A friendly Ocean City waiter looked at us blankly when we asked what new things there were to do in town. Finally he said, “Have you ever been to Assateague?”

Yes, we have. If you regularly vacation in Ocean City, it’s easy to feel like you’ve done it all before. That’s part of the draw, of course. There’s something comforting about riding the same ferris wheel and eating the same frozen custard you did as a kid.

But sometimes you want to do something a little different. Especially on a rainy day. Here are 11 hidden gems in Ocean City for you to explore.

The Unicorn Bookshop

3935 Ocean Gateway, Trappe

OK, this is not in Ocean City but on the way. If you have spotted The Unicorn Bookshop while driving along Route 50 and wondered if it is worth your time, it is! The Unicorn Bookshop is stuck in the past in the best possible way. The wooden shelves are packed with children’s books and mysteries and novels to read on the beach, but there are also display cases with antique books, including some going back to the 1700s, first editions and volumes on Maryland history and genealogy.

Game Theory

1822 Philadelphia Ave.

Board games, kid games, coffee and brownies? Yes, please. I can’t think of a more pleasant way to spend a rainy day at the beach than sipping a hot drink while playing a board game at Game Theory. Adults and big kids pay $5 per hour to play, and kids under 5 are free with a paying adult. Games include old favorites such as Monopoly, new favorites like Exploding Kittens and unusual selections such as Mysterium and Splendor.

Escape Rooms

Various locations

While I can’t help you escape FROM your family on vacation, I can give you recommendations to escape WITH your family. Ocean City has five locations offering escape rooms, a fun and challenging way to fill an afternoon without screens. There’s Trapped Escape Rooms (11805 Coastal Hwy.), Captive Escape Rooms (101 S. Baltimore Ave. and 5909 Coastal Hwy.) and Escapomania (5601 Coastal Hwy. and 2nd St. Building No. 6). Each location offers games of varying degrees of difficulty, so research your options and book in advance.

Nick’s Mini Golf & Ropes Course

21st Street and Coastal Highway

If your kids, like mine, have a constant need to climb, take them to the recently opened Nick’s Mini Golf & Ropes Course. Climbers must wear closed-toe shoes and empty their pockets before scaling the ropes, which will give them a seagull’s-eye view of the dinosaurs on the mini golf course and Coastal Highway.

The Museum of Ocean City

217 S. Baltimore Ave.

Shards of pottery from the first inhabitants of this stretch of shore. Artifacts from hotels, restaurants and churches that catered to Black visitors during segregation. Even the small wooden table where Brice and Shirley Phillips sat each evening at the famed restaurant that bore their name. The newly opened Museum of Ocean City offers a thoughtful and refreshing look at the town’s history. As a bonus, our docent on a recent Sunday was the town’s longtime postman, who had had a firsthand view of much of the history on display. I also recommend visiting the Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum, which features exhibits on the women who founded prominent early hotels, old Boardwalk games and prizes and dramatic shipwrecks.

Free concerts, movies and fireworks

127 Street and the Bay

The 117 Street beach

Here are two fun and free events the whole family will enjoy. On Sundays from 7 to 9 p.m., there is live music in Northside Park, followed by a fireworks show. Ice cream is also available for purchase, and who can resist ice cream on vacation? Then on Wednesdays around 8:30 p.m., head to the beach in front of the Carousel Hotel to watch a family-friendly movie. This year’s selections include “Moana,” “Encanto” and, appropriately, “Surf’s Up.”