sad, sad day (because of Michael, but also the fact that we are leaving)

Well, it has finally come upon us-- our final beach blog. I know all you avid readers are quite disappointed, but DO NOT FEAR!! We will still be uploading many pictures and videos so that you can truly have a sense for the wonderful world of Rehoboth. I just wanted to provide that little piece of comfort before we left you with our last set of stories.

Last night we ate our last supper with Richard at Planet X. Their menu of "exotic" food included the tofu curry dish Lea indulged in, Tuna and an interesting Zen spin on crab cakes. Saying goodbye to Richard is always tough. The man has made this trip possible year after year and it always feels (at least to me) like there's no real way to thank him. Though we joked that one day when I'm a wildly successful journalist (oxymoron?) I'll fund the trip.

After dinner we treked over to the what not to wear party--looking pretty cute (pictures to come). The party, which was at the Cultured Pearl, was kind of a let down...there weren't very many people there. Susannah had left by the time we arrived but we did see the woman who was made over looking very drunk, but very happy with her new look. We were later approached by a couple, who due to our polished look and sophisticated outifts probably thought we were more involved in the show than we actually were (what now Susannah!) We explained to them what was going on with the filming and that we were only crew groupies.

Now the good stuff starts. We met Austin and John for a game of miniature golf--a rematch from two years ago. The game had been built up over the last two years and the boys were out for revenge (they put up a pathetic performance last time). As we climbed the stairs up to the rooftop course, the friendships we had developed over the past two years turned quickly into a cut-throat competition, rooting for the other team's failure.

The boys showed they had been practicing taking a quick 3 stroke lead against us. Worry struck immediately when Lea, last year's MVP, realized her game was starting out subpar. Julia was having a suprisingly good top nine and kept it close. We had a one stroke lead at the end of the first half. The girls had momentum and the boys started bickering, a sign of team weakness. It should be noted that this whole time we were dodging small children and ceramic animal statue decor, not exactly Augusta.

Then things got interesting in the back nine. The girls seemed to have the game locked up when they increased their lead quickly in the back nine...but then Julia began to choke. It was her poor math skills that affected her game more than the poor golfing. She convinced herself after two 5's that there was no way we could possibly win, ignoring the 4 stroke lead we had developed prior.

"She gave me that look, like 'it's ok, you tried your best.' At that point I just knew it was over. And that it was all my fault," Julia said after the game.

Then on the 17th hole, it was explained to Julia that the game was in fact very close (though we chose not to hear the score, since we had a prior history of choking) Julia's first put was abysmal, landing awkwardly behind a rock and a hard place (but literally...behind a rock) Lea, with unyielding confidence in her struggling partner said "I know you're going to make this shot. You're just kinda lucky. It's what you do."

And then, the player who had struggled with the one foot puts and the straight on shots, some how managed to propel the ball from behind the rock, up the slope, off the bricks and into the hole with brilliant and professional grace.

After the 18th it was time to tally. The boys had a smug look about them, sure that the math would come out in their favor. We crowded around the bench watching John tally, and all trying to do the mental math in our head but getting thoroughly confused. In the end. It all came down to one stroke. 87-88. We had won the game. Lea's well played back nine (41) had kept us in the game and victory never felt so sweet. (literally because loser had to buy winners ice cream)

Post game we had a Michael Jackson themed party of sorts. Playing his music, and incorporating his song titles into games we played. We decided that John, Austin and the two of us would be "summer friends" though in retrospect putting a seasonal qualifier on our friendship with them may have come off a little rude. We did however discuss possible off shore reunions, including Medevil Times, Philadelphia and Hershey Park. We are confident that at least one outing will happen.

So here we are. It's 12:03, we're three minutes late for check out. And yet another year has come and gone like the mighty tides of Rehoboth (see entry on Lea's tango with wave). It's sad to admit that we're not sure of our future here--next summer internships and faraway places might hold us back from our dream destination. But because of our summers here, our future as friends is far less uncertain*. Thanks Rehoboth. It's been great.


*You are supposed to read that statement in a mellow dramatic (and not really serious) English accent.

