Happy Easter!  Today is Sunday, April 20 and there are only 134 days until Labor Day, so it is not too soon to begin that back to school shopping.  Based on most town budgets, you are going to need everything from pencils to text books to computers, so start early and avoid the rush.  Today we remember the birthdays of Soewarsil Djojopoespito, Tito Puente and Luther Vandross.  On this day in 1770, Captain Cook arrived in New South Wales, in 1902 Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium and in 1974 Paul McCartney released “Band on the Run.”  Tomorrow is Patriots Day in Massachusetts and Maine.    

   

This past week, the lovely Elaine had Spring Break and we took advantage of the opportunity to travel to Rehoboth Beach.  Our best friend Pat made the trip with us which made the adventure that much better.  One of the benefits of having Pat along was that there was someone to talk teacher talk to.  My wife finds that in most instances I do not completely understand what she is going on about when she talks work, so it is nice to have someone along who can speak that lingo with her.  An additional benefit to having a third person along is there is someone who has not experienced the things that we have, so we have someone to talk to about them. 

It is kind of difficult to get a conversation going when there are only two of us.  Since we are both present when one of our grandsons says or does something amusing, there is really no reason to talk about it.  “So last week when the kids were at our house, Nick said something very funny.”  “Yes, I know. I was there.”  “Oh, right.”  Then we drive for 50 or 60 miles with nothing to talk about.  When we are with Pat we can share those events with her and she can tell us about her adventures with her kids.  It is always nice to have someone new to tell stories to.

So we went to Pat’s, spent the night and got ready to start on our adventure the next morning.  We were thwarted, immediately, because we had planned to drive to Cape May, take the ferry over to Lewes, Delaware and drive into Rehoboth from there.  When we got up that morning, it was rainy and windy and not the type of weather conducive to a boat ride.  We opted to drive down.  It was okay.  The predictions for the next few days told us that we would be able to take the ferry back when we left.

When we arrived in Rehoboth Beach, it was cloudy, cool and threatening rain.  Being the stalwart individuals that we are, we were determined not to let that get in our way.  On the way in we stopped at one of the three outlet sections.  The lovely Elaine and Pat went and got their coupon booklets and we set out to take advantage of the many bargains that awaited us.  I managed to get a shirt in one store and they were unable to get anything.  Oh well, there were still two other sections.  All was not lost.

We headed on into Rehoboth Beach and checked into our hotel. We had time so we decided to go out and walk the main street.  By the time we got to the end of the street, down by the beach, the wind had picked up and it was starting to rain lightly.  We started up the other side of the street and the rain began to pick up.  We walked that first block, went into a couple stores and felt that our time would be better spent getting a good seat for the wine and cheese that the hotel puts out each evening.  When the spirits and comestibles were served, we were ensconced in a location that allowed us access without having to walk too far.  

We chatted, people watched and just enjoyed the time.  After the wine had been removed for the evening, we realized that it was getting late and decided to go to dinner.  We trudged through what seemed like a hurricane to one of our favorite restaurants, had a great dinner and then trudged back through the strengthening hurricane, arriving back at the hotel in time for some tea and coffee and the fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies they put out each night.

The next day, after a good breakfast, and after the lovely Elaine had her reflexology appointment, we went out to do some more shopping.  Once again, the ladies were greatly disappointed.  It was distressing not only because they could not find things that they were looking for, but also because they had great coupons that they could not use.  I hesitate to mention it, but I was able to find one or two things that I wanted (I don’t want it to sound like I am rubbing it in).

Here is a tidbit from the “No Clue What We Are Planning Department.”  Our second evening, we were in a restaurant, seated next to a lovely family – Mom, Dad, daughter and son – all blond and pleasant.  After overhearing their plans for the next day, we also discovered just how clueless they were.  The plan was for them to take the ferry “across the ocean to Cape May, New Jersey.”  They were going to take their bikes and bike into Cape May, walk around a bit and then bike to the Cape May Zoo.

It is obvious that they had not really researched this whole plan.  First of all, the city of Cape May is easily five to six miles from the ferry landing.  The zoo is the Cape May County Zoo and is about six miles from the city, if you travel on the parkway, which you cannot do on bicycles.  This means that, if they can find back roads to get them there they are going to be pedaling for quite some time.  They will also have to be aware of the ferry schedule so that they have time to get back to Cape May and then out to the ferry.  I am guessing that, if they even made the trip, they decided to pass on the zoo, at least.

This week our fact tells us that a pig sleeps on its right side.  I have to dispute that because I sleep on my back and according to the lovely Elaine, I should be sleeping on my right side.