Catch A Wave (Day 2) [a.k.a. Happy Birthday, Mr. Cheapmeister]

Day 2 started bright and early (very early) with a trip to play golf. Uncle Ray, David, Margo, David 2 and I set out to Old Landing Golf Course in Rehoboth (or "Reh-heh-bith", as the GPS lady in my phone pronounced it).



They had a nice clubhouse which Margo and I searched for coffee, diet coke, and food.



David 2 didn't have his own clubs, so he borrowed a few of David's. He also didn't have a bag, so my mother and my uncle fashioned him one out of my uncle's scrub pants.



The boys were very excited to take pictures as well as play golf. All of the following golf pictures after this one are from the artistic mind (and camera) of David 2.



As we were searching for caffeine, the boys practiced putting

and swordfighting.

We set off around the course


and started to play.



Notice there are very few pictures of me hitting. This is because I swing like a girl, apparently. My uncle once told me I'd hit a lot better if I got a breast reduction because "those things get in the way. I repeated this sentiment at a driving range once, thinking only my coworkers could hear me. Everyone else there turned around and stared to see if this was true.



We were a pretty big group, though, and often stopped to wait while we let others play through. Some were polite, and others were rather impatient. But the breaks were nice to have.


The game was quite fun, although it did take awhile and get kind of bug-filled. The highlight, though, was driving the golf cart.


I want one of these for my very own. I would drive it to work.


Let's not discuss the score of the game outside of saying that I won the last hole. The others don't count.



After the game, we returned home and went to the beach for the rest of the afternoon, where the waves were much less wavy than the day before. We had early dinner plans, though, so we didn't stay too long. When we returned, David 2 sat down at the feet of the master to listen to the Tales of Cheap, in which my uncle tells people how to save money. One such Tale of Cheap? "Never buy golf balls. You can always find them lying around somewhere to take. Just like toilet paper." I believe this year's Tale of Cheap was about doing internet surveys for money.


Sunday also happened to be the Cheapmeister's birthday, so after dinner, we had cake.


Sadly, this evening David 2, Jeni, and Margo all had to leave so they could work on Monday. We miss them greatly, but hope they return next year.

Catch A Wave (Day 1) [a.k.a. Like An Old Man Trying To Return Soup At A Deli]

This year's excursion to Bethany Beach commenced early this past Saturday. Someone was not very pleased to see all of the suitcases.


Despite her objections, we set on our way. I rode with my parents; the others all drove separately.


Upon arrival, my cousin Joseph (who was already there with his mother and his sister) helped my dad unload the cars from the top of the car.

Right as we were heading down to the beach, Jeni arrived and we set out to get lunch before sitting down. We went to a cafe on the boardwalk which took forever and served mediocre sandwiches...this is what we get for trying to eat healthily instead of eating fries like we had intended. We did have ice cream afterwards, though, to make up for the boring sandwiches.

After lunch, we headed back to the beach where we met everyone.

The sea was angry that day, my friend. I got knocked down by a wave on my way out of the ocean, and it dropped me at the feet of some old dude. It also knocked my top halfway off.

After dinner, we went back outside to play Polish Horseshoes. You may recall this game from last year. Basically, you balance an empty beer bottle on a ski pole,

and you throw a Frisbee at it in an effort to knock the bottle off and score points.

However, it's very important to avoid cars,

strangers walking cute, fluffy dogs,

and foliage when playing.

It's a very fun game.

After this strenuous activity, David still wanted to go out in Dewey. Unlike last year, when he said this all day and then fell asleep on the couch, we actually did end up going this year. My dad drove us up and dropped us off,

and we started at a bar called The Lighthouse.

I liked this place. They have bands sometimes, but on this evening, they had a deejay who was playing some of David's favorites, like Michael Jackson

and Miley Cyrus.

Next, we went to The Starboard, which was also playing super cool old music (and even broadcast the videos on a screen!) and had a scary mascot,

and Bottle and Cork,

which housed a couple of cover bands, including one I used to go see when Niki lived in Arlington.

