Saturday, March 03, 2007

More of the Surrounding Area

It was kind of crusty and cold on Tuesday but we had not been out for sometime. We decided to drive to Ocean City, Maryland. It is just over 30 miles to there from here. Because we arrived in this area at the start of winter and now winter is just ending, I am still trying to visualize the area in bloom and "boom." The trip south to Ocean City is mixture of very tightly populated areas where one beautiful house is built almost on top of the next beautiful house or condominium unit and quiet almost undisturbed stretches of Atlantic beaches. The above picture is of beach area near the Indian River Inlet. There is some road and bridge reconstruction going on in the area but there is also great care to protect the dunes.

Ocean City is on a narrow strip of land that seems to go on forever. We drove all the way to the pier and amusement area. I have to say that the cold day and it being an off season time of year made for a lonely scene.

Here we are at the pier. It is so very gray out and uninviting. It makes the uninitiated (us) wonder what all the big fuss is about.

Just a few feet away from where the last picture was taken is this scene of the beach. I am just beginning to imagine how many people will be setting up their umbrellas here in a couple of months.

If you listen carefully you can almost hear the sounds of delight and fright of the summer visitors.

When I put on my "business advisor" hat I look at this picture with sadness because there is no commerce going on or so it appears. But, these shops are closed for the winter and will be opening in just a few weeks. For some it will be in just a couple of weeks. Then they will bustle with visitors buying t-shirts, Italian ices, hot dogs, jewelry and more.

For me the number of hotels, motels, apartments and condominiums on this strip of land called Ocean City is numbing. Yes, I know there are places where the impact is greater but on this cold day in February with most just contractors in view I had to wonder "Why?" It will probably become more evident as summer approaches.

A sampling of just some of the motels and condos.

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