Home from the Beach

I am the queen of the post-vacation hangover. After most trips (especially beach ones), I find myself falling into a joyless abyss, sobbing as I shake the sand out of my duffle bag into my perpetually grimy NYC bathtub.

But this time is poised to be different.

After a blissful, sunny week in Dewey Beach, Delaware, I felt the post-fun funk creeping in. So I decided to throw myself into organizing and cleaning up around in the house to distract myelf. I attacked a mountain of junk mail, balanced my check book and cleaned out my purse, and I’m gearing up to fold a massive pile of laundry next. Maybe if I begin the work week totally and completely organized, I can continue crossing off items that never leave my to-do list and bypass the hangover this time around.

Sounds much better than wallowing in the fact that I’m no longer reading my Kindle a few yards from the crashing surf, right?

But before I go back to my weird whirlwind o’ organizing, I’ll share the single photo taken of me in Delaware. (Sometimes the trips where you take zero photos are the best ones because you’re too busy having fun to be bothered.)

This picture was taken aboard the Haunted Mansion, easily my favorite place in the neighboring town of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. This spooky ride is a boardwalk institution and an indelible part of my childhood memories. It was easily the scariest thing I’d ever experienced as a kid, so now, as a grown woman, I turn into a whimpering, wussy 8-year-old when I ride it.

The Mansion is the most popular attraction at Funland, a family-run, thoroughly charming amusement park. This year, there was a new scare on the ride, and I jumped with such force that I pulled a muscle in my ribcage. True story. My association with the childhood fear I felt on this ride is so strong that still I scream and carry on every time I’m on it, clutching my husband (or whoever’s riding with me). That person, in turn, laughs at me through the entire ride. Fun for all!

Tags: ghosts, horror, memories, Summer, vacation

Category: content