Our annually Ocean City, MD Valentine’s Day weekend trip was definitely one for the books because we got officially engaged! After a year where we all were primarily locked inside, it was especially good to get away for an extended weekend. We were lucky to have gotten to still go to Vermont in October/November, but other than that we had pretty much been stuck at home since the pandemic started. We stayed at our usual hotel – The Carousel Hotel.
To get a head start, we left after I was off work on on Thursday, February 11, and stayed at a Hilton for our first night since we arrived pretty late. On our way up, it started snowing! So for the first time that I can remember, I saw snow in Ocean City! The bad part? I left my heavy winter jacket in the foyer when we left. -_- Que the mad shopping trip Friday morning after breakfast for a warmer coat since I was not going to last the cold, rainy weekend at the beach in February with only my North Face.
Our first day started with breakfast at one of our usual haunts – The Bayside Skillet. We tried their special of sriracha candied bacon, and let me tell you – it was amazing! It was so good, that we got another order when we came back for brunch on Valentine’s Day! Omelettes are always our go-to and always leave us incredibly full. After breakfast, we started our hunt for a jacket. Luckily, we found one relatively quickly and were able to head to the Carousel to check in and get settled.
After settling in, we grabbed dinner at Smitty McGees where we had our usual orders of wings and crab pretzels along with some drinks. We then went to the Greene Turtle, which was across the street from our hotel so we could walk, for some late night drinks and a dessert of cookie skillet – when you’re really craving a cookie skillet for no particular reason at all, this is amazing and makes for a very satisfying night.
Our trip overall was very relaxing and we went wherever the moment took us. One night we ended up at Pickles Pub where we got some fried pickles and shared a pickle shot – definitely not my cup of tea, but Russ didn’t mind it. If you like pickles and pickle juice, definitely give it a shot! 😉 We also started the “crush” addiction. I had my first orange crush and wound up crushing several of them before we headed back to the hotel for the night. Okay, okay, I’ll put the puns aside now.
Russ’s dad and step-mom came up for the weekend as well, so we spent part of Friday with them before grabbing dinner at Smitty McGee’s again and a few after dinner drinks. The next morning was Valentine’s Day and one of the best days of our lives so far!
We started our day by going to Bayside Skillet for breakfast again where I tried one of their crepes instead of my usual omelette. It was good, just not quite what I was wanting so I definitely recommend sticking to the omelettes. We had a plan to go mini golfing after breakfast, but wanted to stop by the hotel for some lattes first. I went to grab our lattes from the coffee stand by the ice skating rink while Russ went to the room for something. After grabbing our drinks, I went to watch the ice skating while I waited for Russ to come back down from the room (jacket still on and everything). A few minutes later Russ was back down and grabbing my hand to pull me aside, at which point I was still very confused as he set the cup of coffee down on a nearby step. Two seconds later I saw his step-mom filming and his dad across the atrium on the other side, and then Russ was on one knee and I realized what was happening. After realizing what was happening, I instantly said “YES!” and proceeded to stare at the absolutely stunning ring that was now securely placed on my left ring finger.
After his dad and step-mom hugged and congratulated us, we were left to ourselves to amaze at the fact that we were now engaged! A few minutes later, we were on our way to mini golf! Who would have thought that mini golfing would be an incredibly fun way to celebrate being newly engaged! The cashier saw me staring at my ring and even gave us our game for free! After a very fun round of mini golf, full of laughter and lots of OMG WE’RE ACTUALLY GETTING MARRIED! We were at our final hole and then the bonus shot where if you get the ball into the clams mouth, you win a free game. Russ actually managed to win the game and decided to pass it forward and leave it for the next family coming in to play. After mini golf, we went back to the hotel to open a bottle of champagne to celebrate our engagement before heading out for dinner at Harpoon Hannah’s.
The next day we met with Russ’s dad and step-mom for lunch at Alley Oops, where we had a blast watching the sharks swim around in the tank and playing at the arcade! The crab covered tatter tots were also delicious. Later on we met up at the arcade at the boardwalk for some Thrasher’s fries and to play some arcade games for a while. The rest of our trip was pretty chill with a donut run and a stop for some seafood pasta and more crushes. The trip is a blur of good food, good drinks, good people, and one absolutely gorgeous ring and the beginning of our lives truly as one and that is the main thing we remember from our much needed recharge trip to Ocean City for Valentine’s Day. We are so very excited to get married a year from when we officially got engaged and be Forever Valentines!
Happy travels,
L & R ~ The future Mr. and Mrs. Abell!
Dreamers on the Go 
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