Ocean City

There are a couple of things in Ocean City that aren't all tourist traps. A good pit beef sandwich from Boogs BBQ is one such item. It's got a tourist trap price (it was like $8 for a sandwich and a drink), but dam it's good. Pit Beef is a type of barbecued beef sandwich that's popular on the east coast (apparently calling it pit beef is a Baltimore area thing). It's not really BBQ since it's grilled and not smoked. It's great tasting and usually served rare with horseradish sauce.

Another famous bit of food in Ocean City is the Thrashers French Fries. The place has been in business since 1927 and there's a good reason why - these fries are a must for anyone that visits the area. Thrashers uses a special ingredient when they make their fries. It's so big of a secret employees have to sign non-disclosure agreements. Whatever it is, it taste great. The best way to eat them is with old bay and apple cider vinegar. In fact the only other condiment at the thrashers stand is salt - ketchup isn't good enough for these guys.

Randy Hofman's sand sculptures are another favorite for everyone that goes to Ocean City. An ordained minister since the late 80's, Randy has been creating biblical themed sand sculptures for almost 20 years now. He's basically a local legend. The hotel across from his sculptures (he's made them in the same spot since the beginning) gives him water and electricity (he works at night so the sculptures maintain their moisture), a local restaurant gives him knifes to use (that's his only tool), and even a local Christian outreach group donates time to help him dig sand (he's 50 now and can't do all the digging himself). The end result are some amazing sand sculptures.

Mini-golf is always a beach favorite and OC has plenty of course to go around. This particular one was pirate themed.

And what's vacation without a little bit of drinking? OC's famous tequila bar is called Tequila Mockingbird. They've been there forever, Sammy Hagar has visited a couple of times, and they've got a decent selection of tequila's. The one thing I don't like about them (and this is straight up geek rage here) is that they continue to perpetuate the tequila worm myth. Tequila was never served with a worm; that's Mescal - an agave product but not tequila (which is only made from blue agave). Seen above is there signature drink - a margarita bowl (I assure you that it's a margarita even though it's blue).