I finally took the plunge and headed to the beach! Now, this isn't like a trip to Kits beach in Vancouver. Why? Well, for starters, the beach is two states away!
Where did I go? I went to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. So that leads us to the question, how did you get there? Well, it is a simple enough story. I woke up early Saturday morning and took the metro to National Airport, rented a PT Cruiser from Avis equiped with a GPS unit and headed off to the beach.
The drive to Rehoboth Beach is quite interesting. You see plenty of things along the way. Getting out of the District of Columbia seems to take for ever. The GPS unit decided that I had to head North first, then across to the North-East and then South for a bit. At some point, I join in a large highway (I think 495) and head East. Once I got out of DC and into Maryland, there was still plenty of traffic. I was surprised that it was so busy early on a Saturday. Soon enough though, you end up in parts of Maryland where time seems to slow down.
Before you get to that part of MD though, you have to drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. That is a 4 lane separated bridge (technically, two bridges since the lanes are separated) that spans the Chesapeake Bay. I wish I could have taken pictures of it all. The day was a gorgeous one, and there were plenty of sail boats out there. At some point, I paid a toll of $3.30 (20 cents cheaper than on a weekday). Anyway, once you cross the bridge, you end up on Maryland's eastern shore. I drove through a bunch of little towns there and it was quite a sight to see. So many farms and farm houses along the way.
I also learned of something cool along the way. There are rules regarding light usage on the single lane highways on the Eastern Shore. You have to drive with your head lights on. This was a bit odd to me. In Canada, we've had day time running lights mandatory since 1990. It was quite odd when I first moved there, but I appreciate having that feature since then. Here, I had to turn on my full headlights for safety sake I assume.
I saw a lot of dead fauna along the way. I counted 16 carcasses on my drive back. I also saw some sort of fowl crossing the highway. Probably grouse or pheasant. Delaware is tiny and you could drive right through and probably never notice it. Anyway, I kept driving and eventually ended up in Rehoboth. There are giant tax-free outlet malls along the way and were full of shoppers.
I checked into the hotel I had reserved, the Holiday Inn Express at Rehoboth Beach, now with free breakfast... Not bad. I was a bit surprised that it was so far away from the water. You see, this piece of ubiqutous technology we all use called Google Maps believes that the hotel is right on the water. Of course, that isn't the case. Keep that in mind if you're off to book the place. My room was up on the 4th floor, the top floor. I couldn't see any water from where I was, I just looked out at the highway. I lazed about for a bit, read and took a shower. By then it was starting to get dark. So, I decided to head off for dinner.
I asked the hotel front desk and they suggested a place called Big Fish Grill. The parking lot was full. That must be a good sign, yes? Well, I waited an hour for the food and I have to say, it was quite good. I had crab cake, some of their pumpkin and something soup and something else which escapes me at this moment.
Headed back, watched TV for a bit. I ended up going to sleep around 10pm because I was tired. It was nice by the way to watch television. I had forgotten how useful and entertaining it can be!
Early Sunday morning, I headed out for breakfast, checked out and then headed off to the beach. The Drive on 1A to the beach is fairly short. I got there early and parked close to the water. Got out and headed onto the sand. The sand was very soft, the water was clear and there were ships out in the horizon. It was also fairly empty sans the joggers and the dog walkers. Nothing was really open. I walked for a long time on the beach.
After a good 2 hours or so of walking, I headed back. 
Along the way, I ran into plenty of fisherfolks, one fellow caught a flounder when I was passing by. He did send it back into the ocean. The water was cold. Finally, I have touched the Atlantic ocean as well. I do want to go to Cape Breton and touch the water there... perhaps one day.
There are quite a few hotels, motels etc right on the water. The Sands, Boardwalk Plaza and the Henlopen were there ones that I will look into for next time. There were also lots of little cottages that were boarded up. Some sort of way to protect the houses from the elements no doubt.
So then I headed back to the car, and was surprised by the number of cars parked there. Plenty of people asked me when I was leaving so they could park there. So I did. I headed out and went to the outlet malls on my way out. No point missing out on tax-free shopping. I did a little bit of shopping and then decided to head for lunch. I went to a place called Jake's. They have excellent crab dip. I had the broiled fish platter with all sorts of sea food delights. Having finished off lunch, I headed back home. It was a rather long drive and I was just in time to catch the last rays of sunshine while crossing the bridge. It was beautiful.
I got home rather late and headed off to sleep, tired. I have to say, it has been a long time since I have seen the ocean... and having lived by an ocean all my life (except for now in DC), I say that a coastal city is where I want to be. There is something awesome about a giant body of water. It is always there, anchoring the city and providing water fronts and what not. Oh well.
I will be going back to the beach before winter sets in. The weather was just too nice to not go back. I just need to make sure I don't end up spending a lot. Car and accomodation and fuel were over $300... shopping and food probably another $200... which makes for one not so cheap trip to the beach. But, by George, it was worth it!
