OCMD Vacation Day 4

Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Sunny, 88 degrees, breezy


When I woke up on this day, I thought I'd be really anxious and nervous, but I wasn't.


Today was the day I was going to get over my fear of heights and go Parasailing!!!  But first, breakfast at my very favorite, in the whole world restaurant in Ocean City!


My friend, Fran, turned me on to this place the first year I rented her Housita.  And now I'm going to turn you on to it!  If you are ever in Ocean City, MD, you MUST go to The Bayside Skillet for breakfast.  Bring money, though, because it isn't a cheap meal but oh! So worth every penny!  You can't miss this place.  It's at 77th Street on the bay, and the building is completely PINK!

We come to this place every year.  We usually only go once because our bill is usually around $45.  We treat ourselves and you'll see why.


This is Maryland.  You can buy an alcoholic drink for breakfast here.  Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.  This day I did not because I was planning to do the Parasailing thing and I didn't want them to prevent me because I'd been drinking.


Did I mention that we said screw the fat,calories and carbs this trip?  We were on vacation.  I start back on Nutrisystem this Friday, October 1.


We started off with  Potatoes Tara.  Pan-fried potatoes sauteed with bacon, onions and mushrooms, topped with melted cheddar cheese.  We shared this dish.  It's yummiful!!!!!

For my main course, I had the House Specialty, the Strawberry Blintz Omelette.  This omelet is stuffed with fresh strawberries, cream cheese and brown sugar.  It's topped with fresh strawberries and dusted with powdered sugar.  You can get other fruits in season, but I usually stick with strawberries.  OMG!!  This dish is almost better than sex!!  These pictures were taken with my camera, not the professional photos on the menu. (see my notebook beside the plate? )

John chose to have the Strawberry Crepes.   Three crepes, with fresh strawberries and Chantilly cream.  You can also choose other fruits, in season, but he likes the strawberries.  Oh and he got  a side of bacon.  The man has to have his meat.

Here's a close-up of the crepes.  YUM!!!

So, now that we were properly stuffed, it was time to head over to the parasailing place, and hope I don't lose this wonderful brunch I just had!


We made a quick stop at Walmart (Hi Garret!) on the way to buy rubber bands because John wanted to make something to keep our glasses on.  This was a trick he learned in the Army when he was a paratrooper.  He made straps to attach to our glasses so we didn't have to worry about losing them in the ocean (and at $500, I was NOT about to lose these glasses, even if I do need a new pair!).  Of course, I didn't think to take a picture of them, but they worked beautifully!


OK, so we head on over to Paradise Watersports in Ocean City.

We signed up for parasailing.  We have a choice to go up 400 ft., 600 ft., or 800 ft.  We decide what the hell, if we go up 400 ft., we may as well go 800 ft.   So that's what we did!!  There were 5 groups of 2 on the boat.  The ocean was still rather rough from Hurricane Igor, so we stayed in the bay.  Even that wasn't as calm as it should have been!


John and I were the 2nd couple to go up.  I was only a little bit nervous and anxious.  Frankly I was surprised I wasn't shaking in my swimsuit!!!  The first mate took a ton of pics of us!  They had a deal where they'd put a memory card in the camera and take lots of pics.  When we got back in the boat, he gave us the memory card to take with us (for a price of course). The memory card had 76 pictures on it, but don't worry!  I only posted 8 or 9 of them!  I did get somewhat nervous when it got gusty up there.  BUT I didn't scream, faint, throw up or shit my pants (sorry)!  I was really proud of myself!   So here's my adventure!!


NOTE:  Click on the pictures to get a better look, especially the ones that are not close ups.

Slight concern on my face

Here we go!!!

Oh my!!

Hey!!  This is cool!!

Up we go!!

This gives you an idea just how high up we were!

Splash down!

And back up again!

Coming in for our landing

Oh boy!  That was fun!!!   I'd do that again!!!

After we changed back into regular clothes, we headed into Ocean City and the boardwalk.

We decided to have dinner at Shenanigan's Irish Pub and Grille, on the boardwalk.  

Our server, Louise, was a pretty girl with a lovely lilting Irish accent.  I wish I had gotten her picture.  She recommended that I try a Shellelagh,  which was sort of a frozen daquiri made with kiwi, lime and banana and rum.  It was good!!

We started off with the Chili Cheesy Fries, waffle fries made with cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese and a crock of chili for dipping.   I did mention that  we weren't worrying about what we ate this week and that I was starting Nutrisystem again this Friday?    OK, I thought so.

They were quite good!!  For the record, I didn't really eat a lot of the potatoes on this day.  I just realized I did this twice on the same day.


For our dinner, I had Sugar Ray's Panini, roast beef, mozzarella, mixed baby greens, tomatoes and onion, drizzled with a balsamic reduction, and grilled, panini-style.  The chips that came with it were a bit soggy.  Not sure if they were like that or if it was because we were eating outside and the night was getting damp.  This sandwich was OK.  I probably wouldn't get it again.  I think I've decided I'm not crazy about paninis.

John chose a Reuben Clancy, hot corned beef, sauerkraut, melted Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing on grilled marbled rye bread.  He really enjoyed it!

After walking off some of that meal, we headed home and got to see the season premiere of CSI: Crime Scene Investigators.  And The Mentalist.  Good shows!


So what's up for tomorrow?  A trip to Chincoteague Island, VA!