Ocean City: going down the ocean

The wide promenade of the boardwalk, the ring of the carnival games and a steaming bushel of crabs all make for an iconic Ocean City summer.

Yet before this sandy stretch became Ocean City, it was the X on Blackbeard's map, the home for Assateague ponies and the genteel Ladies' Resort to the Ocean.

Author Michael Morgan chronicles the history of his hometown, from stories of ships lost to raging winter storms and an enemy off the coast to memories of the old Ocean City Flyer that carried fashionably clad holidaymakers.

In this fascinating series of vignettes, Morgan recalls readers to warm Maryland summers long past.