kohr’s bros. manco and manco pizza

23 Jun 2016

20 Comments

A Great Place To Be A Kid

Well pardon me…

Its time for another great version of:

“What I did on my summer vacation!“

(How has everyone been?)

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Three guesses where we went?

Yes, the very day school let out here we packed our bags for …

“our favorite beach town…its Ocean City, NJ”.

Actually you all know this by now I guess.

Again this town, now TOWN(!), is a GREAT FAMILY Resort.

ocean city

It markets itself that way and does a great job to brand itself that way too.

Imagine a resort where they don’t sell alcohol (at least not on the island)? All that tax revenue gone.

But the no alcohol sends that element somewhere else and you are left with a vacation spot full of young families, older folks looking for a quiet town and some really well raised teenagers.

It truly is a great place to ~~bring~~ be a kid.

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This is the place where my parents brought me and my siblings when I was young. We made some great memories!

Now its our turn to bring our girls back OC and let them make some fun memories; as well as recreate some of our own.

What were those memories?

As Junie B. Jones would say,

‘It is my favorite thing in the whole wide world! And it starts with the letter B.

And that stands for….

Boardwalk!’

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And Ocean city’s boardwalk is a great place to be a kid!

(click HERE or at sunset HERE and take a peak at whats going on right now

…and get fat!

Yep, you just try and run all this food off…

Ahhhh…. yea!

Some of the best food known to kid-dom resides on ‘the Boards’! And when I say the Best, it is truly the best of the best…

“Laura’s Fudge is so so nice
Kohr Brothers is cool as ice
And top it off with a slice
And they’ve got FroYo, too

Eating all you can
Pants start to expand
Even ate some sand
Where you think you’re going baby?”

Well, we went each morning to Brown’s Donuts on our bikes. We strategically rented a home a block away from Brown’s.

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This is the spot where I try to sell you on brown’s, again. But this year it was summed up our very first day.

As we walked through the front door to get a table two ladies in their 50’s were sharing some donuts on the bench by the door. And as I walked on by one won-over lady was licking her fingers and said,

“Best donut ever!”

Ahh yea! They are.

Warm, fresh, made to order Brown’s donuts.

Accept no substitutes!

Powdered, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Honey

After Brown’s its a trip down the boardwalk on our bikes as we try to decide what stores to stop in and where to play miniature golf at on our way back.

‘How hard did you hit that Daddy?’

Getting back to the Boardwalk, it now carries several regional brand names synonymous with the Boardwalk. (You will see below in the vid)

If some one say Kohr’s you think the best soft custard ever!

If someone says Johnson’s Popcorn you think warm fresh, smell-to-die-for caramel corn.

If someone in Philadelphia says, Manco and Manco they know they are talking about delicious 26 inch pizza pies.

And I already told you about Brown’s Donuts.

Yes, the stores carry t-shirts, pictures, key chains, and refrigerator magnets with these brands on them

So? Best place to be a kid?

Howabout a place with world famous soft custard, warm caramel corn, pizza and donuts. I promise you we ate 3 of the 4 EVERY day (I’m such a pig) including Browns donuts every morning and Kohr’s soft custard every night.

We did!

lose 10lbs

Its like being a kid in a candy store!

Like a kid in a candy store

Oh yea, they have a few old, established famous ones there too!

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Did I forget to mention fresh fudge kids?

Now here is the part where I try to find a video that summed up OC’s boardwalk but I found this gem instead.

Kudos to Mom and Dad and their talented kids for pulling this off!

Their smiles and enthusiasm are A-typical of the kids in OC and the kids in all of us!

Sing along with them to the familiar tune:

“We come here ev-ver-ree year.

To the beach where there is no beer.

We really like it here.

We think you will too…

We take a walk on the boards
This pizza won some awards
We’re on the Jersey Shore
But not the tacky one”

I love it!

Now if you ask our kids what the best part of their vacation was they will tell you

THE RIDES!

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There are two amusement piers on the boards with a lot of carnival type kid rides. One pier may be geared more to younger kids than the other.

We went to both.

OMG don’t ask me how much money we spent on tickets!

It starts to put a Disney trip in perspective!

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This year we thought we would hang out with some Pirates too.

Savvy?

We took a trip on a pirate cruise.

Again, this adventure, that we have always been curious about is geared to small kids.

Skylar let one loose….her ‘Stinky Pete the Pirate’ joke..

We sailed around in the OC Harbor.

Tried to sink that smelly ol’ Pirate, Stinky Pete.

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We They even found seem Pirate grog buried deep in the harbor.

