Planning transatlantic trips always take some planning, but 2025 pushed it to the limit. We were in the process of moving apartments in Berlin, and I had booked some frequent flyer tickets just to have something in the breach. Luckily we found a new lease starting September 1, but required leaving a few day earlier than planned. The nice bonus of frequently flyer tickets was that it was easy to change with the lower demands for USA travel and we were able to still maintain our clan meetup in Atlantic City and depart the following day.

Chika has a wedding and a half marathon, so it was me and the boys again. While Teo was shooting 100% on charming the Lufthansa lounge to allow for extra guest, I decided to check out the alternative Priority Pass option which was sufficent for our coffee and snacks before boarding the plan. It was a relatively easy flight and was able to secure the Global Entry interviews for Kai and Teo so our next trip will be even smoother. We shuttled off to home with at stop at the pool and some of mom’s chinese chicken wings to fill us before we passed out. We quickly fell into the regular routine of gym/pool, some shopping (new shoes for Kai), gin tournaments, and lots of eating (french toast, salmon, and more ). I snuck out for the night to check out the happy hour scene with my partner in crime (Allan) and ended up at El Bar in the Northern Liberties complete with some serious pool games and very random karaoke. We finally met up with my brother Mike for a family day. We spent time at the pool, Kai and I played tennis, and of course we grilled up some great steaks.

Finally it was time to head down to the beach. The first days were great weather with time for sun, sea, and biking out to Ocean City to try out Mallon’s bakery buns (good but definitely not Casel’s). In an unexpected surprise, I found out that my Penn pal Suzann was over in Ocean City so we were able to have a long over due catchup. But then Hurricane Erin made its way up north. While we luckily didn’t get a direct visit, the sunny days turned to cloudy. We quickly shifted gears and made our “lemonade”. The first day, we decided to venture to Ocean City as we had some leftover amusement park tickets. The good news was that it was much less crowded, but we had arrived over an hour before the amusement park opened. Never fear. We started with some Kohr Brothers Custard, followed by some go-karting, arcade playing, and candy shopping. Finally the park was opened and the boys were able to go onto some wait-free rides. In the evenings, we cooked, ate, played cards, and watched movies. Since it wasn’t raining, we made 2 fishing excursions where the boys both caught fish (although too small still to keep) and met David a pro-fisher who fixed our tackles and gave us the tips where to find the fish.

Using his superhuman powers, Mike managed to fly back from California Thursday with both flight and baggagge delays heading past 1am, work a full day of work, grab William in the car to be down to the beach shortly after 8pm, and then rally for a triple Margate bar tour before we both passed out. By the time Mike and his crew arrived, the weather had improved although due to rip tides the ocean experience was limited. The planned excursion to see The Who on their farewell tour was nixed — Daltry was not able to keep up the pace. We switched gears and sent Teo and cousin William off with my parents for pizza and ice cream, while Mike, Melanie, Sydney, Kai and I checked out Cardinal for some great seafood, steaks, and drinks. On Sunday, Jillian, Riley, and Stella came to our rental place for nice bagel brunch — great to make our annnual catchup. Later, the great lobsterfest returned. It was amazing, although next time we plan to add a few more lobsters for the hungry crew.

Monday was the last day at the beach and we planned to make the most of it. Due to the insistence of William, we started the day at the Aquapark. Why spend to go to a water park when the beach and pools are free for the taking you might ask? Well, it turned out to be a highlight of the trip for the boys, so worth every cent. To settle a final bet, Mike and I biked up to White House Subs to validate once and for all that it is better than Dino’s which we had visited earlier in the week. We grabbed the last rays of sun and surf, and then headed for Mikado to ensure that Kai had his share of American sushi. We ordered up a feast and managed to finish most of it, and then while leaving we got to see Melanie and Mike’s photo posted by the door (they are royalty there).

We managed to fit in a lot on the last day, including one last visit to the pool and the gym before heading off to the airport. As we were leaving earlier than planned to get home for packing, we upgraded ourselves a bit to premium economy to enjoy the last moments of the trip. It was a bit too short, but oh so sweet.