Joni Con
THE INDOOR POOL AT THE HOTEL RESORT IN OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND. #1. (DIDN'T SEE THIS COMING!)
Joni and the wife had never been to Ocean City, Maryland. However, one of our kids had spent a lot of time there dating back to his college days and continuing over the years when he lived and worked in the D.C. area. He recommended that we exchange a time share week that we needed to use or lose for what would ultimately turn out to be an abbreviated week in Ocean City. So we did. Having booked a week in early September a full week after Labor Day, Joni and the wife anticipated still warm weather and relatively empty beaches with kids everywhere back in school. What could go wrong?
The first taste of disappointment occurred during our check in on a Saturday afternoon when we were greeted by a sign in the hotel lobby that informed us that the resort's pool and deck were closing for the season on the next day. . . . We certainly didn't see that coming! Our disappointment was only deepened when we briefly toured the pool deck after we unpacked the car and moved in and saw that it was a fairly nice pool. However, we consoled ourselves with the thought that the beach was only a couple blocks away. We did take a trip later that evening to not too distant Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, yet another unexplored virgin territory for us. That was an interesting trip. . . .
That Sunday was a bright and sunny, but windy, day; not an ideal beach day. With the pool officially closed, we opted to stay in our room and watch NFL football games during the season's opening week, but did take a short stroll on the beach in the late afternoon before heading out to dinner. On Monday morning, Joni's male alter ego set out on a leisurely drive to New Jersey to check into a hotel and then head out to Met Life Stadium to meet up with his other son to see the Jets play their season opener against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football. It turned out to be an epic game, but not because the Jets pulled out an upset victory over the Bills with a punt return by a rookie in overtime. Rather the game was highlighted by Aaron Rodgers tearing his Achilles tendon on only his fourth play of the season, knocking him out for the rest of the season and thereby flushing the Jets' season down the proverbial toilet. . . . I didn't see that coming either! Ironically, I didn't actually see what was destined to be the most consequential play of the Jets' season in real time either, as I was relieving myself in the men's room because my entry into the Stadium was slightly delayed by long lines. Once inside, I had to stop in a nearby men's room to drain some excess beer from a pregame tailgate from my bladder before settling into my seat, but not in time to see Rodgers go down.
I took another leisurely trip back to Ocean City on Tuesday, which was a decent beach day according to the wife, but I arrived too late to join her. We went out to dinner and then Joni got dressed up to drive back to Rehoboth Beach. She arrived shortly after 10:00 p.m. only to discover that the sidewalks had already been rolled up. Virtually, every thing in town was shuttered for the night. Joni was appalled! What kind of respectable beach resort town closes down even on a Tuesday night by 10:00 p.m.??? WTF!! Joni made the most of the situation and was able to find one bar that was still open and bought one beer at last call before hitting the bricks 15 minutes later. She then wandered around the ghost town taking selfies here and there before heading back to Ocean City. It wasn't even midnight yet! . . . Joni didn't see that coming!
Joni took some more photos around the hotel resort when she returned from her ill-fated trip to Rehoboth Beach. However Joni was eventually confronted by a nosy hotel security guard who thought she was trying to steal a motorcycle. . . . Joni didn't see him coming either! Joni was just using the bike for a photo prop. Did I forget to mention that it was "Biker Week" in Ocean City? . . . .Didn't see that coming either when we made our reservations!
If one is beginning to sense that Joni and the wife's week in Ocean City was full of unexpected and unpleasant surprises, you are quite perceptive. . . . So it came as no surprise that Wednesday dawned as cloudy, rainy, windy, and chilly as a cold front arrived in town. . . . We didn't see that one coming either! The rain relented by early afternoon, and the wife and Joni's alter ego decided to try to get in some beach time and brave the elements, but only lasted less than an hour on the inhospitable beach, which seemed more like a frozen tundra. The good news was we didn't get a sunburn. We later took a ride to the amusement area on the boardwalk early in the evening, but given the cold, it wasn't all that amusing.
Thursday was more of the same. It was overcast and chilly and there was no point in trying to go to the beach. Besides, as I previously mentioned, our original plans for the week had been modified by other considerations which necessitated an abbreviated stay in Ocean City from the outset, because we were checking out two days early as we were heading back south to attend "Grandparents Day" on Friday at our two Granddaughters' school in North Carolina. . . . We didn't see that coming either when we made our reservations, but we weren't going to disappoint our granddaughters by being no-shows.
Nevertheless, before checking out on Thursday afternoon, Joni was determined to get in some swimsuit time before she left Ocean City. After all, she had packed two swimsuits for the trip in anticipation of getting in some "Joni time" with some fun in the sun on the beach or the pool deck. With the beach being an impractical option and the hotel's outdoor pool closed, Joni had no choice but to access the hotel's "indoor pool" located in our bathroom. . . . Not much sun, but at least, it wasn't windy or cold, although Joni could make it rain if she wanted. Didn't have to worry about removing any sand either. . . . Not so bad!
