Made It!
September 23, 2024
I didn’t think it would happen, but it happened!
"What happened?" I hear you cry.
We finally got to Ocean City!
We were planning to go in August, but Hurricane Debbie scuttled that plan. Then she had the nerve to poop out, but alas, it was too late by then.
Anyway, I digress.
The trip was to host our sort-of-annual family party, where all assorted relatives come over to our beach house and we eat and yak and laugh. Joe and I went down on Friday. The travel was quite smooth, seeing as how it's late September, and our party was scheduled for the weekend between Bike Week (motocycles) and Ocean Calling (music festival).
As we pulled in front of the house, we couldn't help noticing the big boat in the front yard! My sister came out to greet us, and I said, ever so politely, "What's this fuckin' boat doing here?" And she said, "We bought a boat!" So that was a surprise.
We took the boat out into Assawoman Bay on Saturday morning and had a great time motoring around.
There was a seagull keeping an eye on the traffic under the bridge.
When we got back to the boat ramp, we had a wee bit of an adventure getting the boat back onto the trailer. And when I say "we," I mean Joe, my sister, and my brother-in-law. It may look like Joe's walking on water, but he's really standing on the dock, and my sister is sitting on the edge. Yeah, the dock was under water, the result of some minor coastal flooding.
Well, they finally got the boat situated and took it back to the house and parked it where it wouldn't get into any trouble. Then the party prep began in ernest - roast beef roasting, fried chicken frying, salad making, coolers filling, and other assorted busyness. My nieces and nephew brought street corn, potato salad, crab dip, and - most importantly - several dozen chocolate chip cookies made from my mother's recipe. There was a metric ton of food and it was all wonderful.
I'm so grateful that our family loves each other. We don't get together often, but it's always a wonderful time when we do. All of us, from the Silent Generation to the Boomers to the Gen X'ers and the Millenials, caught up on everyone's doings and told big lies and at some more cookies. It was grand.
The next day my sister and brother-in-law packed up and left before lunch, and Joe and I relaxed. We walked up to the beach because you have to take look at the ocean when you're at the ocean. (It's the law.) It was a beautiful, cool day. The water was definitely rough, with whitecapped waves rolling in. We saw a few other folks walking along the water, and one bold fisherman casting in the surf.
So I got my yearly beach fix! But I need another - hopefully sooner than later.