Over the years, being on the seaside has changed somewhat for me. I was invited this coming weekend to my friends Doug and his partner's home, who used to live in New Hope, but moved to Delaware close to Rehoboth Beach, about two years ago. Doug is the one who did my life portraits for an art show some time ago. It got me to thinking about how the beach experience has changed. While I mostly experience Rehoboth Beach and P-Town now, they are completely different feeling from a regular ole seaside locale from my youth. Currently it's about relaxing on the beach, enjoying cock-a-tails, and enjoy the many, many sights of nearly naked, or yes naked men!!! But I remember well my youth visits to the beach. The smell of the air, the amusements rides, the skee ball (I could play for hours) and pigging out on the boardwalk pizza... and who doesn't love the seaside floss and French fries? I can remember my grandmother and I went every year to Ocean City Maryland, and she always took me to the carousel for a ride or two. And the candy floss always came back to the hotel with us. Since I go to mostly gay destination beaches now, many of these things don't exit there, but rest assure next week when I head to Slaughter Beach, a very natural, nature beach, I'm getting my host to take me into Rehoboth to enjoy the amusements again, play the skee ball, and get an extra-large order of Thrasher Fries, the best... and maybe even candy floss or taffy. As gay as Rehoboth can be, it's nice to know they have kept the traditional seaside pleasures going strong. These kids these days don't know what their missing. Either way, I hope to be riding something this weekend! Do you have fond beach memories?
I have many memories of beaches, although mine are all Great Lake types. Indeed I hope my ashes are spread on the beach of Lake Michigan.
ReplyDeleteI have thought long and heard about it, and I wouldn't mind my ashes spread at the seaside either.
DeleteHave fun on the carousel!
ReplyDeleteScott from Massachusetts said...
ReplyDeleteReally nice to hear about your adventures at the beach with you and your grandmother!! Indeed those fries looks delicious.
Oh and about the cotton candy, I'd love to take three batches and put them in the cracks of those naked hot buns and eat away.!!
I like the way you think Scott!!!!!
DeleteOh, this looks like tons of fun!
ReplyDeleteI have not been to an amusement park in ages. I'm too chicken and I'm afraid of going on rollercoasters and the such because I'm weary of getting sick. And now I want cotton candy and a naked man, Maddie!
XOXO
You could eat the cotton candy off his huge stick!!!!
DeleteNice "beach"
ReplyDeleteSo many delicious things to eat.
ReplyDeleteAnd the food looks good, too!
And people wonder why I keep falling off the slut wagon.
DeleteOkay, so explain to me what cotton candy has to do with cake.
ReplyDeleteI like to eat cotton candy off a nice set of cakes!!!!
DeleteI see those boys lounging on the beach and think of you! And you can't be going to Slaughter Beach!!!! I just got back from up the road from there!!!! I do love the seaside, but you can keep the cotton candy. I never did like it.
ReplyDeleteTis true!
DeleteI'm with you Agnes; candy floss is disgusting stuff.
DeletePlay some skee ball for me! Have fun!
ReplyDeleteI will. I can play it for hours! Must have something to do with holding balls?
DeleteI never end end by ocean. But spend plenty of time at lakes.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on and stay safe
Anywhere near water is very rejuvenating for me. I miss the lake where I used to live. It was great for a jog/runs.
DeleteThe Ferris wheel is one of my favorite rides.
ReplyDeleteI have to make a bit of a distinction between amusement parks and beaches, but I like them both. Here in Northern Ohio the biggie amusement park is Cedar Point. That actually did start out as the beach resort of the kind you talk about, but by the 1960s the park and the beach were two different things with a degree of separation between them. As for amusement park-less beaches, plenty around Lake Erie, among them Huntington, Edgewater, and the Mentor Headlands.
ReplyDeleteSkeeball!!! And other balls.
ReplyDeleteThey are going to need lots of help brushing all of that sand off - have fun
ReplyDeleteBumper cars, and rock pools.
ReplyDeleteSx
Oh I used to love the bumper cars. I always used to try and nail the cute guy.
DeleteI worked at an amusement park at 18. It was on Mission Beach in San Diego. Belmont Park. It's now a mall with a few rides. Good memories of my father taking us to this beach, especially when my mother didn't come. On occasion, we got treated to Belmont Park when enough money wasn't drunken or partied away to afford taking six girls. Hard cinnamon candy apples were my favorite. Fond memories of daddy jumping into the waves wearing jeans. He never owned swim trunks. Okay, this is making me cry. Coffee time!
ReplyDeleteI always like the caramel apples in the fall, but I don't know I ever had the hot cinnamon candy apples.
DeleteBack when you could get away with it, you could have a bonfire with a few friends. That's the main reason why I owned a truck when I was in college. We'd "acquire" a few wood pallets, bring a loud radio and our favorite drinks to the appropriately named Fiesta Island.
ReplyDeleteBonfires.....a great bonding time.
DeleteWhen I was young St Giles fair was the place to go, a fair that has been held since medieval times. It still happens the first week in September, shutting down all traffic in central Oxford, but I'm too old to fancy getting crushed in the crowds and have no wish to waste my money (but then I am a emale version of Scrooge).
ReplyDeleteWell I live now....there is a street fair....one of the oldest one day street fairs in the country called Julibee Day. It get packed much like the one you talk of. If I want a funnel cake...I spot the stand and enter on the nearest cross street to the stand and I avoid the crowds.
DeleteTundra Bunny here... There were no beaches or lakes near the little prairie town where I was raised, only a muddy river with tricky currents and leeches. Fortunately, the town built an outdoor public swimming pool and I spent every hot summer day there that I could! We moved to a small city when I was 13 and it had an annual summer fair that was great. Being the little daredevil that I was, I absolutely LOVED rides on the Zipper, Spider, Loop de Loop, Ferris Wheel and Tilt-A-Whirl! My piggy bank savings went on those, with maybe a bottle of Coke and a hot dog or bag of popcorn. No fancy-schmancy cotton candy or exotic pogos (corn dogs) in my budget, LOL!
ReplyDeleteOh Tundra...I love me some tilt a whirl!!!!! But corndogs....not so much.
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