Quick blurb about my MLK weekend getaway. Cold!!! But we rolled the dice on the weather with booking a trip to Ocean City, MD in January. Spoiler alert – not much is open this time of year!
Our limitation in travel this weekend was that we had to bring the pooch. Turns out La Quinta hotels are dog friendly!! So I found one just off the beach and had what was probably my dog’s dream vacation – mommy and daddy all to herself all weekend! We had a couple local breweries in mind to hit up, knowing the weather might drive us inside. So our first stop upon arrival was Backshore Brewery, right on the Boardwalk. The flights are served skateboard style!
Good beers, diverse flavors and varietals. Their Winter Hefe really grew on me – “Hefe Incha Snow.” Incidentally, there are a couple inches of snow on the ground outside my train car window as I’m typing this!! The other beers were tasty too. Worth the stop to chill on the Boardwalk, it’s a small cozy bar that’s part of a bigger joint, but a nice hang out. Then we braved the beach in the freezing cold!!
The frigid temps didn’t bother my pup in the least, leaving her wondering why she didn’t get more throw me and why mommy made her get out of the ocean!! I think it was about 20 degrees out that day! I searched around for a good seafood restaurant that would have the football playoffs on (and finding a place that was open was a challenge). Luckily, I came across The Crab Bag up on 131st Street. 
Great spot!! We split a dozen meaty oysters for starters.
Then I was craving some steamed crabs, but since I didn’t want to sit and pick for hours, I went with crab legs in a steamer pot with steamed shrimp. Sooo good!! The crab meat came right out. Do you do that thing with crabs where you go “whoa, check this out” and make everyone look to see how much crab meat you just so easily pulled out of the shell?? If not, maybe it’s a Maryland thing!! 
This really hit the spot. Great service too. I definitely recommend this place for good seafood and good vibes. Food, beer, and football was pretty much the name of the game when the temps were below freezing this weekend!
Our next day, we ventured out to Dogfish Brewery in Milton, DE. It was about a 45 minute drive from Ocean City. And worth it!! 
The beer is made on site, but admittedly, we skipped the tour and went right for the beer. First flight is free! We tasted several samplings, but my favorite was the World Wide Stout.
The Siracusa Nera was also really good – it’s a dark stout but has a blend in it of Syrah red wine. Very interesting!
What was also great about this place was that it was dog friendly!!
No, she didn’t have any beer, but sure enjoyed being with us as we drank ours!! We enjoyed the stout so much that we decided to splurge on the vanilla version of it – the Oak Aged Vanilla World Wide Stout. We saved this for when I could cook something that’d be a worthy pairing – stay tuned, I’ve already done it and just need to write it up!!
We finished our trip with a stop at Assateague Island. The ponies run free and there are plenty of campsites to stay in tents or trailers (I prefer hotels), but it was a ghost town in this weather!! Nonetheless, we said hi to some ponies…
And again braved the beach. Not as cold as our first day, but not bikini weather either. There was actually ice on the sand!!
Although the weather wasn’t optimal for this location, the company was. A great partner and a fuzzy puppy made the trip a great getaway. Plus some good playoff football and tasty beverages!
Eat, Drink, and Go! 