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It turned out to be in a Treasure Chest with a lot of plastic kiddie toys and a 2 liter bottle of root beer.

It was great…if that gives you an idea of how cold that harbor water is!

Great job you scallywags!

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But while the trip was for the kids (most of it) Dad likes to go to the beach.

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..where I can listen to the tides, watch some ~~girls~~ gulls, (an abundance of laughing gulls), chill, and get rid of my flip flop tan..

“Beach-Life tan”

Sadly, the air temperature was chilly for being the first week of June. We all had to buy sweatshirts. It kept a lot of the people off the beach and even more out of the cold ocean water.

I shore do love a picture where the land breeze blows the spray off the tumbling waves though!

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And this pic below is for a blog follower, Apple Pie & Napalm, who did a photography post on ‘Sky’ while I was on vacation.She mentioned that she has started noticing the clouds more lately.

Well here is your typical ‘brush-stroke clouds cruising across the skies in OC…

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Ocean City even boasts of a well trained legacy of devoted life guards overlooking each beach, complete with rowboats, jet skies, and shaded life guard towers…

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“Its our favorite beach town, Ocean City!”

Yes, a great place to be a kid!

And its a Great place to be a kid!

Have a great summer everyone!

Posted in Ocean City America's Best Family Resort and tagged bliss, BROWNS DONUTS, Johnson's Popcorn, kohr's bros. manco and manco pizza, Ocean City, our favorite beach town, pirates, rides

04 Aug 2013

29 Comments

Post Card from Ocean City, NJ or how I spent my summer vacation

We are recovering from a long trip back from New Jersey this week. We drove almost 12 hours, half of which seemed to be in the rain on the way home. Its been a jet lag and vacation withdrawal kinda week.

So in between unpacking and work I have been trying to put together some pics and videos from our trip for family and friends.

I think I told you earlier how Ocean City, New Jersey was a favorite vacation spot of mine when I was a wee kid. I loved it. It had so many fun, new things that I couldn’t do at home.

So naturally we looked forward to our kids having as good of a time for a vacation as we did. I think this is a great spot for kids and young families. Ocean City is a great family resort. It claims to be the “Greatest Family Resort”

It does seem to cover all the bases when it comes to having fun for a kid. Here is a glimpse why:

Kohr’s Bros frozen custard is reason enough for a visit

(the BEST hot caramel popcorn in the world!)

I actually have to order more Johnson’s Popcorn for my wife as I gave our last tub we brought home to our pet sitter this week…she wasn’t very happy about that decision…

“Sandy Monster”

a popular T Shirt on the boards

Like I said, we had a great time with so many great things to see and do…and TASTE! So I put together Top 10 Reasons this is one of our favorite family resorts. Or, otherwise a glimpse at how we spent our time on vacation week. These are the things we enjoy in Ocean City. Maybe, hopefully you’ll see it too.

OUR TOP TEN REASONS WE VISIT OCEAN CITY, NJ

1. The Boardwalk.

Most of the fun for a kid, Dad or even a Senior revolves around the 2.5 mile long boardwalk. Their literally is something for everyone here and probably lost of it. Its a mecca for fun in OC and every trip is planned around trips to, as well as what to do on the boardwalk. Here are a few images:

What?????

Some elaborate Mini-golf courses

2. Rides of the Boardwalk.

There are two amusement piers on the boardwalk. Most of the rides are geared towards the little adventurer than the teenaged one but there is something for everyone. I think we went through over $250 in TICKETS for these rides in one week. Ouch! But it is all about the kids. Here is few examples of the fun:

3. People You might meet on the Boardwalk.

I am not talking celebrities here. More like mascots. There is even a mascot parade every week. But what fun for a kid and some photo taking ops; if they’re not too scared.

I think you saw Skylar with Mr. Fries at the beginning of the week. Some of the other party mascots include….

We met Andy the Android

…Andy the Android from Verizon. Actually we had to take this one since my wife works for Verizon.

There was also the Kohr’s Bros. Custard monkey. I’m sure he has a name. Whether he did or not the kids sure loved him. Really, Kohr’s Bros. is the only name you need tot remember!

Kohr’s Brothers mascot

We also saw the sailor from one of the miniature golf courses on the boards. But whoever it was the kids sure loved their chance to meet a kid celebrity.

4. Miniature Golf.

There is a miniature golf course for everybody on the boards with at least 10 courses up there. There are courses of all type from the standard pool table bounce-off-the-boarders type of putt-putt to elaborate mazes for holes in ones. With so much competition many go to great ~~length~~ expense to lure you in.

