Last weekend my friends and I made the decision to drive closer to Hurricane Ian instead of staying put in Pennsylvania. We had plans to take a weekend trip to Ocean City, Maryland, before we knew the hurricane was going to hit that weekend.

We were supposed to go to a concert on the beach, but it got canceled. We couldn’t get out of our Airbnb, so we decided to still go to take a weekend away. We got in around 8:30 p.m. Thursday night and, since it was late, we decided to just stay in. We played some games and enjoyed some drinks to unwind after the long drive.

Friday we went to brunch at a restaurant called Dirty Monkey. Although the restaurant was packed, we were able to get a drink at the bar while we waited. I went for the Orange Crush, considering they are popular throughout Maryland. We had some time to look over the menu so once we were seated, I had an idea of what I wanted, but there were so many options, it was a last-minute decision. Our food was so great, we decided to go back the next day!

We weren’t sure what the weather was going to be like the rest of the weekend, so we decided Friday night would be the best to go to Seacrets — it was packed! There was a live band playing classics, and people were dancing and having fun. Even though it was rainy and windy, the vibes were still on point. We stayed and enjoyed the music for a couple of hours, but then the storm started to pick up and there weren’t too many Ubers, so we decided it was best to leave.

Saturday the weather was much better than expected; we thought it was going to storm and maybe even flood, but it barely rained at all. After breakfast we decided to go mini golfing. We are all very competitive, so it was an interesting time — unfortunately, I did not win.

We knew we had to get up early Sunday to drive home, so we wanted to do something more low-key. There was a restaurant and tiki bar down the street from where we were staying, so we decided to go out for a nice dinner, plus we were all craving seafood, so it was perfect. I ordered a seafood medley, and it was delicious. After dinner we went back to the house and played games, but, ultimately, we ended up going to bed pretty early.

Even though some of our plans got canceled and our exploration of OCMD was limited, we still had a great weekend and can’t wait to go back — next time not in the middle of a hurricane!

— Mary Melnick, social media and editorial coordinator