Sister/cousin weekend

Sisters and cousins at Rehoboth

Beach town in winter

Gettysburg cousins

     It was crazy, but Rose and I did it.  We got on a plane in Portland and flew across the country  to spend a weekend at the beach with our sisters and cousins.  We landed at National Airport on the Potomac. In the soft evening light  I gawked at the renovated Depression-era airport, the Tidal Basin, the Jefferson Memorial, and all the big government buildings that I haven't seen in years.  Saint Ernie picked us up drove us up 14th Street and out New York Avenue.  Riding through the city on that route   took me back to my college days.   We arrived to a warm welcome at Ernie  and Vonnie's house, greeted by Bert, the Corgi.

    The next morning the 5 sisters  took off across the Chesapeake Bay bridge to the Delaware shore, chattering and laughing  the whole way.  At Rehoboth we were joined by our cousin and cousins' wives from Gettysburg.

Fooling the eye

Sisters

    We ventured once to the beach and said hello briefly to the ocean.  Florrie drove us through the old Dutch seaport town of  Lewes, where we saw a trompe l'oeil shed.  Most of the time we sat by the fire and ate chocolate and cookies and wondered at the mysteries of our children . We pondered the unknowns of our mothers' and grandmother's lives. Florrie regaled us with stories of shopping for her daughter's TV-worthy wedding dress.  Chris told the heartbreaking story with the happy ending of finding a new house to move to after 25 years in the same place.
    As we moved in a pack, talking and  laughing, from house to car to  hotel to restaurant  and back again, I blurted out, "I used to think I was peculiar. Now I think it might be familial."  That became the refrain of the weekend--"It's familial."