You might have seen Jaws on Skylar’s video on Monday. Here are a few more we visited…

Give credit to the family resort… how many places start the day with our national anthem in front of a putt-putt course? And talking parrots pitching Dairy Queen?

5. Food of the boardwalk.

Many agree, all the various food stands and restaurants are the prime reason for visiting OC’s boardwalk. This isn’t the best food of the boardwalk, or Ocean City. These places of some of the BEST vacation / snack / junk food anywhere. They are practically their own food groups here, in that you should try to get a helping of each one DAILY. And many try!

So here are our Top 5 places to eat / things to try / must haves / Reasons to visit Ocean City and its boardwalk. We actually talk about each one of these places on the way up. Really! We are that nerdy!

Top 5 at 5

...that’s “Hot, Fresh, Made-To-Order” donuts at Brown’s They are so good!

Now, how many of your kids would love that food in the video? How many of YOU would enjoy it? Its your vacation, right? Calories don’t count!

But, if they did, or if you are worried about fitting in your suit the next day, Ocean City has a way to help you out….

6. Vacation Ways for Exercise and / or Transportation on the Boardwalk

Every morning a ritual occurs on the boardwalk. We look forward to riding bikes on the boardwalk as a way to explore it quickly, wake up, stretch our legs and set the plan for the day. Runners (lots of) show what they got on the boards in the morning too. Others find their favorite ways to stretch and get some exercise with other modes of transportation.

Because what kind a of resort has you feeling guilty or wishing you could try those donuts? Get up and work it off. You have until noon….

I guess some ~~lucky~~ people don’t have to work that hard.

7. Live Entertainment on the Boardwalk.

First Ocean City has its own Music Pier the sticks out towards the ocean from the boardwalk that dates back to 1928. Each year there plays, big bands, and other forms of entertainment lined up for the summer.

The last time we were in town there was a skit on one of our childhood Saturday morning cartoons, Schoolhouse Rock. Have I told you how nerdy we are?

But anything could happen! One overcast night last week, while we were sampling the pizza, fudge and frozen custard we kept on running into live bands plugged in. Again, it was really a kick for young and old kids! A little something for everyone!

8. Protected Beaches.

The audacity of Ocean City to want to charge you to use their beach, a gift of nature. Yes, each visitor pays about $10 a week for the privilege to use Ocean City ‘s beaches. What?

Yes, everyone on the beach needs to be displaying a beach tag saying they paid their beach toll that day.

You know what? It works.

Ocean City’s beaches and dunes are some of the best maintained I’ve seen anywhere. They look like right out of a book. They have a beach service their that includes at least 4 life guards per beach, including life guard stands, life boats, jet skies, and yes , whistles. ( i hate to get a whistled at….by life guards. parents of any age can feel safe knowing their is that much help and resources around.

And that $10 or $15 fee, well lets just say that just helps to keep America’s Family Resort for families

The ultimate validation, last fall’s Hurricane Sandy ripped death and destruction in every direction of Ocean City, NJ. Its eye hit a few mile north in Atlantic City. Yet, this town is running like a clock this summer. And I have to think in part due to a well established and maintained dune system. Sure most of the dunes ended up on main streets a block or two inland. But that boardwalk was preserved. Most of the houses were preserved. A way of life was preserved…

And the waves are for real…

9. Beach bunnies.

No, I am not talking about curvy beach bunnies…

I wish I was but I’m not…

I am talking about those adorable little bunnies that now call some of the protected sand dunes home. They blend right in at first but then the more you look the more you see.

I think any other resort claiming to be America’s favorite would have to be very creative to top Easter Bunnies at their resort.

“Happy Easter Bunny day!“, right Skylar?

“Happy Easter Bunny Day!”

They only seem to come out at dusk, avoiding the hot summer sun. Let other beaches have their mostly nude beach bunnies. OCNJ has Easter bunnies! Well done!

10. Kids just have fun here!

Yes, kids, kids of all ages can have fun in Ocean City, New Jersey. If our Top 10 reads like a checklist, how much of this sounds like fun. its fun for kids, families and even seniors due the wholesome atmosphere that is there brand.

And there are lots more things to see and do in Ocean City too. These are just some of the things we like. There is downtown shopping. Water sports in the bay as well as Atlantic City only being a bridge away to the north.

If anyone reading this has been to OCNJ and would like to add their favorite activities to our list please feel free to add them in the Comment section.

In the end it really is a great family resort; for the whole family. Although when asked which she liked better, Ocean City or the Jamaican resort where they furnish a nanny for the day, she still preferred Jamaica. And, yes, they did have bunnies the kids could feed there as well.

We may just alternate back and forth…and throw in a Disney adventure as well.