Beaches: We spent much of the time at Fenwick Island beaches. Very good for families with little kids. Decent changing rooms and snack stands. If you drive there after 10 AM, the parking lots will be full, so be prepared to wait in your car on a long line. You’ll eventually get in, but be patient.

Food: We did our communal food shopping at Giant Food in Millville. Don’t forget to sign up for their discount card. Great savings!

If you’re worried about food allergies or special diets at a fried-clams-and-frozen-custard beach town, fear not. We had 3 kids with typical kid diets, one adult eats just about anything, four of the adults are gluten –free, the rest have “very selective palates.” Yet, we managed to make amazing communal dinners and we found food everyone could eat. Giant Food has an AWESOME selection of gluten-free products!

Dining: We only dined out once, at the Oak Arbor Inn What a lovely restaurant! Great jumbo lump crab. Prices were fair for what we got (from our NYC p.o.v.). Food and service was great. Crowd was slightly blue-haired, but it’s a good local choice for a classy dinner. Some of our crowd went to Northeast Seafood, which they liked. Otherwise, we snacked on delish frozen custard and fries on the boardwalks.

www.bethanyrestaurants.com/restaurant.html…

Biking: Wow, the Rehoboth-Ocean City coastline is a cyclist’s paradise! It is 100% flat as a pancake, and the bike lanes are wonderful. Not much shade to speak of in the entire area, so bring water and slather on the sunscreen or wear sun-shirts, if you’re sensitive. The DW and I rented bikes for a week for $60 at Bethany Bikes. A great bargain.

http://www.bethanybikeshop.com/

Since we biked to the beach, we didn’t have to wait on the parking lines, and no parking fees. Hooray! On the other hand, we were happy to have friends who schlepped all the beach chairs, umbrellas and towels in their cars. ;o) (We saw a few cyclists with chairs strapped to their backs or wagons behind their bikes, so it can be done if you decide to bike to the beach by yourself.)

Our main bike rides: (1) Bear Trap – Bethany Beaches, about 15 miles round trip. Nearly got caught in severe thunderstorm, so quickly raced back! (2) Bethany-Rehoboth, about 30 miles round trip. Only one major hill (the bridge.) Had a nice time chit-chatting at Bikes To Go. Took some time to ride around and find the beautiful gazebos and the “Turtle Bridge.” Got our money’s worth and saw a bunch of huge turtles! (3) Bear Trap – Ocean City, about 20 miles round trip. We only went as far as 115th Street into Ocean City, not far. No separate bike lanes once you cross into Maryland; you share the right lane with buses. We ate lunch at the beach, which had more of a teenage-early college crowd.

http://www.biketogo.com/

Shopping: We went to the Tanger Outlets one day. It is set up as three separate large strip malls; 2 close to each other, and 1 about 2 miles down the road. Found some decent bargains at our favorites. Unlike Woodbury Commons or Sawgrass Mall, getting into your car to go to the next section is actually helpful b/c you can stash your purchases in your trunk rather than schlep them around all day.

http://www.tangeroutlet.com/rehobothbeach

Best t-shirt store: Bethany Surf Shop. Unique t-shirts that support a local business.

http://www.bethanysurfshop.com/

Usually at beach towns, there are 3 types of t-shirt shops: (1) “Your Town’s Name Here” copy-paste t-shirts that simply paste the name of the town over a cartoon of a crab, surfboards or palm trees. (2) Ridiculously expensive hand-sewn, garment-dyed, embroidered, buttery soft cotton sweatshirts, and (3) Joke t-shirts about smoking pot, getting drunk and making fun of ethnic groups. Some have shock-value humor, some are just stupid. Most offensive t-shirt sold in Bethany Beach: “I Speak Engrish” written in that fake-Chinese font. Why is this allowed to exist?

Bethany Surf Shop, on the other hand, has great t-shirts with their own unique designs on the back. Some feature those WWII military towers you see on the shore, some have great cartoons. The only problem is that they play death-metal head-banging music at volume 11. Bring earplugs.

Rainy Day activities: Basic advice: Don’t go to the Outlets and don’t go to Assateague Island in the pouring rain. We needed to get out of the house, but didn’t leave early enough. We managed to make it to Assateague park, see the films, play with the sea life touch tank and see 3 horses. Not worth it. Everything is super crowded, so plan accordingly or try to stay home.

http://www.nps.gov/asis/

Overall, we had a lovely time and enjoyed out stay.

