OCEAN CITY NJ – Out on the 50-foot-wide, heavily trampled boardwalk in Ocean City NJ, 105 miles southeast of Sanatoga village center, life happens in ways that likely will never be experienced on East High Street.
The scent of salt air, blowing in from across the nearby Atlantic Ocean, fills the nostrils. A pair of men walk past, holding hands and laughing. A woman stands in line for a custard made solely of creamed frozen bananas and yells to someone behind her, “You want chocolate syrup with that?”
- Watch a video of a ride up the Ferris wheel, above, or see it at The Post’s YouTube account.
An early morning summer ritual in Ocean City NJ: grooming the beach for the day's crowd.
And standing over it all, ready to give visitors a bird’s eye view of it all, is the giant Ferris wheel of Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, at East Sixth Street and the Boardwalk.
Unless it’s viewed from a distance, guests to the Ocean City shore must crane their necks up, up, up to take in the entirety of the 140-foot-high wheel. In their promotional materials its owners claim that, on a clear day, riders in cars at the top can look out as far as Atlantic City, 11 miles away.
But forget the somewhat distant fantasyland of slot machines and gaming tables. The real action is happening just below the wheel’s sky-high seats, as people during days as warm and pleasant as last weekend (Aug. 7-8, 2010) move through the other rides and attractions at Gillian’s. The packed crowd ebbs and flows much like the ocean tides beyond the groomed sandy beach a short walk away.
When the sun is setting may be the best time to ride the wheel. Passengers get a chance to take in the fading orange glow and deepening shadows that settle across Ocean City’s homes, hotels, condos, and corner stores. It’s quieter too: the beach lovers and sun worshipers are mostly gone for the day, and the Boardwalk’s nightlife throng isn’t yet in full force.
Buy your ticket, climb into the steel cage that keeps you and your friends from flying away, and be revolved into the Great Beyond.
Editor’s Note: When The Post takes a road trip, its readers go too. “Travels With The Post” is a series that reports on places and activities beyond our usual coverage area, but most often within a drive of three hours or less.
Other Travels With The Post:
- Above The Boardwalk, Life Never Seen In Sanatoga
- Postcard Road Trip: Chester PA Old Court House
- Postcard Road Trip: Wyomissing PA Public Library
- Sweet Treats Franchise On Rebound
- On The Road: Area Residents Take On New York
- Garage Sale Bargains For 50 Miles
- On Independence Day, An Unlikely Lifeguard
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I love Gillians! Thanks so much for taking us on your road trips!
I can just imagine the lights and the people.
Have fun!
Mo, thanks for stopping by!
For those unfamiliar with Maureen Gallant, she writes Pottstown’s Blog, a daily conversation with readers about local news and events. Think of talking with your neighbor over a backyard fence at the end of the day about what you read in the paper or heard on the news, and you’ve pretty much captured the feeling of Mo’s blog.
Wow. Wonderful writing, Joe. I really feel like I’m there with my family and my sister and her family, waiting in line for the rides. And who’d have thought that an image of a beach sweeper could be so artfully captured? Thanks for the mini-road trip down the shore!
I envy you, Sue. As Jersey resident, I’ll bet you go to OC as much as I only wish I could. Gotta love being “Down The Shore!” Thanks for your comment.