9th Street Hangout - O.C., MD

So the car radio reports that the Chesapeake Bay Bridge traffic is backed-up today. This is normal for the start of the Memorial Holiday weekend. After all, our families in the greater Baltimore area have been going there for almost one-hundred years. I imagine this scene of 9th Street at the boardwalk in Ocean City, MD taking place around 1964. We were coming of age and it was our first summer to act cool playing the pinball machines. The Beach Club had its live “jam sessions” every weekend afternoon and that was the only time that summer when we did not hear “House of the Rising Sun” drifting into the salty air from the jukebox. Hess Apparel was on the corner though we were not yet appreciative of their tasteful fashions. However we did love the Alaska stand with its milk shakes and hot dogs for lunch when we were allowed that special treat. The big old George Washington Hotel was always a welcome sight because it marked our 9th Street hang-out at least for a few more summers.