6/25

Today:
We woke up and ate at our favorite little known spot: The Retro Cafe. Sadly, the food wasn't that good. Lea's portabello wrap was bland and my tomato bisque soup tasted like Cambell's tomato paste plus a little basil.

After lunch, we went to Dewey beach with Austin, Nick, John and Claude/biddy and Lea got absolutely wrecked by a wave. She's in the shower right now so I don't feel bad relaying this in the best detail I can...

So I'm positioned a little further back in the water and I knew Lea was walking back toward shore to lay out for a little. I don't know what made me look in her direction, but I thank the almighty gods that I did because as I glanced over to the shoreline I just saw this wave break and take an unsuspecting Lea down with it. I'm not sure how to describe the flailing and gasping for air that followed. It was like she'd been sucked into a tidal wave--but keep in mind we're talking 4 feet of water tops. She's yards from the shoreline. Drowning would have been though devastating, sadly pathetic and impressive given the level of the water. After her epic gymnastic session with the wave we all laughed for give or take 35 minutes.

Tonight we're going to go to the what not to wear reveal party. We have no fuckin clue what to wear, and are both pretty convinced whatever we do wear will be torn apart by Susannah. Oh well. We'll see!

I took a picture of our Old Time photo. Enjoy.

much to update...

Backstory:
Two years ago while at our annual beach week in Rehoboth, we were crusin the boardwalk lookin for some cuties when we stumbled upon three gentleman--Nick, Austin and John. We struck up a conversation and subsequent beach romances ensued that year. We've all kept in touch and attempted to see each other for two years since, to no avail.

Yesterday's events:
Ayer we made the yearly pilgrimage to the Tanger outlets--a spot any experienced shopper worth their wallet has heard about. The outlets are truly a spectacular creation. JCrew has prices comprable to Gap, Gap comprable to Old Navy....Old Navy, well they're practically giving the stuff away. So naturally we took advantage of the deals and made some wise and some just plain wanted purchases. As long as you can convince yourself that you have some logical excuse to wear whatever you're trying on--or as long as the person working in the dressing room tells you you look fantastic (we know it's their job...) you have valid reason for purchasing said item.

So what did we buy? Male readers can skip a few graphs. Cute dresses were a big theme of the day. Lea got a baby blue A-line dress at JCrew and Julia made off with an empire waisted lavender getup. Other notable purchases: Julia got some sexy strappy sandals at the Nine West outlet and Lea impressively refrained from buying any shoes...a first.

Dinner was at Eden, one of, if not our favorite spot. This was our third year hitting up the restaurant best known for its steaks. Lea and Richard's crab and lobster tower realllly hit the spot with a beautiful presentation to boot. Julia and Richard both got the filet, which was out of this world good. Before leaving, Richard grabbed both of our hands, looked into Lea's eyes and said, "My darling, no matter what happens tonight. We love you. We don't think you'll need copious amounts of money to win a freakin game, but if you do--we're here for you, and by we I mean myself and my wallet."

Well, turns out Richard was right. Lea didn't need copious cash. She redeemed herself by winning the first game and the second. We all made off with a jumbo (four wins= a jumbo) as per usual. We gave our jumbo to Phillip, who claimed his name meant horse in a foreign language (to be researched). In exchange for the horse, Phillip had to gallup over to us to redeem his prize.

Nightlife was pretty awesome (here's where the backstory becomes relevent) we met up with our boys from two years ago, and a funky fun addition--Claud, also known as biddy (?). The boys introduced us to 'sweet tart.' They wouldn't reveal the recipe except to tell us that it was made of "love, happiness, and rainbows." Our guess is soco, vodka, orange crush, and coke. We did the kings thing as well as hey govna, only the greatest game ever invented, and after a little catching up and flip cup, lea and i cuddled and went to bed.

Yesterday, life was such an easy game to play

Yesterday we beached, shopped, and got our sixth Old Time Photo taken. We opted for Indians a la Peter Pan (photo to come). We shared a heaping plate of nachos and Sangria at Dos Locos, a little Mexican place on the main strip. Not bad, but not the best happy hour deals.

