The value of ocean air
May 22, 2008
While doing the reporting for today’s story on Ocean City’s summer tourism expectations, I learned about — and experienced — something I’ve come to call the “ahhhh” phenomenon.
It’s that feeling you get when you cross the Bay Bridge and get to the Eastern Shore. (That is, unless you are sitting in beach traffic, in which case you are probably experiencing a different phenomenon I can’t repeat here.)
Maybe it’s the thrill of knowing you can top off for at least 10 cents a gallon cheaper in Easton or Cambridge. Maybe it’s the sprawl of farmland and low, unassuming buildings. Or the quiet produce stands that come to life during the summer weekends with smells of berries, fresh produce and the occasional fresh baked apple pie.
Or maybe it’s just the fact that I grew up about an hour’s drive from a beach (albeit a cold one), and it makes me think of being a kid.
Whatever the reason, there’s a sense of peace and ease that’s unique to that part of our state. People make eye contact with you as you pass by on the street, drivers on the roads suddenly keep an appropriate distance from one another other and remember to use their turn signals, and the odds of getting a tan by mid-May are pretty good.
But I’m wondering with the economic climate the way it is today, will the “ahhhh” phenomenon still be enough to draw people out this summer to let off some steam? Or will the squeeze at the pump — and at home — convince people that staying put is less stressful?
Where are you getting your “ahhhhs” this summer?
LIZ FARMER, Business Writer
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