Along those Seasonal Lines...

So after writing about Spring, I decided to kick my summer plans into high gear! In my family, you have no choice - they don't know how to plan anything! And so, I've decided that I'm going to keep up the Perez family tradition of heading to Coney Island on the 4th of July. Heads up though - if you're going to do the same, make sure you get there insanely early!

Following my thought path...thinking of the beach, made me think of all the Hispanics you usually see at Coney Island on the 4th, and I wanted to point out a few things you might notice while there:

1) The party starts on the train to the beach, lol. I once wrote an entire paper in college about the antics aboard the D train to Coney Island. The loud stereos, the kids jumping all over poles, and the amazing scents of Latin food everywhere!

2) Don't be afraid of the loud music! I don't know why, but Hispanics (especially my family) have the weirdest tendency to make the entire world know about our music tastes! We will not only blast the music loud enough for us to hear, but loud enough for practically the entire beach to enjoy. But don't be afraid - usually the loudest music leads to the most fun!

3) We bring everything but the kitchen sink. No seriously, if we could, we'd probably bring the sink too! I don't know about most of you, but I grew up in a family of 7 going on 17 when you added all the cousins, aunts/uncles, etc... So when we went to the beach there was no possible way our parents would spend a ton of money on Nathan's Hotdogs! So don't be surprised if you see a Hispanic mom pull an entire pot of rice out of her cooler at the beach. We cook, we eat, we enjoy all the comforts of home right at the beach!

4) We take up a LLAARRGGE area! Instead of bringing towels to the beach, as most people would, Hispanics take up larger sections of the beach by bringing bedsheets. I'm not kidding here! My mom would pack up at least 5 bedsheets and spread them all around. It was just like being at home!

5) Last but not least, the hard boiled eggs. I have no clue how this started or why it even goes on, but most of the Hispanics I know actually bring a tupperware full of hardboiled eggs to the beach with them! My father used to actually go so far as to bring the entire container of salt with him just to have it on his eggs. It's weird but its actually extremely delicious - give it a try one day!

So I hope I haven't scared you away from Coney Island anytime soon. Maybe if you go on the 4th, you'll see me and my crazy family there! We'll be the ones with the hard boiled eggs!

Enjoy!!