The Doo-Dah Parade

Thurs evening Spouse & I went to a cook-out in Milton at our friends Chuck & John's house. There were a few folks we knew there, but we also met several of Chuck & John's neighbors who were really fun, nice folks. We had a really good time.

At 11:30 that night The Newlyweds arrived. Traffic getting to the Bay Bridge was bad, which delayed their arrival. We celebrated Michael's milestone (30th) birthday with a cake and pomegranite martinis. They brought the pomegranite liqueur as part of our 'pomegranite weekend', similar to the 'blueberry weekend' we'd had for Memorial Day. We stayed up talking until 2:00am!

Fri morning after breakfast we walked 2 blocks into town for the arts and crafts festival. We were really puzzled to find 2 fire trucks and a bunch of kids engaged in various games instead. Quite sarcastically I said out loud "Did we not pass 81 signs between the house and here indicating there would be an arts and crafts show here on the 1st Sat of July???" Then Jamie cleared up the confusion for me by stating "Today is Friday." Strike 1. So we attempted to stroll along quaint Second St but the kids and fire trucks proved too much, so we walked back home and talked for awhile.

At 1:00 we walked down to the canal for the 4th of July boat parade. There were already plenty of people there when we arrived, but we got a good viewing spot in the shade. And then we waited... for an hour. Finally at 2:00 we were starving so we walked back home to eat lunch, having seen not 1 decorated boat. Strike 2. (I later learned that Lewes had postponed the boat parade until 2:00, so it likely started right after we left.)

After lunch we decorated my car for the 4th of July Doo-Dah parade. The Doo-Dah parade is made up of anyone and everyone who wants to be in it. There are no elected officials or beauty queens; just regular folks. We learned that years ago there used to be an official Lewes-sponsored 4th of July parade, but that several participants had gotten quite drunk at their cook-outs and behaved badly in the parade, causing Lewes to stop having the parade for a few years. Then some families decided there should be a 4th of July parade, but since Lewes had officially decided there would be no more 4th of July parades, the families called it a Doo-Dah parade and its been a growing in popularity ever since.

Here are a few photos of our pre-parade preparations. (All photos may be clicked to enlarge them.) That's me by the driver's door in the orange/blue shirt and Michael (of the Newlyweds) attaching the flag to the antenna. Me and Michael being silly.
Me being even sillier.
Me trying to attach the bunting without getting tape on the paint.
Michael consults.
Jamie (of the Newlyweds) adds the finishing touches.
Ready for the parade, sir!
Once the car was decorated we all cleaned up and walked over to our friend/neighbors' Mike & Steve's house for a cook-out. This is where we ate, met a lot of people, and viewed the Doo-Dah parade last year. Shortly before the parade was to begin, the Newlyweds and I slipped out of the cook-out, walked back home, and drove the car over to the staging area. We left the camera with Spouse at the cook-out so he could take pictures. Unfortunately he must have pressed too hard when taking the pictures, causing the camera to move, and resulted in most of the parade pictures turning out blurry. Oh well.

What group always signals the beginning of a parade? Tykes on Bikes, of course!
More Tykes on Bikes...
A lovely vintage Mercedes...
The Garden Club members show off their 'green thumbs'.
Rather than a marching band, these lazy musicians formed a mobile band. There are lots of 'artistic' folks here in Lewes.
Despite Lewes and Rehoboth's designation as beach resorts, there's a lot of agricultural area just a few miles outside of town.
A sweet little Z3 carrying 3 sweet little girls.
What's a wacky parade without stars and stripes pinwheels?
Yes, that's a real boat.
A beautiful Chrysler Imperial.
A trailer full of red, white, and blue.
A lovely vintage car decked out for the holiday.
See? No politicians, no beauty queens, just regular folks having fun.
The Washington Monument, Statue of Liberty, and several former presidents.
A 'close-up'...
I'm driving and waving, Michael is in the passenger seat tossing gum and mardi gras beads, and Jamie is in the back (in the jester hat, waving the rainbow pinwheel), with their dog Brandy in a stars and stripes cape on his lap.
It was really fun to blow the horn a lot!
This would have been a great photo if it weren't blurry.
Our neighbor Georgia (in the ginormous red sunglasses) and her sister, niece, and niece's daughter in their boat, playing the demented pageant court.

Please notice that Georgia is wearing a tiara. 'Cuz that's how we roll in Lewes, bitches.
A sweet Cutlass convertible from the 70s.

I can't tell you how FUN the parade was! There were tons and tons of spectators cheering, clapping, and whistling for us. Now I feel like I want to enter all the upcoming parades within a 50 mile radius so I can do this again and again.

After the parade we parked the car and walked back to the cook-out at Mike & Steve's. We ate and visited some more before walking back home. We un-decorated the car and sat around and talked until dark. Just as we were walking out the door to walk down to the beach for the fireworks, it started raining. We sat on the wrap around porch for about 40 minutes, talking and listening to the rain, hoping it would stop so the fireworks wouldn't be rained out. But thunder and lots of lightening turned the shower into a storm, so we went back inside.

All in all it was a terrific day, but the parade was definitely the highlight.

Crush du Jour: Will Toale