Confession

Tonight, Claddaugh's Pub in Canton charged me $2.50 for a diet coke. I was the designated driver, and the fact that I was trying to do the right thing and was being charged that ungodly amount for a few sips of pop just made me even angrier. I was so mad that I almost just didn't take it, but I was so thirsty and the bar was so smoky that I did. To get them back, I pocketed the pint glass in my cargo shorts and walked out with it. $2.50 for a pint glass ain't too shabby.

And, as much as I hate Claddaugh's Pub - the horrible prices, the sardine-packed crowds, the billows of cigarette smoke, the snide crowd - they at least played Arrested Development while I was there tonight. And it wasn't even "Tennessee"; it was "Everyday People."

It's the second full day with my sister, and I'm definitely exhausted. After all the deliberations about how many beaches we could hit, we ended up just going to Rehoboth Beach. It was slightly closer; I'd heard it was nicer; and the delay-filled drive and slow departure pretty much negated any additional beach visits.

Rehoboth was pretty much as nice as most have said. Still, there were a lot more families and people there than I expected. I expected a funky little beach with lots of gay couples and lots of bars. But it was big, there weren't a lot of bars, and there were maybe a few gay people but it was mostly the same type of crowd I'd expect on the beach in South Haven, MI. And that's, of course, what I compared it to. One reason I'd never gone to the mid-Atlantic beaches is that, in the summer, when I get a beach fix, I have my hometown that I visit for about a week each summer anyway. There, I spent time on the beach and in the boat, and it just never made much sense for me to drive three hours east for a beach when I've got it back home. I went, basically, because my sister wanted to go.

There were more shops and stuff than in South Haven, but the water was colder than Lake Michigan (too cold to swim in, at least for me), and we had people three feet from us on all sides on the beach. It was soooo crowded.

That's not to say I didn't love it. The sun felt perfect, and I read half of The Namesake. In fact, I wish we had stayed a few hours more, especially since the activities upon returning to Baltimore ended up me watching my little sister get drunk in Canton square (probably my least favorite part of the city, except for Looney's) bars while I stood against the wall, feeling sorely out of place and breathing clouds of cigarette smoke.