As the school year winds down and the heat winds up, students all over Harford County and elsewhere are anxious to spend their summer at Ocean City, Maryland’s local beach. 

     Senior week in Ocean City is dedicated to celebrating seniors’ graduation and kicking off summer before heading to college in the fall. This annual tradition generally takes place the week after graduation for most schools. 

      NHHS students will go June 11-18. Senior Allison Stewart is staying with 8 of her friends. They plan to go to the beach, surf, go out to dinner and go shopping. Stewart says, “I cannot wait, I am so excited!” Senior Andrew Gainey is also staying with 10 of his friends, and they plan on mini golfing, going to the beach and walking the boardwalk.  

     Senior week entails numerous weekly activities hosted by Play it Safe, a local organization dedicated to helping seniors have an exciting and safe beach trip without alcohol. They organize events like beach volleyball, pizza eating contests, and dance parties. Jet ski parasailing is open by rental companies, or day trips to Assateague Island are popular to see the world-famous wild ponies.  H20, OC’s under-21 dance club, is also available to dance the night away. 

     Along with Stewart and Gainey, seniors Austin Arist and Joshua Woods plan on going down to Ocean City for a few days. Both said that they were “really excited and looking forward” to the week. Arist mentions that he “hope[s] the water will be warm for surfing and being on the beach.” 

    In a poll of 150 students, 75% said they vacation to Ocean City during the summer. Junior Grace Underwood lives at her grandparent’s beach house on 130st Street bayside during the summer. She goes to the beach, kayaks, paddle boards, goes jet skiing, takes walks and bike rides to get ice cream. Underwood works at Freddie’s on 64th Street when she isn’t tanning the day away. “It’s such a fun job, I love it there. The environment is amazing, everyone is so nice and fun. Plus, I get to be outside.”  

     Freshman Maggie Dawson stays in OC most of the summer and comes home often. She stays on 120st Street. “My friends and I ride bikes to Starbucks, Dunkin, and shops almost every day, and we love going to the arcade at Ally Oops. We spend most of our days on the beach, and in the evening, we surf and ride our bikes around the community.”  

    According to ococean.com, with its pristine shorelines, surfing in OC is well-loved by both locals and people from all over the world. There are 156 streets and 10 miles of beaches. Two beaches are reserved daily specifically for surfing and they rotate depending on the weather and waves. During after hours, when the lifeguards leave, surfing is allowed anywhere.