaurants were all so large and sprawling that the quality couldn't help but drop off. Longtime readers know that I'm no stranger to drinking, but I found it off-putting that liquor stores were the dominate business there, at least or two per block, followed closely by bars, several of which with awful sexual pun names The Bearded Clam or Big Peckers. I can see why some people like it, but all that made the trip an odd getaway for me. It was like trading our own big seedy metropolis for just another, even seedier one and it made us long for the pancake houses and clam shacks of LBI.

That all said, it was a good visit. We bonded with the old folks over Mad Men. K. enjoyed the beach and I had a nice swim, followed by some quality time on the balcony, listening to the waves and reading Scott Pilgrim comics. We ate seafood and ice cream, walked the beach and the boardwalk. And now we just have a four day week left to contend with. Not bad.