Ocean

Practically 60 years to the day that the 1933 storm changed the face of Ocean City, Hurricane Emily threatened to inflict her own fitful surgery on Maryland's seaside resort town this past week.Unlike the storm of '33, which split Ocean City from Assateague Island, the town got lucky this time. Emily and her 100-mph-plus winds took dead aim at Ocean City from North Carolina's Outer Banks, but instead drifted out to sea.This was the first hurricane in a long time to threaten the resort during vacation season, when the logistics for an evacuation swell 30- to 60-fold.

A 21-year-old Pocomoke City man was in serious condition last night at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center after he was stabbed and beaten outside an Ocean City apartment building.A 14-year-old boy from Waldorf was identified as the suspect who stabbed Duane Donaway of Pocomoke City, a seasonal arcade worker, said Ocean City Police spokesman Jay Hancock.Hancock said Donaway was outside an apartment building in the 900 block of Washington Lane with a group of friends about 4: 40 a.m. yesterday when a group of two men and two boys from Waldorf approached.

You're ready to dip a toe into Ocean City for the first time. But how will you get a room at the last minute? What should you avoid? What's not to be missed? Here are a few tips before you go, culled from frequent visitors and year-round residents: * Book beach accommodations in advance when possible, and be aware that some hotels require a minimum stay. A database of hotel and motel offerings, with maps and other information, can be found at www.oceancity.com. You can book online, too. A visitors' guide is available by calling 1-800-OC-OCEAN.

Say the words "Ocean City" and most people think of the 10 miles of pristine, sandy beaches that make this Maryland resort one of the most popular summer vacation spots on the East Coast.But what about winter? Each year an increasing number of beach lovers are discovering Ocean City's off-season charms -- and that includes the holidays.This winter, however, things are looking even brighter for folks in search of a yule sand-and-surf getaway: about a half-million bulbs brighter.Welcome to Ocean City's first Winterfest of Lights, a dazzling array of holiday lighting displays that turn the resort town into a sparkling winter wonderland.

OCEAN CITY -- Jane Bowen says she has a good guess when the sand pumping on the beaches here will stop."Oh, I'm not saying," said the Catonsville resident who plans to enter a statewide contest to guess the exact time when the pumping will cease. "But [with the previous delays], I don't think it's going to be Friday."Sand pumping from sea to shore in the $12.5 million beach replenishment project is slated to be wrapped up Friday.The project -- designed to restore beaches ravaged by a January northeaster -- was initially expected to be completed by mid-July, but bad weather and other problems caused delays, state officials have said.

Ocean City Come 3:30 every afternoon, Thelma Conner, a spry, white-haired woman, steps away from her executive duties to pour tea.The venerable 79-year-old, who owns the Dunes Manor Hotel on 28th Street, takes her place next to a silver service set in the hotel's Victorian-style lobby and hands each guest a cup of hot tea -- served in real china, of course.It's tea time in Ocean City.For an hour each and every afternoon, the hotel's lobby is filled with guests sipping complimentary tea, nibbling crumpets and cookies and exchanging small talk.

Jim Mathias, mayor of Ocean City and Coca-Cola's newest best friend, grew up in Baltimore and attended high school at Calvert Hall, where he remembers arriving early each morning and heading straight for that center of all true learning, the school cafeteria."

TC At the end of last week, the headboats out of Ocean City began to pick up a few mackerel and herring, and on Saturday, Charles Nichols of the Ocean City Fishing Center said yesterday, "The fishing was excellent."On Sunday, however, the weather grew blustery from the southwest, and neither the O.C. Princess nor the brand-new Angler could get out to where the fish were.The Angler (410-289-7424), a fiberglass 65-footer that replaces the wooden Angler that made runs from Ocean City for many years, is planning to sail daily this week, weather permitting.

OCEAN CITY -- About 1,500 high school and college students took a first step in a Maryland rite of passage yesterday-- a summer job at the beach.A steady crowd moved through the Convention Center for the Job Fair, an annual matchup of Ocean City employers and seasonal workers sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and the state's Department of Economic and Employment Development (DEED)."I had two bad jobs last summer, and I still made money," said Andy Manzari, 20, as he stood in line for an interview with $H Hooper's Crab House.

City employees heard it at every boat show and sports convention they attended across the East Coast this winter: "We haven't been to Ocean City for a long time, but we're coming this summer."It's an attitude buoyed by the recession: Europe can wait for better economic times. For now, Ocean City's 10 miles of fun and sun, sand and ocean swells are the cheapest, closest vacation to penny-pinching Baltimore/Washington residents."People will be coming here instead of going to Europe or Florida," said Leslie Craigle, public relations representative for the city, who has fielded some of the hundreds of inquiries at the city's visitor information center.