Grand Day For A Parade in Ocean City

It turned out to be a grand day for the St. Patrick's Day parade in Ocean City, Maryland. No rain, only slightly overcast, and seasonably cool but not freezing. People of all ages lined the sidewalks along the Coastal Highway at noon to enjoy the marching bands and floats. (The parade backed up traffic for 12 blocks on southbound Coastal Highway above 60th Street, but only for a little while.)

The festivities continue today (Saturday) with an outdoor Irish Festival at 45th Street, going on until 4 p.m. And, not related to St. Patrick's Day, there'll be a free concert by 500 handbell ringers at the Convention Center at 4:30 p.m.

Saturday night, there will be Irish music and beer at restaurants and bars all over town. Please don't celebrate by getting hammered. St. Patrick wouldn't approve. He really wouldn't. Above all, don't drink and drive. The handy Ocean City bus system is running 24 hours a day, and plenty of cabs are about.

BTW, gas is $1.83 a gallon for regular in Ocean City. A couple of days ago, I was in Columbia on the Western Shore, and paid $1.99 to fill up.