Let's try this again...

I'm back to blogging - for the time being, anyway. We'll see how it goes. After I deleted my blog, I hadn't realized how hard it would be to get back into it. I think I felt accomplished with my year of entries. It's not always easy to go back to a clean slate.

So, on with an entry.

What do you get if you combine a Presidential rally for a deceased candidate, 500 basset hounds, a golden hot dog and in-the-face shaving cream pie smashing? Well, in Ocean City, that would be the activities for Doo Dah weekend.

It all started with the Presidential Rally for Pat Paulson on Friday, the comedian who ran for office from 1968 until his death in 1996. His son, daughter and wife came out to Ocean City for Doo Dah. His slogan? "Pat Paulson in '08, Thinking Inside the Box." And if you were wondering, yes, Martin Z. Mollusk did take time out of his busy hermit crab schedule to endorse the deceased Presidential hopeful.

The height of the weekend is the parade - followed by the PieAsco with said shaving cream pies. There is your usual parade fair, with the local high school band, the Hobo band, various dressed up characters and entertainers. But at the Doo Dah Parade, there is also 500 basset hounds that march (or rather waddle) through the downtown and up to the Boardwalk.

I'm not a huge fan of covering Ocean City's many, many parades (it's tough work running here, there and everywhere for photos), but I must say that I don't mind shooting Doo Dah. You can't find a dog much funnier than the droopy-faced, long-eared basset hounds - except maybe when you dress them up as cowboys, clowns and the like for a parade.

Oh, yeah - the golden hotdog. The award is given every year to someone who contributes humor to the community, and this year one of our columnist's was the lucky recipient of the questionably-tasteful plaque with a smiling golden hotdog. He was all smiles himself and gave a funny little speech. (Think "cut the mustard," "able to ketchup" and "relish the award.")

So, that was my Saturday. I had to miss Bayfest over the bridge to cover Doo Dah, but that's alright. Really, where else are you going to see 500 basset hounds converging on a little shore town's main street? I feel pretty safe in saying no where.