THE INDOOR POOL AT THE HOTEL RESORT IN OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND. #1. (DIDN'T SEE THIS COMING!)
Joni and the wife had never been to Ocean City, Maryland. However, one of our kids had spent a lot of time there dating back to his college days and continuing over the years when he lived and worked in the D.C. area. He recommended that we exchange a time share week that we needed to use or lose for what would ultimately turn out to be an abbreviated week in Ocean City. So we did. Having booked a week in early September a full week after Labor Day, Joni and the wife anticipated still warm weather and relatively empty beaches with kids everywhere back in school. What could go wrong?
The first taste of disappointment occurred during our check in on a Saturday afternoon when we were greeted by a sign in the hotel lobby that informed us that the resort's pool and deck were closing for the season on the next day. . . . We certainly didn't see that coming! Our disappointment was only deepened when we briefly toured the pool deck after we unpacked the car and moved in and saw that it was a fairly nice pool. However, we consoled ourselves with the thought that the beach was only a couple blocks away. We did take a trip later that evening to not too distant Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, yet another unexplored virgin territory for us. That was an interesting trip. . . .
That Sunday was a bright and sunny, but windy, day; not an ideal beach day. With the pool officially closed, we opted to stay in our room and watch NFL football games during the season's opening week, but did take a short stroll on the beach in the late afternoon before heading out to dinner. On Monday morning, Joni's male alter ego set out on a leisurely drive to New Jersey to check into a hotel and then head out to Met Life Stadium to meet up with his other son to see the Jets play their season opener against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football. It turned out to be an epic game, but not because the Jets pulled out an upset victory over the Bills with a punt return by a rookie in overtime. Rather the game was highlighted by Aaron Rodgers tearing his Achilles tendon on only his fourth play of the season, knocking him out for the rest of the season and thereby flushing the Jets' season down the proverbial toilet. . . . I didn't see that coming either! Ironically, I didn't actually see what was destined to be the most consequential play of the Jets' season in real time either, as I was relieving myself in the men's room because my entry into the Stadium was slightly delayed by long lines. Once inside, I had to stop in a nearby men's room to drain some excess beer from a pregame tailgate from my bladder before settling into my seat, but not in time to see Rodgers go down.
I took another leisurely trip back to Ocean City on Tuesday, which was a decent beach day according to the wife, but I arrived too late to join her. We went out to dinner and then Joni got dressed up to drive back to Rehoboth Beach. She arrived shortly after 10:00 p.m. only to discover that the sidewalks had already been rolled up. Virtually, every thing in town was shuttered for the night. Joni was appalled! What kind of respectable beach resort town closes down even on a Tuesday night by 10:00 p.m.??? WTF!! Joni made the most of the situation and was able to find one bar that was still open and bought one beer at last call before hitting the bricks 15 minutes later. She then wandered around the ghost town taking selfies here and there before heading back to Ocean City. It wasn't even midnight yet! . . . Joni didn't see that coming!
Joni took some more photos around the hotel resort when she returned from her ill-fated trip to Rehoboth Beach. However Joni was eventually confronted by a nosy hotel security guard who thought she was trying to steal a motorcycle. . . . Joni didn't see him coming either! Joni was just using the bike for a photo prop. Did I forget to mention that it was "Biker Week" in Ocean City? . . . .Didn't see that coming either when we made our reservations!
If one is beginning to sense that Joni and the wife's week in Ocean City was full of unexpected and unpleasant surprises, you are quite perceptive. . . . So it came as no surprise that Wednesday dawned as cloudy, rainy, windy, and chilly as a cold front arrived in town. . . . We didn't see that one coming either! The rain relented by early afternoon, and the wife and Joni's alter ego decided to try to get in some beach time and brave the elements, but only lasted less than an hour on the inhospitable beach, which seemed more like a frozen tundra. The good news was we didn't get a sunburn. We later took a ride to the amusement area on the boardwalk early in the evening, but given the cold, it wasn't all that amusing.
Thursday was more of the same. It was overcast and chilly and there was no point in trying to go to the beach. Besides, as I previously mentioned, our original plans for the week had been modified by other considerations which necessitated an abbreviated stay in Ocean City from the outset, because we were checking out two days early as we were heading back south to attend "Grandparents Day" on Friday at our two Granddaughters' school in North Carolina. . . . We didn't see that coming either when we made our reservations, but we weren't going to disappoint our granddaughters by being no-shows.
Nevertheless, before checking out on Thursday afternoon, Joni was determined to get in some swimsuit time before she left Ocean City. After all, she had packed two swimsuits for the trip in anticipation of getting in some "Joni time" with some fun in the sun on the beach or the pool deck. With the beach being an impractical option and the hotel's outdoor pool closed, Joni had no choice but to access the hotel's "indoor pool" located in our bathroom. . . . Not much sun, but at least, it wasn't windy or cold, although Joni could make it rain if she wanted. Didn't have to worry about removing any sand either. . . . Not so bad!