Rehoboth Beach held it's fireworks display on Sunday. It's an annual thing, of course, one that der Brucer and I watched from the roof of a Boardwalk hotel a couple of years ago, and quite spectacular.
This year, der B's daughter and her family decided to watch the fireworks from the beach itself. I opted not to join them, and from der B's report I was wise to do so.
For one thing, I had an early call to work on Monday, so I wanted to get to bed early as well. And I don't funtion well with really crowded areas. And as for Mommy's habit of screaming at people...
Rehoboth shuts down all downtown traffic on Fireworks Night. Anyone wanting to get into the town can park their car in a large field next to the highway for a fee of ten bucks, which goes to various beneficial local organizations. The town then operates a shuttle from the parking area into town, a good use of the local school busses. Visitors can load as many people as they want in their cars, same price.
So Mommy, Daddy, Der Grampa, the grandlads Alex and William, and Mommy's Cousin and her son Brody all packed into Mommy's SUV and parked in the designated field, then shuttled towards the beach. Der Grampa suggested to Mommy that they find a place close to the Boardwalk, so that if anyone needed to use the bathroom it wouldn't be impossible to reach one. No, Mommy couldn't forsee it being that packed, and parked herself, her chairs, and her blankets close to the water.
Of course, there was lots of time between when they arrived at the beach and the fireworks display. Had they remembered to bring things that would amuse the grandlads and their cousin? Rhetorical question.
Soon Mommy was screaming her head off at the boys, because they were getting sand on their hands. The boys, by this time, have learned not to listen to her, which only makes her angry and gets her to scream even more.
Then Mommy started screaming at the other people on the beach, because they were getting sand on the blankets she had stretched out in front of her. She had staked out her section of the beach, and dammit she was going to make sure it was HERS!!! Daddy kept his mouth shut, fuming.
The fireworks certainly were spectacular, from what der Brucer told me later. So were the ones that took place in the sky.
I'm glad I missed them.