Letter from the Editor

WE'RE BACK!

Boy does it feel good to be back in your hands, our hands, on tables, in beach bags... after 11 years of printing, it was a tough call to go strictly digital for the months of May and June. But like so many things during quarantine, it was tough, but necessary. We love digital (so much so that we revamped our entire website – and it's fabulous – www.ocnjmagazine.com) but print will always have our whole heart. It's got staying power, man. And it feels good to hold it in your hands, dog ear a page you want to come back to... it's easy on the eyes... I could go on and on. If you're a reader of this column, you know that Ocean City Magazine is my fourth child... and like a proud mom, I can't help but gush sometimes. Speaking of gushing...

My friends and I recently played the "name something good about quarantine" game. We were sitting around a big burnin' backyard fire pit on the last day of school, poking at the burning wood with giant sticks, watching the flames lick the air and smoke make spooky figures against the night sky. Our annual celebration was down to a skeleton crew for max safety, but it didn't stop the fun. Our answers were pretty varied... but they all had a similar theme. Everyone agreed that the slower pace of life that quarantine forced us into was pretty sweet.

While it's okay to be sad to miss out on these things... it's also okay to enjoy the peace and calm that comes from being free and not having life ruled by a calendar. Google Cal, you're great and all, but boy it was fun to quit you for a while.

And I think that's what Ocean City represents for so many of us. It's a slow down... a break from the busy, a chance to just be and hang with friends and family, listen to the waves, smell the salt air, and, relax.

And boy does July make it easy to relax and have fun. It's prime time summer – long days, warm nights, boats, beach, boardwalk, downtown, shopping, dining, mini golfing, regular golfing. Things are open and ready for you. On June 15, the day restaurants were open for al fresco dining, I jumped at the chance for a sit down meal for my mom's birthday. Of course, I snapped a pic of my kids and mother during breakfast - their smiles a mile wide. See it above.

Check out our stories on the mighty terrapin (learn what to do if you see one of the road) and the super cool Jet Drive Exchange (a boat membership - genius), meet the creative talents behind both Scrim Discovery and Dompierre, and go in the kitchen with one of the newest restaurants in town, Donny's Family Kitchen.

When you're finished reading, and hopefully eager for more OC Mag, head over to www.ocnjmagazine. com, browse around, and sign up for our weekly newsletter. Let the OCNJ inspiration come right to you.

Welcome back friends. Drop me a line anytime at editor@ocnjmagazine.com.

See you on the beach... ~Stef Godfrey

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