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OC Offers Plenty of Rainy-Day Diversions
 | Courtesy: Town of Ocean City Tourism Office
Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum |
It may well be the most dreaded four-letter word among Ocean City vacationers -- rain, which too often translates to boredom for kids and headaches for parents. Anyone whos ever sat in a hotel room looking out through steamy windows knows its no day at the beach. But you neednt sulk about the loss of a precious day in the sun. For this quintessential beach resort offers indoor diversions aplenty:
* Go ice-skating at Ocean Citys only indoor rink, inside the soaring glass-and-steel atrium at the Carousel Ice Rink. Skate rentals and lessons are available. Carousel Resort Hotel & Condominiums, 118th Street and Coastal Highway, 410-524-1000.
* Travel back in time at the Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum inside a splendidly restored Victorian building that once housed the U.S. Life-Saving Service. Check out the models of the citys grand Ocean City hotels, artifacts of shipwrecks, itchy wool swimsuits from the early 1900s, even a mechanical old laughing lady who once stood on the Boardwalk. Press the button, and youll be laughing too. Boardwalk at the Inlet. 410-289-4991
* You cant miss Ripleys Believe it or Not! Just look for the mechanical great white shark protruding from the second floor of the Pier Building. Inside, youll find more than 500 one-of-a-kind curiosities from around the world, including dinosaur artifacts, shrunken heads, torture chamber devices and an autopsy table. The museum also houses a meteorite from Mars and a 42-foot replica roller coaster that took a man 12 years to build. Pier Building. 410-289-5600.
* Go out to eat. From Boardwalk grub to fine dining, youll find what youre looking for in Ocean City. Check out the OceanCity.com Dining Guide, the most comprehensive directory of resort restaurants, with dozens of detailed listings researched and written by our staff of professional journalists.
* Enter a world of dragons and pirates and cowboys at the virtual-reality theater at the new Sportland arcade, on the Boardwalk at Worcester Street, 410-289-4987.
* If you cant play in the surf, you can still surf the Net at Byte Size Internet Caf, 41st Street & Coastal Highway, 410-723-2702; Cyber Shack, Philadelphia Avenue between Eighth and Ninth streets, 410-289-2279; and Ocean City International Student Services, South Baltimore Avenue and Dorchester Street.
* Grab your putter and hit the links at Ocean Citys only indoor miniature golf course, the Old Pro Golf "Undersea Adventure" at 68th Street and Coastal Highway, 410-524-2645.
 | Courtesy: Town of Ocean City Tourism Office
Ripley's Believe It or Not! |
* Take in a movie at Carmike Sun & Surf 8, 143rd Street and Coastal Highway, 410-250-1777; Fox White Marlin Cinema 5, White Marlin Mall, Routes 50 and 611, West Ocean City, 410-213-1505; Fox Gold Coast Mall, 112th Street and Coastal Highway, 410-213-1505
* If your accommodations have a VCR, rent a movie at Maximum Video, 64th Street and Coastal Highway, 410-524-6000; Video 1, Ocean City Square Shopping Center, 118th Street & Coastal Highway, 410-524-1179; Montego Bay Video Outlet, 129th Street and Coastal Highway, 410-250-0660; or Blockbuster Video, 9936 Stephen Decatur Highway (Route 611), West Ocean City, 410-213-7967
* Go shopping. Youll find options aplenty in and around Ocean City. For factory outlets featuring top brands at discount prices, check out the Ocean City Factory Outlets in West Ocean City, Route 50 and Golf Course Road (12 mile west of the Route 50 Bridge), 410-289-4991; or Rehoboth Outlets, 1600 Ocean Outlets (Route 1), Rehoboth Beach, Del., 302-226-9223. You can shop dozens of stores and take in a movie at Gold Coast Mall, 115th Street and Coastal Highway, 410-524-9000; or White Marlin Mall, Routes 50 and 611, West Ocean City, 800-899-8370. Dont overlook the vast array of small specialty shops throughout Ocean City.
* Go bowling at Ocean Lanes, 72nd Street and Coastal Highway, 410-524-7550.
* Get a good book to read at Atlantic Book Shop, Boardwalk at Seventh Street, 410-289-1776; Book Warehouse, Ocean City Factory Outlets, Route 50 and Golf Course Road (12 mile west of the Route 50 Bridge), West Ocean City, 410-213-1226; Bookshelf, Etc., 80th Street and Coastal Highway, 410-524-2949; Hazel's Books, Ocean Plaza Mall, 94th Street and Coastal Highway, 410-723-1983; The Book Store At Bayside Plaza, 137th St. Bayside Plaza, 410-250-1385.
* Savor art at the Ocean Gallery, packed with three floors of everything from $5 posters to $6,000 originals hanging every which way. The flagship yep, it really was built from parts of more than 68 different buildings is on the Boardwalk at Second Street, 410-289-5300. Other locations are at the 45th Street Village, 45th Street and Coastal Highway, 410-289-9300; the Village of Fenwick, Fenwick Island, 302-539-2300; and 26 Wilmington Ave., Rehoboth Beach, 302-226-9507. Or check out local artists paintings, photos, sculptures, pottery and glass creations at Beachcombers Easel Art Gallery, Trader Lees complex, Routes 50 and 611, West Ocean City, 410-213-9433.
* Get a workout. The Ocean City Health & Racquet Club, 61st Street and the bay, 410-723-2323, with daily rates from $7, features an indoor/outdoor pool, Nautilus and free weights and aerobics classes.
* Pamper yourself with a massage at A Perfect Face Day Spa, 82nd Street and Coastal Highway, 410-524-2390; Creative Day Spa, 137th Street and Coastal Highway, 410-250-8664; or Visions Day Spa, 12207-H Coastal Highway, 410-250-5188. Or relax with some yoga at Rising Sun Studio, 12507 Sunset Ave., West Ocean City, 410-213-2131.
* Get a tan at L'Officiel Salon for Hair & Tanning, 11805-A Coastal Highway, 410-524-9666; or Tan Seekers, Groff Plaza, 11073 Cathell Road, Ocean Pines, 410-641-5267.
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