Ocean City, Day 1: Horses; French Fries; and Popcorn

We, as a family, faced a large crisis recently.
April vacation was looming large in our immediate future and We wanted to do something fun for a few days. It had to be someplace we could drive and it had to be relatively inexpensive.
My many suggestions like: the grocery store, the path in the woods right near our house, and the couch, were dismissed out of hand by the powers that be.
Alex was not going to be joining us because he is on the volleyball team and had practice over vacation. That left the decision up to Tori and Kerri.
Tori wanted to go someplace warm, sandy, and beachy. She suggested Bora Bora and, by the way Kerri's eyes lit up, I knew that immediate action was required on my part.
I offered a compromise of placing a big tray of salt water next to the sandbox in our yard.
Neither Tori nor Kerri was impressed.
Kerri swooped into action and proposed Ocean City, Maryland.
I sputtered and wailed about the 8+ hour drive, but Kerri is a brilliant tactician. She sealed our fate by showing Tori pictures of a place called Assateague State Park where wild horses roam freely along the beach.

Here are things Tori loves:
1. The Beach
2. Horses

Here are things I cannot stand:
1. The Beach
2. Horses

So, naturally, we packed up and headed off to get sunburns while being stompled to death by roving gangs of rabid, wild beach ponies.

We left at 2:30 in the afternoon on Saturday and, after a drive that I would like to never think about again, we rolled into Ocean City–bleary-eyed, and butt-fatigued–at about 11:30 that night.

The lobby was tastefully decorated with buckets of long, disgusting old man toenails.

They also featured what appeared to be a Muppet stuck in a large, white vase.

Kerri and Tori enjoyed the Dr. Evil chairs in the lobby.

And Tori was very excited that SHE would be able to push the buttons in the elevator and she would not have to share that thrill with Alex.

As we checked into the hotel, the lady at the front desk cheerily asked us if we had even been to OC before. When she found out that we had not, she leaned over the counter conspiratorially.  "While you're here, you HAVE to get Thrasher's French Fries and Fisher's Popcorn."

Here are things I love:
1. French fries.
2. Popcorn

We staggered off to our room and dropped into bed so we'd be well rested when we needed to escape from gangs of wild horses, intent on stompling us to death before eating our french fries and popcorn.