Sure was fun reading about you being a beach tourist, qb.

Do you see the irony in someone from New York City thinking that a suburban development resembles a movie set?

Hankshanker, I know what you mean. I always think NYC looks like Toronto. ;o)

What a timely trip report queensboulevard!

We're headed down this weekend and staying at Bear Trap Dunes as well. We are 20 miles north of NYC so we'll be doing the same travel route.

Pls. help me out to plan our trip. I have a few questions:

1. What time did you leave NYC and how long did it take you to get there? We plan to leave at 7 am. Will we hit the Saturday traffic nightmare in Delaware that everyone is warning about? We don't mind leaving earlier so as to avoid sitting in traffic for a long time.

2. Which beach in Fenwick Island did you go to? We have a 2year old with us so we're looking for a safe place with calm waters.

3. How were the daily beach trips? Was it a hassle to log all your stuff since BTD is not beach front? With 3 young kids in your group, did you stay in beach the whole day? Can the kids survive a whole day at the beach? What's your advise for scheduling?

Thanks!

there is only one beach at fenwick island. it is what it is.

surf varies depending on the weather, just like most ocean beaches.

I was wondering where you were QB. I'm glad to hear you were on a little R&R. Sounds like Y'all all had a great time. Thanks for sharing your reflections. It was a fun read. :D

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HiNYmom, happy to help.

1. What time did you leave NYC and how long did it take you to get there?

Traffic is inevitable, but it's not constant. You'll get some clear stretches. Be patient and bring earplugs. Charge up those portable DVD players!

Here was our expereince:

Friends of ours left Queens at 8:00 AM and got there at 1pm. We left Queens at 9:30 and got there just before 3pm. The friends with kids left Brooklyn at about 10 and got there about 5pm, probably later, which included a couple of bathroom stops.

TRAFFIC RANT: Our biggest pet peeve was that people in this country DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE A PASSING LANE ANYMORE! Sheesh! I never have road rage, and now I understand it.

Much of the roads are 2-lane highways, but 75% of the time, there were folks going maybe 5-10 mph above the speed limit just cruising in the left lane. This causes cars to get boxed in and slow traffic flow.

Say, buddy, if there are people getting all up in your back window and passing you on the right, it means you should change freakin' lanes, stay in the right lane and pass cars slower than you.

If more people used the passing lane as a passing lane, and not a cruising lane, traffic flow would increase, and everyone would get there faster.

</rant>

2. Which beach in Fenwick Island did you go to? We have a 2year old with us so we're looking for a safe place with calm waters.

As was said, there's only one beach at Fenwick Island, and it's not really a true island anyway. I think it used to be, but all the land is attached now, so you simply drive down Coastal Hwy (Rte 1) until you see the brown park signs.

The waters are not really flat calm anywhere. Keep in mind you're on the Atlantic Ocean with no barriers. I think the ocean was rougher our week because of that freak tornado in New Jersey.

The waves are not tall (maybe 5 ft?), but they can keep coming at you. It's excellent for boogie boarding, but you can get wiped out and tossed around after the wave breaks. The adults got some nasty scrapes.

We kept the 4-y.o.s no deeper than shin-deep at all times, and they were very happy with that.

The boy was fearless (and much more resilient than us!) and we took him out behind the break point. He also used the boogie board a lot. He had a absolute blast, but us old folks got tired, so we took turns going out with him.

3. How were the daily beach trips? Was it a hassle to log all your stuff since BTD is not beach front?

Yeah, a little. My big piece of advice is pack your sandwiches or anything you can (towels, etc.) the night before! If you can, take 2 sets of bathing suits and towels to alternate, so you can dry one set while you use the other.

* With 3 young kids in your group, did you stay in beach the whole day? Can the kids survive a whole day at the beach?

ABSOLUTELY! They have unlimited energy, it's amazing. The girls napped on the beach under an umbrella and towels each day, but they ran right back to the water when they woke up.

Then, after the beach around 4pm, they all went to THE POOL for another hour of craziness!! And they didn't want to leave! Ah, to be young...

* What's your advise for scheduling?

Not sure what you mean exactly?