Lewes, DE

We're here in Lewes, DE where Doug's family has a house. I love this place. It is such a small, cute town! A lot of people seem to live here year round.

Yesterday, on the 4th, we went to a street festival where they had races for kids. I thought the races would take about an hour. There were three legged races, potato sack races, barrel races, wheelbarrow races, and a race that we couldn't figure out what it was that involved actual potatoes. But for each race, they had a heat for 4 yr olds, 5 yr olds, 6 yr olds - all the way up to 11 year olds! And then one for the parents. Elisabeth could not understand my hesitation to get INTO a barrel and get rolled down the street. Needless to say, I did not participate in any races. It would take a lot of either money or alcohol to get me involved. But lots of parents did participate. It was really quite cute. But it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

Elisabeth wanted to stay for the whole thing. We didn't quite stay until the end, but we were there for awhile. This is partially because I (or rather Jennifer...) saw that they were giving rides up in the basket of the ladder truck. So we went over to get in line. It looked like there were maybe 10 groups in front of us. Well, time stood still in that line. We waited for AN HOUR and a HALF until it was our turn. Of course, I had already hyped it up to Elisabeth so any attempts I made at persuading her to not ride up in the ladder truck were rebuffed. 55 feet in the air and the kid didn't flinch. It was pretty neat, and really - when will we get a chance to do it again?

We've spent a few hours here and there at the beach. Elisabeth seems to like it, it is her first real time experiencing the beach. She's not too sure about cold water and hates getting splashed. But I think before long she'll be a little water rat. As her 5th, or maybe even 6th favorite person here (I think I'm behind the dog), I don't get to hang out with her too much.

We went to a "Doo Dah" parade yesterday, through the streets of the town. It was fantastic. So small town. Anyone who wants to parade gets to. There were kids with decorated bikes. There were people in cars all decorated up. Some people had trailers all gussied up like floats. There was a band. And everyone threw candy. LOTS of candy. It was like Halloween without the effort of dressing up and walking around. Doug's dream of finally owning a beer cozy came through. I got a packet of seeds from the Lewes Garden Club. Elisabeth will be hopped up on sugar until approximately 2012. It all felt very festive, very 4th of July.

This morning, I went to the Lewes Farmers Market. I could have spent a zillion dollars there and eaten my weight in baked goods. Instead I just came home with a bag of peaches picked this morning and some honey straws for Elisabeth. I also tasted some mushrooms that they had marinated in something that tasted so good and smelled even better.

In short, I love this place. I could really pack up and live here year round. It is unlike the beach towns I'm familiar with in Florida. This feels like a small town where people live and work. Self contained. Friendly as can be. Oh, and most importantly - Heather - they have a yarn shop. A really cute, nice yarn shop!!!

I'll post some pictures when I'm home where my camera cable is. I have some great pictures. Including one where Elisabeth actually TOOK A NAP. Shocking what the sun will do!