As a family, we always talk about taking a bike ride while vacationing at the beach, but we almost never do it. We are at the beach for the love of the beach, and most of what we do revolves around the ocean activities. In the hottest most humid summer months, straddling our bike seats with helmets strapped to our heads does not sound as good as splashing in the waves.  But on July 4th 2015, the weather was perfect for a bike ride. It was a bit cloudy, in the 70s and the forecast called for rain later—not the best beach day.

The great thing about this bike route is the variety of fun stops along the way. Our first stop was at Fort Miles where a sign beckoned us: “Program Today.” We had already missed the start of the tour, but for $5 each we could have taken a tour of Battery 519, the underground bunker that houses a Big Gun stationed here during WWII. We’ve already been on the bunker tour, but we made plans to go on the lantern tour later this summer to see how much progress the restorers are making. Fort Miles is an area tucked inside the seashores of Cape Henlopen State Park, but during WWII instead of sun worshippers the area was occupied by U.S. military protecting this strategic area from the enemy. We contemplated climbing to the top of the Observation Tower, but since it was kind of cloudy, we decided to just poke around the big guns a bit and then continue on our way.

Our next very brief stop was near Herring Point. A new parking lot has been built here and there are port-a-potties. We sometimes come to the beach here for picnics and to watch the surfers who gather on the north side of the jetty. Leashed dogs are allowed on this beach. This time we just stopped for the port-a-potties and a drink from our water bottles. I checked the weather on my smart phone—no rain on the radar—woohoo—we were going to go all the way to Rehoboth Beach. So we headed down the Gordon’s Pond Trail.

The wetlands along Gordon’s Pond Trail pulse with life. In recent years the trail was finished off with a boardwalk that leaves our footprints and bike tracks off the tender environment below. We stopped several times along this pathway to observe a bunny, a turtle, egrets, an osprey nest, and many other birds. I can’t seem to come up with the words to describe the vivid green of the marsh. We had begun to get SWEATY by now, and the ocean breezes felt wonderful. The views were stunning. The trail pops out onto Gordon’s Pond Beach, a local favorite.

Next we made our way past multi-million dollar homes, a lemonade stand, and people walking to the beach to our final stop on this ride: Double Dippers ice cream on First Street in Rehoboth. My favorite flavor this time was the moose tracks, but anything chocolate is fine with me. We sat outside on a white wooden bench and licked our cones while each of us picked out which M&M’s character in the window we were. I was the green one with eye lashes dancing to the juke box. Then we peddled back to the car at the Ocean Beach parking lot and vowed to do it again.

Cape Henlopen bike ride...what to bring:
bike, helmet, sunscreen, water bottle, cash for ice cream, park pass or $ for park entrance fee, camera, binoculars, pick up a trail map at the park entrance. Bring your swimsuit and bike lock if you want to stop along the way for a swim.

You could rent bikes in Rehoboth Beach and do this same ride beginning in town instead of the state park.

A vacationer who will be staying at One Particular Harbor this summer inquired about natural food stores and farmers' markets in the Rehoboth Beach area. Unfortunately, I don't believe we have a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's (yet). I've been begging Wegman's to come to Delaware.

Here's the rundown of options for healthy food shopping.

Good Earth Market gets good reviews. It is on Rt. 1 in Rehoboth--sort of near Dewey Beach.
Good News Natural Foods  and Grub Grocery Pub both have convenient locations for on the way home from Rehoboth Beach. Grub is more of a sandwich-to-go place. Lingo's Market is also a favorite in downtown Rehoboth Beach; it's been around a long time.


There are two wonderful farmers' markets:
Lewes has theirs on Saturday mornings. (Not so great when people are arriving and leaving our house on a Saturday)
Rehoboth Beach has theirs on Tuesday afternoons.


The 4 largest grocery stores in the area all have some natural foods and organic selections.
Giant is the closest to the house.
Harris Teeter is just a bit further than Giant.
Super Fresh is a good one for on the way home from the beach if you are coming from the Lewes Town Beach or Cape Henlopen State Park. Super Fresh is my favorite large grocery store in the area.
Safeway is probably not the best for organic choices, in my opinion.


For the following I don't know if these are organic, but they are good:

Ann's Produce is very near the Angola By the Bay community where One Particular Harbor is located. Ann closes at 6 PM, sometimes 5:55 PM.  I love the convenience of being able to pick up some fresh produce right near the house. She's at 32747 Angola Rd. Lewes, DE, 19958. 

Hopkins Farm Creamery is probably not organic, or they would say so on their website. But we sure do love their fresh ice cream and their cows watching us while we scarf down their sundaes.

And if you are looking for the freshest just-picked sweet corn, go to the corner of Plantation and Robinson Road where you can often find a farmer selling corn under his shade tent. I almost didn't post that info because it feels like such a local secret. Sorry locals! All around in the countryside you can find little produce stands near the farms. I am hungry for that fresh sweet corn right now!

Leave a comment below if you have a favorite place in the area to get the freshest food.



