Days 3-5: Beach Bummin' and Venturing Out

The third day here at Ocean City was mostly made up of beach time. Predictably, there were considerably less people. The water was a little chillier and it was a little choppier, but over all a good experience. After the beach I ventured to the Food Lion again to pick up some items to make spaghetti. Once again, I found the customers and employees to be extremely rude and obnoxious. Most of the night was spent in my room, but I did venture out to get sone ice cream at a place on Coastal Highway. I forget the name of it (sorry, it's been a couple days). The ice cream was very good, though. I wound up getting peanut butter ripple.

The fourth day was cloudy and an over all bad day to go to the beach. I wound up heading out to Berlin, Maryland since the tourist books hyped it up so much. All I have to say is when you get there, don't blink or else you've probably driven through it already. Not seeing a point to getting out and walking around to look in the windows of all the antique shops (which is all they seem to have), I decided to cut my losses and just head back to my room to regroup. Afterwards I decided it might be a good idea to check out what Delaware had to offer instead. Destination? Rehoboth Beach. It's only about a half hour or so from Ocean City. When I got there, I was extremely impressed with the beach's quaint feel. I strolled up and down Rehoboth Ave, dodging in and out of shops that contained spa products, beach crafts, wind chimes, clothes, and other cute things. I did wind up purchasing from a shop called "Scentchips", which sells soy based potpourri that you can either melt in a burner or have sitting around to liven up a bathroom or bedroom. I will warn you, though, that your olfactory senses will be over stimulated by the time you walk out if there.

For dinner I went to the Purple Parrot, which is also on Rehoboth Ave. They serve things like wraps, quesadillas, sliders, burgers, etc. Basically, your typical bar food. I thought the food was really good. I ordered the Grilled Beef Quesadilla, which had bits of steak in it. I thought it was delicious! I loved the salsa that they served with it too. The food was still a bit overpriced to me, but not as overpriced as Ocean City. The staff was also very friendly and seemed more lively than those who work in OC. Over all, a great place to eat.

Rehoboth was a great adventure, and probably the shining beacon in this trip thus far. The people were nicer, the shopping was good, and I was able to relax a little bit more. Great destination.

Today (day 5) turned out, unexpectedly, to be a great beach day. The weather was beautiful and there was hardly anyone there. It provided me with some very welcome relaxation.

All caught up! Until tomorrow...

Travel Time: Media

Media, PA that is. First impression? What a swanky place. Seriously. It's pretty awesome.

Located in Southeastern PA, the small town of Media is clean, modern, and healthy. The courthouse is clearly the focal point and the life of the place. Located in the center of Media, it even has a popular hot dog cart in the front, which serves hot dogs, hot sausages, fruit bowls, small veggie trays, soft pretzels, etc. It is clearly a very popular lunch location seeing as how convenient it is for courthouse workers. When I was there, it had a constant stream of customers. I tried it as well (hot dog with hot mustard and a Snapple iced tea), and was not disappointed. It wasn't the best hot dog I've ever had, however, I thought it was pretty cool that you could order it and they put all the fixings on it that you ask for and then you can go to a nearby bench and sit down and enjoy. Loved it.

The main street in Media is also pretty cool. It is small-stretches about 8 blocks or so, however, it has a grand array of locally owned shops and restaurants. It had shops from Ten Thousand Villages to the Hallmark store to a locally owned art store that sold art supplies and paintings as well as several locally owned clothing stores. The restaurants were also so cool. There was this salad and tea cafe called Lotus, which I thought was awesome. They had a lot of other salad bars too. There were also A LOT of Thai, Indian, and Chinese food that didn't seem to be your typical trashy Thai, Indian, and Chinese places. One of them touted their special noodle soup and offered vegetarian dishes, while another place served a combo Thai/French cuisine (I think the restaurant was called La Na). My impression is that the people in this town are health conscious. All of the restaurants seemed pretty classy as well.

What was interesting was how much the courthouse was the center of the town. Lawyers were everywhere, and there was also signs outside of restaurants that read, "10% off for jurors".

All in all, I thought Media was a pretty awesome place. Small town feel with a modern flare. Loved it.