visiting with friends

on thursday, we went to visit our friends, the reliards, at their rental on salisbury beach. salisbury has seen better days, and i think that these tough economic times are only partly to blame. the midway is going the way of the dodo- whether it's just abject lack of interest or because of that all-inclusive, modern-day devil, the internet, carnival/beach midways are slowly eroding down to their last game of skeeball. it pains me to think that all of these experiences are being digitized and you-tubed and whatever else, no longer experienced in the flesh and blood real life environment. you haven't really lived until you've eaten corn dogs, beach pizza, fried dough, a sausage sandwich, cotton candy, and soda- all in one afternoon, and then thrown it up on some rickety old roller coaster or merry-go-round. seriously.

hmm. as uncle fudgie points out, maybe this has something to do with salisbury's downfall...

this is a club that daddy played at a lot in high school. it was perpetually under new management, and never brought in much of a crowd. or maybe that was just daddy's band?

one half of the main drag. the other half is almost exactly the same. joe's playland is on both sides of the street somehow, and i'm not sure how many of these food stands stay in business against each other, unless they're all owned by the same person. they all boast "beach pizza, fried dough, hot dogs" etc. while the rides have all gone away, these greasy places have remained. the fun has left, but the fat has stayed.

this is the last ride left on the main drag. it's surprisingly (and almost disappointingly) well maintained.

no burnt out lightbulbs, no chipped paint. what a rip-off. down the road a stretch the go-karts are still open, but right next door is "adventure golf" and they're not kidding- it would be a real frickin' adventure to try and play there! it hasn't been open for years and is completely overrun by tall green beach grass and weeds. if i had the money i'd buy it, clear some pathways, and pretty much open it up, as is. there's something cool about the dinosaur head leering menacingly from the weeds, it's body taken under by the unchecked growth. and in the center is a huge incan pyramid, also mostly reclaimed by nature, looming out of the jungle and just daring you to hit your balls in. sort of. take my word for it, since i didn't get any pictures. maybe next time...

hot dog hot dog hot dog! fried fried fried! eat eat eat!

did i mention there's actually a beach at salisbury beach? it's true! and it's a pretty nice one. a lot nicer than when i would come here as a kid. fewer drunk people face down in the sand, and i only stepped on one cigarette butt on my way to our blanket.

on the surface it didn't look like much of a beach day, but with the clouds blocking out the hot sun, we didn't have to drown ourselves in sunscreen or hide in the shade. it was nice to lay around on the soft sand, and it was still pretty warm.

bebe loved being in the sand. and her walking has become so advanced she could actually get around in spite of the thick, soft surface.

mostly she dug with her shovel, which was the best beach investment we've made so far. give that kid her shovel and she's set.

she fills up her suit, her little beach cave thingy from the other day, and here she covered the seat of the chair.

then, she couldn't figure out how there was sand on top, and still sand underneath.

she gave it a long, hard look before...

"hey! you guys! i think this 'sand' stuff, is EVERYWHERE! seriously. i put some on the chair, but there's still some underneath! weird..."
there is sand everywhere, bebe. that's why it's called 'the beach.'

"welllllll, don't anybody tell the baby anything. how was i supposed to know that? jeeze."

"wait, wait- ahh. just pooped my pants. now we're even."

"who's that weird guy with the camera way over there?"

"i know that guy! it's daddy!"

"y'know, i dig, and dig, and dig..."

"and i don't ever seem to make any progress. i'm not so sure i like the beach."

one thing she was sure she liked though, was uncle fudge.

she tried burying him in the sand, but he's a big guy, and she's just a little lady.

they make a pretty cute couple.

whoa. now that's weird! if i'm over there, how can i be here, taking this picture?

uh oh. i think bebe's noticed my state of duplicity.

"hey! how can you be over there taking the picture, but still be here behind me?"

easy-peasy, my dear. my top half is over here, taking the picture, while my bottom half remains behind you. see?

"daddy, you look funny with no bottom!"

well then, i'll just put myself back together again! ta-daa!

as the day wore on, we got closer and closer to our prime travel time, aka nap time for the beebs. we could have hung out on the beach all day, but we were already sucking at maintaining bebe's nap schedules throughout my vacation, and she was starting to show some wear and tear because of it. time for a quick change.

there we go! and we're off. bye guys, it was great to see you! thanks for letting us visit your cool beach place!


once beatrix had become steady on her feet, she became obsessed with stairs. what's really scary is that she has figured out all on her own to hold the railing while going down. actually, that's not the scary part. the scary part is that even holding on to the railing, she's not quite able to go down that way, but insists on trying. she's so proud of her walking skills that she feels the need to challenge herself with the stairs.

anyway, one of her new things is to crawl up the stairs to our apartment when we come home. it's super cute, but we live on the third floor. not so cute when you have to pee and she shrieks as if stabbed when you pick her up before she reaches the top. and being the inquisitive type, she has to stop at every crack, chipped paint spot, or pebble she finds along the way. for a good, long, hard inspection.

hallloooooooooo! i would say it takes us a solid two-three weeks to get up those stairs.

hurry up, lady! we've got more posts to get up!