Wednesday, May 3, 2017

tourists

 Well the grass cutting has started. Everything is green here in the " Green Garden county. " Caroline county was named after Lady Caroline Eden, wife of the last colonial governor of Maryland. It was formed in 1773. It is where I have made my home for twenty some years now. It is an agricultural county for the most part. The Chesapeake bay isn't far off and so there is fishing and the like. Caroline county really doesn't benefit a great deal from the warm summer months as not many tourists stop here. Caroline county just gets passed through on the way to somewhere else. Still it is a pretty nice place to be. We just don't have any great attractions. I expect in the distant future that will change with what they call urban sprawl, although in these parts it is more like a crawl. I do see  housing developments going in and that is always first. Of course the housing market took a big hit a while back and hasn't recovered yet, but it will. Many folks from Caroline county commute to Annapolis, Easton or other points across the Bay bridge were the salaries and wages are mush higher. It is the same old story. Move to the country to get away from the crowding and higher costs of the metropolitan areas and begin changing that country into a metropolitan area. Shoot here in Greensboro we already have two stoplights and just up the road a ways LED billboards. Things are building up and the farmland is being used for housing. The farmers are selling those family owned properties and the beat goes on.
 Now that the grass cutting has started we have to plan our weekend driving routes differently. Route 404 and 50 both pass through Caroline county and are heavily traveled in the warm months of spring and summer. Some of you folks will know exactly what I am talking about. Don't plan on traveling either of those roads on a Friday afternoon/evening or Sunday evening. Those folks heading " to the beach " will be out in droves and determined to get to the beach no matter what. My best advice is get out of the way ! It is like a thundering herd. The " beach " in this case is either Ocean City Maryland or Rehoboth in Delaware. I've been to both to check them out and fail to see the attraction. Well, in all fairness I dislike a crowd for the most part anyway and am not much on the nightlife. Those beaches are for the young and the young at heart that have plenty of expendable income. Let's just say my disposable income doesn't include the prices paid on the boardwalk. The thing is I have never been much of a tourist. Maybe if I were wealthy I would feel differently but somehow I don't believe that either. I don't like crowds and when I do go places I always feel like I'm in the way of the " locals. " I don't know, it is just an attitude I guess. I don't have that tourist attitude of, I'm here, spending my money and I don't care what anyone else is doing. It is a self centered approach in my opinion. Guess it is just the way I was raised or something. I'm just not real comfortable in the tourist role.
 I do like this portion of the season the best. The windows are open and the birds are chirping. Everything is fresh and green. Hope fills the air. The crops are being planted and the little farm stands are opening. Weekends are filled with yard sales. Whereas I do enjoy a good yard sale they can become a nuisance. When the roadside gets jammed up with those bargain hunters it does make me nervous. I guess that comes with age however, you get worried that someone will dart out in front of you. I've already used the grill a few times and there is nothing like grilling out. I just enjoy the convenience of that. I don't fuss over it and try to make it a profession ! Seems like everything has to be " professional " these days. Me, I just want to relax and do as best I can without studying the art of barbecue, know what I mean ? I'm thinking I'll grow some cherry tomatoes and cucumbers this year. Again something I enjoy, but wouldn't call it a hobby. I don't fuss over the garden much. A fancy way of saying that is, I have a pedestrian interest in that activity. I just want to eat the fruit. I'm just passing through. And maybe that explains why I'm not much of a tourist ! I usually feel that way. I'm just passing through and don't have time to linger. There is just too much to see and do to get stuck on one activity for an extended length of time. I just want to do it all. So let's throw open the windows, take a deep breath of that fresh air and enjoy the hope of tomorrow. Because as Scarlett said, " tomorrow is another day. "
  

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