Every summer for the last 50+ years, my family has gone to
Ocean City, NJ for at least a week, and it has turned into a place I feel
comfortable. As a child this was always something to look forward to, being
able to go to the beach, play mini golf and enjoy the amusement park rides with
my family; grandparents, aunt, uncles and cousins included. The night before,
it was always hard to sleep, as we were filled with excitement and high
expectations for the week ahead. We would wake up early, when it was still dark
out, just so we could go to a certain diner for breakfast and beat the traffic.
Up until about 2010 we rented out a house from friends of my grandparents, the
same house every year which made it feel even the more comfortable. The house
has since been knocked down, so we now have had to change places each year. The
trip has drastically changed since we were young with the house having been knocked
down, after my grandfather died in 2009, one of my uncles, a Major General in
the Army, too busy to stay the whole time, and we have also become older and
don’t go for the same reasons. Our time there has become much more relaxed and
more about just spending time with each other. This trip is still something to
look forward too each year even though the meaning has changed. Running around
carelessly on the beach and racing to each and every ride just doesn’t happen
anymore, but some very competitive mini-golf games still go on between my
brother, two oldest cousins and I. These mini-golf games so close and fierce;
just 2 or 3 years back, the four of us were all within 2 shots of each other,
the others entrusted me to add up the scores to see who won. When I added it
up, I announced the winner, but then later that night, I recounted the scores
and realized I had counted wrong. Once I eventually told the others of how I
screwed up, they all wanted to rip my head off. Despite these very intense
games of mini-golf and beach soccer and football, our vacation is a great way
to lay back and unwind. With an occasional fishing trip on the beach or at the
bay, rather early in the morning, and spending most of the rest of the time
relaxing on the beach, our time here is laid back and very relaxing. Simply the
fact that I am so relaxed and around my family make this a place I feel
comfortable. The summer would just not be the same without that one week. (This is not my video, Its just a random one from YouTube)