Where did I go? I went to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. So that leads us to the question, how did you get there? Well, it is a simple enough story. I woke up early Saturday morning and took the metro to National Airport, rented a PT Cruiser from Avis equiped with a GPS unit and headed off to the beach.
The drive to Rehoboth Beach is quite interesting. You see plenty of things along the way. Getting out of the District of Columbia seems to take for ever. The GPS unit decided that I had to head North first, then across to the North-East and then South for a bit. At some point, I join in a large highway (I think 495) and head East. Once I got out of DC and into Maryland, there was still plenty of traffic. I was surprised that it was so busy early on a Saturday. Soon enough though, you end up in parts of Maryland where time seems to slow down.
Before you get to that part of MD though, you have to drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. That is a 4 lane separated bridge (technically, two bridges since the lanes are separated) that spans the Chesapeake Bay. I wish I could have taken pictures of it all. The day was a gorgeous one, and there were plenty of sail boats out there. At some point, I paid a toll of $3.30 (20 cents cheaper than on a weekday). Anyway, once you cross the bridge, you end up on Maryland's eastern shore. I drove through a bunch of little towns there and it was quite a sight to see. So many farms and farm houses along the way.
I also learned of something cool along the way. There are rules regarding light usage on the single lane highways on the Eastern Shore. You have to drive with your head lights on. This was a bit odd to me. In Canada, we've had day time running lights mandatory since 1990. It was quite odd when I first moved there, but I appreciate having that feature since then. Here, I had to turn on my full headlights for safety sake I assume.
I saw a lot of dead fauna along the way. I counted 16 carcasses on my drive back. I also saw some sort of fowl crossing the highway. Probably grouse or pheasant. Delaware is tiny and you could drive right through and probably never notice it. Anyway, I kept driving and eventually ended up in Rehoboth. There are giant tax-free outlet malls along the way and were full of shoppers.
I checked into the hotel I had reserved, the Holiday Inn Express at Rehoboth Beach, now with free breakfast... Not bad. I was a bit surprised that it was so far away from the water. You see, this piece of ubiqutous technology we all use called Google Maps believes that the hotel is right on the water. Of course, that isn't the case. Keep that in mind if you're off to book the place. My room was up on the 4th floor, the top floor. I couldn't see any water from where I was, I just looked out at the highway. I lazed about for a bit, read and took a shower. By then it was starting to get dark. So, I decided to head off for dinner.I asked the hotel front desk and they suggested a place called Big Fish Grill. The parking lot was full. That must be a good sign, yes? Well, I waited an hour for the food and I have to say, it was quite good. I had crab cake, some of their pumpkin and something soup and something else which escapes me at this moment.
Headed back, watched TV for a bit. I ended up going to sleep around 10pm because I was tired. It was nice by the way to watch television. I had forgotten how useful and entertaining it can be!
Early Sunday morning, I headed out for breakfast, checked out and then headed off to the beach. The Drive on 1A to the beach is fairly short. I got there early and parked close to the water. Got out and headed onto the sand. The sand was very soft, the water was clear and there were ships out in the horizon. It was also fairly empty sans the joggers and the dog walkers. Nothing was really open. I walked for a long time on the beach.
After a good 2 hours or so of walking, I headed back. 
Along the way, I ran into plenty of fisherfolks, one fellow caught a flounder when I was passing by. He did send it back into the ocean. The water was cold. Finally, I have touched the Atlantic ocean as well. I do want to go to Cape Breton and touch the water there... perhaps one day.
There are quite a few hotels, motels etc right on the water. The Sands, Boardwalk Plaza and the Henlopen were there ones that I will look into for next time. There were also lots of little cottages that were boarded up. Some sort of way to protect the houses from the elements no doubt.
So then I headed back to the car, and was surprised by the number of cars parked there. Plenty of people asked me when I was leaving so they could park there. So I did. I headed out and went to the outlet malls on my way out. No point missing out on tax-free shopping. I did a little bit of shopping and then decided to head for lunch. I went to a place called Jake's. They have excellent crab dip. I had the broiled fish platter with all sorts of sea food delights. Having finished off lunch, I headed back home. It was a rather long drive and I was just in time to catch the last rays of sunshine while crossing the bridge. It was beautiful.
I got home rather late and headed off to sleep, tired. I have to say, it has been a long time since I have seen the ocean... and having lived by an ocean all my life (except for now in DC), I say that a coastal city is where I want to be. There is something awesome about a giant body of water. It is always there, anchoring the city and providing water fronts and what not. Oh well.
I will be going back to the beach before winter sets in. The weather was just too nice to not go back. I just need to make sure I don't end up spending a lot. Car and accomodation and fuel were over $300... shopping and food probably another $200... which makes for one not so cheap trip to the beach. But, by George, it was worth it!
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