Let’s go back to the beginning…

So it all started with my grandmother, Mary Jane Stafford. From what I’ve heard from family stories she moved from McKeesport, PA to the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia) in the 1950’s looking for better opportunities. It was just her and my mother settling in Frostburg, Maryland and then later Arlington, Virginia. She began working for the federal government creating a life for her and her daughter Lynn, my mother.

My grandmother, Mary Jane Stafford

Like most people who lived in the DMV she vacationed on the East Coast, making the 2 1/2 hour drive over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to the Delaware beaches, specifically Rehoboth Beach, DE. My grandmother had a friend, Mr. Trent that owned a beach house there and would let her use it in the summer.

My grandmother’s sister and my great aunt, Josephine Barbera

These photos are of my relatives on my mother’s side of the family. My grandmother must have had them all down one summer.

My grandmother’s brother and my great uncle, Anthony Vadela. We called him Uncle Sonny.

My mother and her cousins, my second cousins. From left to right: Diana, my mother, my sister, Tony,

(I don’t know the last it’s either Rosemarie or Marian)

As you can see I’m in none of these photos, just my sister who looks about 1 or 2. So that means it’s a few more years before I come along. So the beach will beach memories are already being created before I even come. It was a set up for me!

Stay tuned as I continue to share the beach memories that all started in Rehoboth Beach, DE.