It may not say it on the calendar, yet... but summer is upon us. The heat and humidity have been here since we got home. The crowds have been a weekend thing, but this weekend, things really "blossom."
I got out on my bicycle this morning - the resort is busy. People have been BBQing overnight. Driveways are full of vehicles. There are a lot of people here this weekend. While this resort is home to some of us, it is an escape for others, owners and renters. They tend to leave their work and home brain behind when they come here. Simple tasks, like looking both ways before pulling out of a driveway, are beyond them. Letting their unlicensed (as in drivers license) kid drive around in a golf cart with the stereo blaring is fine with them. Not fine with the rules here, but "rules are for home, not a coastal getaway."
I had to make "evasive maneuvers" several times while on my bike this morning. In spite of what I write about when out on my motorcycle or scooter, that isn't the norm on this island. Except during the summer. Especially on weekends. No, I won't be going out on the motorcycle this weekend. Other than an early morning bicycle ride, I won't likely be going out at all. We are stocked up on food. Plenty of propane for the griddle.
When I was a kid, this holiday was called Decoration Day. It was a day to remember the service people in our families who had died; we put flowers on graves. Over the years, it has morphed into another 3 day weekend for camping, picnicing, traveling - to the beach, to the mountains - anywhere you can get away from home. And, in this part of the state, people come to the coast; for the beach and the Gulf; temperatures are cooler here than inland; fireworks; beach bars. And for some reason in the past few years: driving around in golf carts. Because... well, I don't know why. Maybe driving a golf cart does for them what riding a motorcycle does for me?
;-)
2 comments:
I hear what you say about resort town living. Our years in Alaska were similar. Once summer came, the population of the state doubled, with all of the issues you might expect. Not quite the carnival atmosphere that you describe, but it made it hard to get anywhere with all those extra sightseers clogging up the roads. A friend of mine up there wrote a hilarious song about "Ma and Pa from Saginaw, going down the Seward Highway in their RV at 35 mph". There are exactly two highways leading out of Anchorage to the rest of Alaska, so you can see how that sort of thing could be an issue.
Carnaval? Circus? Zoo? Yeah, it's one of those things.
When we lived in Spearfish, a friend of ours took his brand new diesel pusher motorhome to Alaska. When I asked him about the trip, he said, "I don't want to talk about it." Apparently, the damage was self induced.
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