Dinner was at the new hot spot in town Salt Air. Weird name but good food. Lea's Tuna was covered in "love dust" and Richard's crab cake had hand picked crab in them, or so we were told. We tried to suprise Richard with a Happy Birthday cake (no it wasn't his actual bday) but the waitress forgot. She was a failed journalist, who told Julia to get out while she still could. Real encouraging.

After dinner we went back to our beach bar, struck up some conversation with a Puerto Rican father of two who told us of his misadventures at the lesbian bar the Frog Pond. (Fun place) Without much warning an attractive gay man approached us, asked if he could make out with us and then told us his name was Sparrow. He invited us back to his table where, as our luck would have it, the cast and crew of a new What not to Wear type TV show was seated. The new show "Making over America" debuts in August, but we made sure the host--Susannha, critiqued our outfits on the spot. We didn't get rave reviews. Which was a disappointment, especially since we were both wearing new dreses we had purchased that day.

We ended the night with fries and the worst chocolate milkshake we've ever had. It was gross.

Today we're getting visitors!!! We're also going shopping and hopefully soaking in some of the sun, it's been gross all week.

Highlights of the day: The tandy-kake dessert at Salt Air, two dresses we're going to pretend we like even after Susannah's critique and Sparrow, formerly known as Jason.

"Anything but the lesbian bar tonight, I'm not drunk enough for that..."

I knew the night would be interesting when Julia decided to cut the lemon we purchased that day to garnish our cocktails with the only sharp tool we had available-- her tweezers (pictures to come). After the innovative thinking, we had two garnished (and strong) vodka clubs to toast to our first night back in town.

We left 220 full of uncertainty yet excited to discover what kinds of adventure the night would bring. The walk down Wilmington Avenue presented multiple options including Russian cat calls from a nearby porch. At first this seemed the most happening party and we considered joining the bi-lingual festivities, but opted to keep treking toward the bars.

The first bar, advertised as being the "it" place to dance and "hook up in Rehoboth" turned out to be nothing but a bunch of middle agers drinking beer and playing pool.

To our surprise, we got into Obies, the beach bar and largest gathering of young people around (at a group of about 15 people). The bar crowd had a United Nations feel. We met a Russian who taught Julia a curse word she repeated all night long and that we have sadly since forgotten. We met Mark, the British cutie (with bad teeth) who opted to come work at Funland over London (?) We don't know why either... And then there were the obnoxious but fun Americans. One showed his hospitality by buying me a shot for my 3/4 birthday. Another showed his hospitality (euphemism for worked his game?) by buying me a Tequila sunrise.

And then there was Dan.

Dan introduced himself as "someone worth knowing." He thought he was a pretty fuckin big deal. Five minutes into our conversation with him he shared with us his tattoo of Pinoccio's nose, which started about an inch below his belly button...we didn't stick around to see where it continued to. We saw Dan later in the night (a few drinks later) and he (like so many others) told me to put a drink on his tab and then ran away shouting "I gotta go get my skateboard."

After the influx of free drinks, I saw a girl hop on the bar and do a pathetic attempt at a Coyote Ugly inspired routine. Logically, the only thing to do at the time was to show her up. With Julia holding my shoes, I mounted the bar and danced while the bartender sprayed me with water. It was great.

After the bar closed at 1 a.m. (Delaware needs to work on that...) we thought about going to Dewey but discovered that the last Jolly Trolly (love it) had just left. Julia's comment: "What do we Dewey?" Even when she's tanked the girl can make a mean pun.

So we went for a beach stroll. Julia made some drunk phone calls while standing a little too far into the ocean. I watched her from the beach with Mark (the Brit) he worked his British charm by trying to disprove the "well known rumor" that Brits are bad kissers. Unfortunately for him, (or more like me...) the smooch was far from spectacular.

On the walk back, a very loud and giddy Julia suggested that me, my new British boyfriend, she and the Russian (who had followed us around all night and who spoke very little English) get brunch the following morning. Her suggestion for restaurant? The Ale House we happened to be walking by at that moment.

Highlights of the day: Julia's yellow bathingsuit (literally) A jumbo horse (no thanks to me) international bar mingling, and one kick ass Sweet Caroline sing-a-long (video to follow)

Monday 6/22

Monday we slept in until 10 a.m. saw the weather was "meh" went to the beach for an hour anyway. As we were looking at the overcast sky I commented, "They always say this is the weather you get the most burnt in, but I don't think it's true."