After Bottle and Cork, we stopped to get pizza, and then caught a ride home with a very interesting cab driver who gave us his personal cell phone number and told us to call any time we needed a ride. Except for the fact that he complained about people calling him the whole ride to Bethany. And turned off said cell phone in front of us before handing us the number. He was a special guy.

He Always Had Some Mighty Fine Wine

After Saturday's trip back in time, Ken and I took to celebrating her birthday on Sunday. This involved a number of very important activities. The first one consisted of me trying to convince McKenna that she would make a good hat:

Sadly, McKenna did not agree, so hatless I went off to church with Ken, where they provided celebratory materials for Ken and the other churchgoer whose birthday was that day. They also all sang Happy Birthday to both of the birthday girls, which was very sweet of them.

After church, we headed out on our merry way to go winery-hopping up the side of Lake Cayuga. The first winery, Americana Vineyards, was a particularly appropriate stop given the holiday.

They also had a cafe, so we were able to get brunch before we started tasting. If you're ever in the area, I would highly recommend the smoked salmon omelette and the pimosa (a mimosa made with pineapple juice instead of orange juice).

Our meal was supervised by Theo, the winery cat. He spent the entire meal underneath the chair next to Ken, and seemed quite perturbed that we were disturbing his nap.

There were also a pair of chocolate labs roaming the grounds, keeping the winery safe from trouble.

The wine itself was very good. Some better than others, but that's standard for most wineries.

All of the bottles had very cute patriotic labels, and would make very good gifts. I would highly recommend the Revolutionary Red.

Next, we traveled a short while to Bellwether Hard Cider, which produces a variety of hard ciders.

This place was awesome. All of their ciders were great, and we left with several bottles. I am waiting for a good reason to open them, particularly the Cherry Street variety. The cidery was also run by two dogs, including the unfortunately-named Sugie, who seemed to be quite put out by all of these people disturbing his naptime.

Soon we left Bellwether and traveled to Lucas Vineyards, the oldest winery on the Cayuga Wine Trail.

This winery was super crowded, but we were still able to get a place at the tasting counter fairly quickly. They featured a number of wines, including quite a few with nautical-themed names. Apparently the founder was a tugboat captain. Despite some pretty good sales, we left this place empty-handed, as we had already bought far too much at the two previous places. On the way out, though, we did stop to visit some baby wine grapes.

The last winery we visited was called Sheldrake Point. This one was the closest to the lake, and boasted the best view.

This one also featured a great variety of wines, most of which we tasted. More importantly, this one had a bistro overlooking the lake, so we decided to take a dessert break. The menu at this cafe was great, and the drink menu was even better. Ken drove, so she had a lavender lemonade, and I had this lovely concotion that was called a Champagne Supernova.

On the way back home, I was able to get some good pictures of the boats on the lake.

After a mini-siesta at home, where we caught the end of 1776 on TCM, we headed back out to dinner at Corks and More. This place? Coolest place ever. They had machines like this throughout the restaurant, where you could purchase either a taste, a half glass, or a full glass of over 40 different wines. Between the two of us, we probably tasted about 3/4 of the wines they had.

Corks and More also had a great menu of appetizer-sized portions of various bits of awesomeness, including about 12 different crostini recipes,

a cheese tray with prosciutto,

and shrimp stuffed with crab and cornbread.

There were also quite a few fashion violations here, including a gentleman wearing jorts, sandals, and pulled up sweatsocks; and a gentleman sitting outside on the patio drinking a Miller Lite. Now, there's nothing wrong with Miller Lite, but good lord, you're at a wine bar. Drink wine! His dining companion was rather like me - she kept taking pictures of everything and everyone, and managed to do so all while holding and not spilling her wine.

After dinner, we went down to a park by the lake to wander around. Ken wanted to take a picture of herself in her super cool new Anthropologie dress, and I just like to take pictures of things. I also like to play fashion model, too, although sitting on that post was not a good choice. This is me almost falling off of said post.

I was able to get some good shots of the lighthouse in the distance, though, which was a lovely way to end the evening.

And then we went home, and decided that since McKenna didn't want to be my hat, she would get a new hat of her own. The contempt in her eyes when this happens never ceases to amuse me.