Recreating Ocean City

Every year when my husband was growing up, his family headed to Ocean City, Maryland for a week-long family beach vacation. They are the epitome of what you would call "beach people."

I never took a single beach vacation growing up, so I always assumed I was decidedly not a beach person. I'm fair-skinned, thus I burn very easily. I don't like being hot and sweaty. I like to be doing stuff, not sitting around on a beach, right?

Wrong. The first time I went to Ocean City with my in-laws, I discovered that I am, in fact, a huge beach person. Sit on the beach for hours under an umbrella and read? Eat tons of amazing seafood and drink fruity drinks? Walk the boardwalk and shop for jewelry? Um, yes please!

We would go every year if we could, but my pregnancy imposed a big road block for us this year. At 33-34 weeks pregnant, not only would it be risky to fly, I would also be miserable. I'd be large and uncomfortable in the heat. I could have fruity drinks, but without the kick I would want them to have. And I'd be limiting my seafood intake to avoid an abundance of mercury. Ugh, ugh and ugh.

So we had to sit this year's trip out, but instead of wallowing in our sorrow over missing a great trip, we decided to recreate Ocean City as best we could in our own kitchen. We have a very important Ocean City tradition: on the first night in town, we get takeout from the Crab Cake Factory, sit around the patio furniture at our rented condo and eat, talk, drink and laugh. These are not just any crab cakes, though. They are AMAZING crab cakes, and we always end up getting take out for lunch at least one more time during our trip.

My mom-in-law told us about some great crab cakes she'd bought from Sam's Club recently. Not the same as Ocean City, she said, but still really good. So we got some of those and some shrimp (and a few veggies to round it out), and had ourselves a little seafood feast.

Granted, it wasn't the same as being there. But it was still pretty darn good.

In search of a beachy dessert

Very soon (yessssss), I'm going to Ocean City, MD with my husband's family. We're going to read books on the beach, drink tropical cocktails, and eat hoards of crab cakes, which I have been craving since our last OCMD trip two years ago. Here I am with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law on that trip:

See how happy and relaxed we look? I. Cannot. Wait.

We only get to see our families a few precious times a year, so when we do see them, I like to bake for everyone. This is easy when our families come to us, but a bit more challenging when I'm the one traveling 2,000 miles.

Not that I'm going to let that stop me.

So I need to make something that can be crammed into my carry-on bag and jostled about in the airport. It cannot need refrigeration; in fact, it needs to battle a bit of dry desert heat and humid beach heat. And it should be a fun thing to snack on after an afternoon of sun, as we get ready to go out and eat this:

Last time, I took along a container of white chocolate-covered mini pretzel sticks. I'm thinking maybe some variation on that, or maybe a lighter cookie. Anyone have any suggestions for beach desserts that travel well?