Beach Blanket Bingo - I won

This nice girl from the Left Coast got a rude awakening at the Atlantic Shore today. I am out in Delaware with my relatives who live in Maryland and own a house in Bethany Beach. My 6-year old cousin and I decided to hit the beach for the afternoon. After packing up the radio flyer with everything we would need (cooler, umbrella, towels, snacks, sand toys and chairs) as everyone does in this neighborhood we headed to the beach. Upon arrival I realized that finding a place to park yourself at the beach is more difficult than one would think and requires both social and physical strategery. The only opening in the long fence of umbrellas and beach furniture that I found was loosely populated with vacant beach chairs. No owners in sight, an obvious choice. Don't take over but gently encroach. Upon unloading one chair I got an "Excuse me" from above. The renter/owner did not seem to want us to park our butts in front of her house in her beach area. Immediately she calls to the kids to come and assume there positions in the chairs she has been staging on the beach but they will have none of it. Sheesh. This ain't Kansas. In Oregon we don't have space issues on our beach. We are more concerned with trash and the temperature of the water. Come on.

Luckily our neighbors on the other side were much more understanding and offer not only to let us in but to demonstrate for me how one uses a beach umbrella. After I explain to them I am new on the Coast, they profess their love for Obama (?) and my cousin and their daughter scamper off to the water to enjoy an afternoon at the Atlantic Coast. A charming little snow cone cart showed up later on, we don't have those in Oregon.

Maiden Oregon Arrives in G-Town

After a 10-day cross-country trip with my b-friend, I arrive in DC after midnight on a Saturday night. Found the mysterious apartment I had rented a room in site unseen and roommates unmet. Good thing Georgetown is cute. The heat and humidity was intoxicating. Found the keys hidden for me in front of the front door under a brick. Hello. That's the kind of thing people in Portland are even afraid to do sometimes.

I entered the apartment. Very cute and funky. Kind of a European dream apartment, kind of a Eugene college slum. My room, the size of a king-size bed. Just needs some love.

We couldn't stay put for more than 30 minutes because of our wanderlust still pulsing through our veins so we walked down the street to an old neighborhood haunt, Murphy's. Very quaint and classic bar. JFK proposed to Jackie in booth number 3. The college students rule the night in Georgetown. We considered a couple of other bars but were taken aback by the noise. Do they all wear perfect J.Crew outfits and talk at the top of their lungs while imbibing? When I was in college we never even wore makeup and that was the 90s. I have got a lot to learn from these girls. Or do I?

Roomates are nice. Downstairs tenants are nice and energetic. Haven't met the basement tenants. Ohh and apparently there are rats in the neighborhood. I am afraid to take the garbage out. Do we have rats in Oregon? Not in the West Hills of Portland.

Just getting settled in. B-friend flew home. Sadness sets in. I am all alone for a week. My job begins next week.

That's all for first impressions. I have to go move my car before I get a ticket. Every two hours until I figure out how to get a parking pass. Uggh.