Bed Racing

Long before Black Friday became a national event, Boothbay Harbor has been having an early bird sale. It's a chance for the stores to clean out their inventory before the stores shut for the winter, and an excuse for the locals to dress up in silly pajamas and get out and see each other before the worst of winter sets in. It's a tradition that I love, the shopping part is secondary. We all gather at my Mom's house the night before and stay up too late playing music and eating and drinking. The house is always overflowing, so I usually volunteer to sleep in the boathouse with my Mom and cousin. We snuggle down under many quilts because the boathouse is not heated or insulated and listen to the wind and the waves. Morning always come way too soon, but we drag ourselves out of our warm beds and up the hill to the house. And then before the sun is up, we're on our way to town. All the stores have free coffee and snacks, so we eat, drink, and shop our way through town, stopping often to visit with friends and neighbors. And then we all gather at McSeagull's for mimosas and lobster omelets. And then go home for a nap. This year though, there was something new- a bed race. I of course, was the first to volunteer. Running and pajamas- I was totally there. I was racing for the Boothbay Region Greenhouse team. Our theme was fairy houses, and our bed was beautiful! It was decorated with pine boughs and berries. We all wore wings and our fairy rider through rose petals from the bed.

We looked totally awesome at the start and went out with a roar.

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Unfortunately we soon discovered that our bed did not go in a straight line. We kept drifting off to the left and into the crowd. By the time we got to the turn around, we were far behind. And then we got even further behind, because when we tried to pick up the bed to turn around, we found it weight a TON! On the way back we were laughing so hard we could barely push. We lost by a lot, but had a blast and worked up an appetite for brunch!