False.

We both got pretty pink even though the sky was sans sun. After the beach we got lunch at Arena's Deli. Great sandwiches (My California club and Lea's veggie creation were both delicious) We noted that they have Team Trivia every night 8:30-10pm, woot woot.

After lunch we walked around the many, many boardwalk and area shops. We stopped into California Sunshine, our favorite swimsuit store. A few years ago we had a tipsy experience walking around the brightly colored bathing suits after a few too many Daquiris. This time around we were sober but I still purchased a highlighter-yellow bathing suit, it's cute I swear!

Then we did something we've never done in our six years at the beach. Normally our stay is pretty glutinous. Heavy breakfasts, lunches, and delicious but extravagant three course meals followed of course by boardwalk ice cream. Unless you consider sweating on the beach or shopping exercise, we don't normally do it. But Monday! Monday I went for a run on the boardwalk and Lea made use of the hotel gym. It was quite the change of pace, and followed--naturally, by happy hour wine and cheese in the hotel lobby.

Dinner was at Nage. A new restaurant Lea found online. My halibut was sub-par but they're known for their steaks and burgers. Nice atmosphere, friendly family-owned staff.

After dinner Lea, Richard and I made our way to the boardwalk for the long awaited, much anticipated horse game. The game, which is right on the boardwalk draws huge crowds every night. There are 12 spots for 12 players but the massive number of cheering spectators makes it feel like a professional event. The object is simple. Roll the little red ball into the holes in front of you (you're seated) Red is 3 Blue is 2 Yellow is 1 about which Richard said, "It's like kissing your sister..." Your horse moves according to where your ball lands. An average game lasts about 2 minutes but the thrill of winning and the agony of crushing defeat makes it the most exciting 2 minutes of your life. The three of us have been playing for 6 years now so you'd think we'd be pretty kick-ass. We started off strong (I won the first game) then fell flat for a while. A certain number 12 (whose looks distracted Lea though he was probably about 14) took 3 games from us. In the end we won four (2 victories for me, 2 for Richard). Lea will redeem herself tonight. We'll keep the tally running.

After Richard left us, we went back to the hotel to dress for our night on the town...which, due to an excess of vodka club and lemons/margaritas, Lea remembers much clearer than I do, and will thus do the reporting.

The Background

This is the sixth year that I have gone to Rehoboth Beach, DE with my dear friend Lea. The trip began our summer going into 9th grade back when staying up late watching Friends DVDs and eating peanut M&Ms in our hotel room was a highlight of the trip. Since then, our idea of a fun time--and culinary tastes have matured. We have our favorite stores (the sunglasses spot, the boutique with over-priced but adorable dresses, and the always depressing but necessary California Sunshine bathing suit store) We have our favorite restaurants. Retro Cafe's smoothies and ultra friendly-fabulously gay wait staff, and the more upscale Planet X (Lea and her dad swear by their Tuna steak.) And we have our traditions (see below)

This town has really been here through some pivitol moments in both of our lives. We've come to Rehoboth to heal from heartbreaks, to escape from the stress and uncertainty of college applications, to celebrate our successes and dream about our futures (we've vowed to bring our families back here some day).

So this year, in what may be our last year for a while (but who knows!) we decided to document what goes on down here. Before we get going some basics:

Why we're here:
Lea's dad has run a medical conference in Rehoboth for nine years. He attends the conference by morning, golfs by afternoon and takes us to delicious dinners by night.

About Rehoboth: I've been to Ocean/Atlantic/Sea Isle City. I've been to Brigantine and all over Florida, but Rehoboth is pretty special. It's a family town first and foremost (nightlife is kind of lacking, though we've managed to find ways to have fun/get in a little trouble). The restaurants are numerous, diverse and delicious--though expensive, to eat well you have to be able to put up some money. The boardwalk is home to Funland with standard amusement park rides (Gravitron, bumper cars) and arcade games. Just a mile away are the outlets where we plan on burning most of our summer income thus far. There's a waterpark, minigolf, shops-a-plenty.

So that's the brief background, everything else we'll fill in as we go along.