I’m back!

I had a real vacation.  Not the kind where you romp all over the place, touring here and sightseeing there.  This was the kind of vacation I always had growing up, we lived an hour away from the Jersey Shore and we spent summers lying on the beach getting burnt to a crisp (I know, I’m paying for that now, but what did we know back then…), wandering the boardwalk, riding bikes, and just being with family.  If you’ve never had a vacation like that, it’s the best.

My lovely sister rented a house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and invited us down for the week.  My other sister joined us for the weekend.  It doesn’t get any better than this.

We drove to the end of New Jersey, that would be Exit 0 on the Garden State Parkway, and hopped on the Cape May/Lewes Ferry.

I started a sweater.

We rode bikes.

We brought the boys lunch while they were crabbing on the bridge, catching our supper.

We cooked the supper and had a grand feast of Old Bay Seasoned Steamed Crabs.  Notice the hand knit sweater I’m wearing.

We relaxed in the yard. (And I occasionally checked my email.  Only occasionally…)

We met up with my other sister who rode her bike in on the ferry.  We went shopping. (Note the hand knit sweater I’m wearing)

We went to the beach.

We took a class at the Rehoboth Art Center in fusing and slumping glass.  We started with liquor bottles, smashed them and arranged them into shapes, with some drizzled glue and the instructor is supposed to fuse everything in a kiln and then slump over a mold.  I’ll post photos next week when the pieces get shipped.  Don’t worry, I’m not giving up my looms.  The whole broken glass thing just didn’t do it for me…  But there was wine…   (That’s my nephew behind me in the first photo)

We dined alfresco.

We rode bikes some more… (Yes, I’m the one wearing the bike helmet.  I don’t take chances and I’m a klutz on a bike.)

We walked on the boardwalk.

We played miniature golf, one of my fondest memories from childhood.  I won.

I met a new friend outside the ice cream shop. The loser had to buy. 🙂

We left Delaware on the Ferry, a week later, rested and refreshed, and headed back up the Garden State Parkway.  We stayed the night in Ventnor, just below Atlantic City, but we detoured to check out old haunts and great memories and to see how things fared in the southern part of the Jersey coast after hurricane Sandy.

We stopped in Ocean City where my mom and dad owned a home for many years. Two different ones actually.  We knew Ocean City flooded, and weren’t sure what condition the homes would be in.  We were thrilled to find both homes where they lived survived and had been redone and were occupied.  There was a marker outside one of their old homes showing the water level from Sandy.

We headed up to Longport, where I spent most of my childhood summers, in the same motel apartment, Ocean Bay Motel, the first floor corner unit.  It is now condominiums, and there is a huge high rise blocking the view of the beach, but the pool where I learned to swim is still there, behind the decorative wall, and the place looked fresh and alive.

We stopped in Margate to see if Lucy the Elephant survived.  Apparently she lost her tail in the hurricane, but a huge “Save Lucy’s Tail” Fund drive took place and Lucy’s tail is back and she looks wonderful.

And so I’m home now, almost unpacked, still slowly returning to reality, trying to follow up on all the emails I got while I was away.  I am making progress on my sweater, almost finished the first sleeve.  The yarn was from my mother in law’s stash of handspun, with a label that read 1976, Shadrack fleece.  (Note: I can find no information on this type of fleece.  If it is called by any other name I’d love to know.) It was three ply and pretty bulky, but I’m mixing it with a lovely skein of Indigo dyed Corriedale my friend Ginnie gave me from Whitefish Bay Farm where I stayed on my way to Siever’s last July.

Stay tuned…