Rehomo Ramblings: What Doesn’t Kill You Only Makes You Stronger
Knowing that the traffic from Washington, DC, to Rehoboth Beach would be crazy on the Friday before a holiday weekend, my partner and I decided to get a head start and leave on Thursday evening.
Of course, we were not the only ones with that idea. And while traffic generally moved at a good pace, we arrived too late to partake in our normal Thursday evening routine of cheap tacos at Arena's Deli and Karaoke with Mona "It takes a Real Man to Wear this Dress" Lotts at the Blue Moon. It also meant we didn't have an excuse for not taking advantage of our summer gym membership at Club Fitness, which is where we found ourselves, bright and early, on Friday morning.
After the gym, we spent a few hours at Poodle Beach, before biking into town for happy hour.
Luckily for us, by arriving early enough at Aqua, we were able to secure prime real estate for optimal viewing of all the eye candy. The big holiday weekends always bring a fresh crop of visitors.
As I watched the line of hot guys waiting to get into the bar quickly grow, it became clear that this July 4 weekend was going to be exciting.
We spent some time chatting with various friends, including Howard "Skin Doctor to the Stars" Brooks and Greg "I'm a Newlywed" Jones. After about my third (or fifth) cocktail, however, I knew I needed to call it an evening.
Big Independence Day Splash
Saturday morning seemed to arrive way too fast, but I didn't let that deter me from my jammed packed agenda.
The first stop of the day was 6 Futcher Drive. The boys of Futcher were holding their annual pool party, and the theme of this year's party was Studio 54th of July: The Legendary Party Continues.
Although I didn't bump into Andy Warhol in the hot tub or see anyone doing lines of cocaine in the port-a-potty, the party was sizzling.
More than 600 people attended, and more than $9,000 in donations was raised to help support CAMP Rehoboth. I give two snaps to Mike "Hostesses with the Mostest" DeFlavia and his housemates for a job well done.
After gathering up my own housemates, my plan was to return us all to our own beach houses to rest before going out again for the evening. On the way back, however, we passed Bin 66, and someone had the (un)wise idea to stop for the regular Saturday afternoon wine tasting. As a bit of foreshadowing, let me just say that you never pay for these types of decisions right way.
I'm sure the other patrons at the tasting enjoyed our musing about the various white and red wines that we slammed down as if they were being served in shot glasses.
Knowing that my partner and I had dinner plans, I once again rallied the troops and finally made it back to the house.
One quick sobering shower later, my partner and I headed back into town for a cookout with our friends-and soon to be husband and wife-David "I Live to Grill Meat" Dreher and Kristen "The Shaman Took Great Care of My Concussion" Grimm.
The dinner and company was wonderful but the combination of the mystery vodka lemonade punch at the pool party, the combining of wines at Bin 66 and the potent margaritas that David made for dinner took its toll. I think my partner summed it up best when he said, "I need to go back to the beach house-now!"
Love Is In the Air
On Sunday afternoon (we completely slept through the morning), we ventured to Poodle Beach to detox in the sun for a few hours. As expected, the beach was packed but we were able to carve a plot between a group of sexy Latin boys and one of the "gay-men-with-baby" contingents.
From a lazy afternoon on the beach, we switched gears and headed to the Rehoboth Convention Center for the annual Love Dance sponsored by CAMP Rehoboth.
DJ Mike "I Bring All the Boys to the Floor" Reimer, who had also spun at the pool party, was a master at keeping the energy high (although he might have received some help from the open bar) throughout the evening. According to Chris "Man of a Thousand Responsibilities" Beagle, a board member of CAMP Rehoboth, a local real estate agent and-oh, you get the point , approximately 750 people attended.
All Good Things Must Come to an End
Monday was a pretty laidback day compared to the rest of the weekend.
My partner and I joined some friends for drag brunch at Aqua (loved the $3 mimosas); we took an afternoon nap and we had another cookout with our friends David and Kristen (remember, I did mention that David likes to grill his meat.)
By the time the fireworks began at 9 p.m., I could hardly keep my eyes open. I found myself thinking that maybe I am getting too old to spend a weekend running around at a pool party, dancing until the wee hours of the night and enjoying cocktails, wine and mimosas with friends, and then I remembered that old saying, "what doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger."
So, here is to growing a little stronger.