Once upon a time …. we went to the beach in Delaware. The end.
That's how my stories to grandchildren all start out. They are not impressed. Not sure why.
Anyway, we spent the last week at a beach house in South Bethany, Delaware. The "we" is Joe's family, Margaret's family and Annie, as well as Mary and me. Impressions? Fun, first of all. The house was great, and would have been greater if there had been an outdoor place to play. It was a block away from the beach, which we ventured towards every day, sometime around 9 am. The weather cooperated, and despite calls for rain several days, we managed to avoid the worst of the deluges. That allowed us, mostly little boys, to play in the sand, build castles, dig, jump off the erosion "mountain", and with the help of a parent or grandparent withstand the crashing waves. And they did crash. Pretty rough at times. But, we did give it our best. Margaret and Annie were supposed to go surfing, but called it off due to the weather and the consequent rough waves. Mary and I also managed a beach walk each day, using Pop's tried and true method of walking into the wind first, and returning with the wind at your back.
The town and its boardwalk provided other entertainment, with shops and ice cream and French fries and racing and shouting. Leonor and Andrew took three rambunctious boys to "Funland," and Margaret took a couple of the same set to a water park to blow off steam.
And, we celebrated Annie's birthday, a thirty-something affair. Margaret made her an Oreo ice cream cake, vegan and everything. Unfortunately, I didn't hear the dictum about not eating the Oreos, so I had to go out and find more for her to complete her masterpiece. The photo included here shows Luisa ready to pounce on anyone who comes between her and that piece of cake. Annie is still eating it, back here. That's right, we packed up Saturday and Annie came back to Pittsfield with us, after spending her first week or so in DC, alternating between Joe and Margaret's houses. Now if we could just get the sand out of our hair, our car, our clothing, our shoes. When will someone invent a beach without sand?
We weren't the only ones to travel. Trying to piece together clues (and photos) from Tinybeans, it looks like Sean and Kiernan joined Erin for her annual medical conference, somewhere that you had to take a plane to, and somewhere near a beach. It was Kiernan's first plane ride, but he might have liked the trains between the terminals the best. Sticking with the NJ clan, we saw that Peter, Janet and Johanna went to a US Women's Soccer game.
Claire is also traveling and will stop in Dundee and deposit her kitty for a few days. Andrew and Lur report that they won a couple of awards from their community garden, including a ten-year award. They have their first tomatoes. Lucky! And both Claire and Daniel were there for Andrew's birthday. Happy day! Before Andrew and Lur leave for the Poconos, they will have a farewell dinner with Bill and Jen who fold up their tents a couple of days after the Poconos.
How was your 4th? Hot? Yes. But fun, too, I bet. Jeffrey and Melodie caught a Nationals baseball game. Fireworks impressed the children at Joe's house, but over at Margaret's not so much. Simon had noise-cancelling earphones because there were a lot of booms right on their street. We went to the parade in Pittsfield, that featured a youth marching band all the way from Ireland. We withstood the heat to go to friends' barbecue, but I went home early for my ritual 4th of July nap! Once a year. Maybe.
We also saw Tina and at least Donald headed to Niagara for a French and Indian war reenactment, which looked very realistic! Last of the Mohicans. Who by the way re from the Berkshires.
Our next letter will include a recap of all things Poconos. The excitement is building.
With that, we'll sign off with wishes and kisses. Love from up here.
No comments:
Post a Comment