Rehomo Ramblings: A race to the finish line
0With the extended Labor Day weekend, just around the corner, I planned this past weekend in Rehoboth to be a time to simply chill-but you know what they say about the best laid plans.
Danielle (somewhat) spoils the fun
My weekend started off with dinner at The Cultured Pearl, with my partner and our friend Kamal "The Trivia Master" Kamara. Lady Luck was on our side and we were able to snag a table without a reservation. My partner had the seafood pasta, Kamal had the Thai rockfish (Question: What is a pescetarian? Answer: A vegetarian who eats fish.) and I had some sushi rolls.
During the course of our delicious meal, a bunch of our friends stopped by to join us. By the time we finished, out little party of three had grown to 10. Looking back, I now see that that was a sign of the weekend to come.
The weather was perfect on Saturday, so I headed to Poodle Beach. And while the rough surf from the residual effects of Hurricane Danielle kept me out of water, the same could not be said for The Double L's MANdance promoter Chris "I Made You Look" Riss and his entourage. Many a men-including me-gathered on the shore to watch the group play in the water and struggle with the heavy waves that were playing peek-a-boo with their shorts (it looked like the opening scene of a porno).
Off to Bin 66
After the beach, I met up with my partner to visit Bin 66's wine tasting. Co-owner Tom "What's Your Poison" Poor was celebrating his birthday and pouring, with the assistance of his partner Tom "It's Not My Birthday But I'll Help Pour" Bachmann, some of his favorite wines, including their private label Cabernet Sauvignon, Black Lab Cab. We of course, had to help him celebrate and sample each of his selections as well as the tasty munchies from Nourish specialty foods and catering.
Geeks come to Rehoboth
With room for a few more drinks, our next stop was Aqua, which was hosting a School Boy Tea. The servers were dressed as nerds, complete with tacky neckties and glasses held together with tape. I don't recall any nerds in my school looking so hot, but I certainly appreciated the theme. It was also clear that many of the patrons would have been happy to volunteer as, ah, mentors, for the boys.
For dinner, my housemates, some guests and I gathered back at the house for some pasta and carb loading for the Sundance 5K, being held the next morning to benefit CAMP Rehoboth.
Knowing that I would have to get up early for the run, I skipped the various house parties (although I heard the boys at Tidewater threw a great one) and instead caught Christopher "I Don't Lip Sync-I Sing" Peterson's new show. Dubbed "Hooray for Hollywood", Peterson, who has been appearing regularly in Rehoboth for more than a decade, once again dazzled the audience with his impersonations of such icons as Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Cher and even Lady Gaga.
After the show ended, we walked by the Blue Moon and Aqua, which both appeared to be doing a brisk business. I also heard that MANdance had a huge crowd. Unfortunately, the same could not be said about Cloud 9, which has been struggling much of the season with hit and miss attendance. Bill "Party Hearty" Alldredge, however, is planning a series of events at the club for Labor Day weekend that appear promising.
While checking out the scene, I bumped into David "And One to Grow On" Stivaletta and his partner Robert "Muy Guapo" Miranda-Acevedo. They were out celebrating David's birthday. I was happy to see that he is finally old enough to drink.
A respectable finish
Sunday morning seemed to arrive faster than normal but none the less I had a 5K race to run and reluctantly headed into town. By the time I arrived at CAMP Rehoboth, I had shaken off my sleep and was eager to run. It was so exciting to see so many people at the event as participants, volunteers and supporters. I finished the race at 25:56, just a second behind Kamal and a few minutes ahead of my housemate, Henry "I Will Quit Smoking" Salvsky.
Having worked up a hunger from the race, my partner and I headed to The Purple Parrot for brunch. I had a perfect omelet and my partner had some yummy French toast. Of course, the $2 16 oz. mimosas were pretty darn nice too. By the way, it is official. The Parrot's new Biergarten, located directly behind the current restaurant on Wilmington Avenue, is open for business (I know where I will be this weekend.)
From the Parrot, we swung by CAMP Rehoboth to purchase our tickets for next weekend's Sundance Auction and Dance, then by Aqua to have another round of celebratory mimosas with Henry and then spent a few hours lounging in our friends', John "I May Be Quiet But I'm Still Sexy" Barnes and Charlie "Watch My Garden Grow" Champagne, pool.
I know many of you think that Sunday afternoon is the end of the weekend however the afternoon and evening festivities were not to be missed. Aqua had an ABC (Anything But Clothes) Tea. Let's just say the servers used their nerd skills they developed on Saturday and creatively draped themselves with such articles as potato chip bags, calendar pages and even duct tape (I guess duct tape really does have multiple uses). Culminating the evening was the every lovely Miss Pamala "Katy Perry Better Watch Her Back" Stanley, who did a rousing rendition of "California Girls" complete with the handsome Moon staff backing her up in their most fabulous California girl garb.
And while my weekend didn't turn out as planned, I would not have changed one moment - there will be plenty of time to chill after the beach season ends.