As I felt better, I remembered what a good friend once told me: that the ocean’s action stirs up negative ions. So I googled this idea, and what do you know? The first link is to a WebMD article telling us what we instinctively already know.  According to the article, "While part of the euphoria is simply being around these wondrous settings and away from the normal pressures of home and work, the air circulating in the mountains and the beach is said to contain tens of thousands of negative ions." And negatively charged ions are GOOD because they "are believed to produce biochemical reactions that increase levels of the mood chemical serotonin, helping to alleviate depression, relieve stress, and boost our daytime energy."

Besides the negative ion thing, I am sure that the solitude you feel on the beach in the off-season also has healing powers. When it is just me walking—no chair, no umbrella, no toys—I am uncluttered and my mind clears. Whatever was bothering me 5 minutes ago is on hold. It’s just me and the sea gulls facing the wind in their sentinel formation. Occasionally you find some wonder of nature that you might not get to enjoy during the busy summer months at the beach. Once we were thrilled to see a baby seal on the beach! The local marine mammal rescue people, MERR, were on hand to make sure no one bothered the little fellow. There are many migratory birds that you just won’t see in the summer. Plus your shell, beach glass, and beautiful rock lottery chances are much better when fewer people are playing on the beach.

So what are you waiting for? You know you want to go!

And here in Rehoboth Beach is a seal someone caught on video....not the one we saw though:

Mar 1: The 24th Annual Chocolate Festival, chocolate chocolate chocolate! Rehoboth Beach

Mar 15: Merchant’s Attic, State's Largest Indoor Garage Sale, fondue pots, record albums, and tchotchkes galore! Rehoboth Beach

Mar 20: Women and Wine, yea, baby—make reservations! Lupo di Mare Restaurant, Rehoboth Beach

Mar 21 – Apr 6 Camelot (the musical not the Kennedys), Clear Space Theatre, Rehoboth Beach

Apr 4 – 6: South Pacific, musical. "Here am I, your special island! Come to me, come to me!" Possum Point Players, Georgetown, DE

Apr 5 – 6: Delaware Resorts Home Expo, builders and realtors and homes, oh my! Rehoboth Beach

Apr 6: Beach Bridal Show at Nassau Valley Vineyards, I do!

Apr 10 – 12: Lewes Tulip Festival, tulips come from the Dutch and the Dutch came to Lewes

Apr 11 - 13: South Pacific, musical at Possum Point Players, Georgetown, DE

Apr 11 - 13: Xanadu, musical at Clear Space Children’s Theatre

Apr 12: Chili Cookoff in Dewey Beach at the Rusty Rudder with live music by Big Hat No Cattle

Apr 18: 46th Great Delaware Kite Festival at Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewes, DE

Apr 18 – 19: Delaware Music Festival, 35 bands all from Delaware on 4 stages and NO COVER! Rusty Rudder, Dewey Beach

Apr 19: Dutch-American Friendship Day, Discover Delaware's Dutch roots. Zwaanendael Museum, Lewes

Apr 19:  Alley Oop Egg Scoop Easter Egg Hunt with the Easter Bunny, Dewey

Apr 26: Fort Miles WWII Reenactment at Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewes, DE

Apr 26: Flower and Arts Festival, local artists demonstrate their work in a this luscious garden setting, Eastcoast Garden Center, Millsboro, DE

Apr 26: King’s Day, Happy Birthday, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Zwaanendael Museum, Lewes

May 2 – 3: Dewey Beach popfest music extravaganza

May 2 – 4: Lewes Spring Sidewalk Sale

May 2 – May 18: Avenue Q, musical “cheeky satire of Sesame Street” (mature content, not for the kids)

May 10: Funland reopens; let there be great rejoicing and skeeball! Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk

 May 10: Dewey Beach Arts Festival 2014, art, music, food, and MAGIC, yes MAGIC

May 10: Lewes Artists’ Studio Tour

May 11: MOTHER'S DAY

May 14 – 18: Mid-Atlantic Wine & Food Festival, premier event celebrating excellence in food, wine, spirits and beer. All over Sussex County: Lewes, Rehoboth, Dewey Beach

May 17: Lewes Maritime Festival, Cape May – Lewes Ferry

May 16 - 18: Spring Sidewalk Sale, Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach

May 30 – Jun 1: Nascar at Dover International Speedway

May 31: South Side Shoot Out, skimboarding event at Delaware Seashore State Park, be a participant or come watch the fun. Delaware Seashore State Park, Rt. 1 south of Dewey Beach

June 6 – 8: See How They Run, “a ‘veddy British’ comedy,” Possum Point Players, Georgetown, DE
June 13 – 15: See How They Run, “a ‘veddy British’ comedy,” Possum Point Players, Georgetown, DE

FATHERS DAY WEEKEND
Jun 13 – 15: Family Boat Building Weekend, yes, you actually build a boat! Click the link to register, Lewes

June 28 – 29: Mid-Atlantic Sea Glass & Coastal Arts Festival

With my feet at the ocean’s edge, I feel that cool ebb and flow and watch my feet mysteriously get buried…and my problems seem far away. Gnarly trees standing firm, an osprey calling, a ghost crab peeking out of his little hole…all these gifts of nature take me to a quiet little sanitarium where I can focus on something besides myself and simply  b r e a t h e . . . .     The Delaware shores are chock full of such wonders.  But what about what I can’t see? What tiny wonders lurk in that water? Are bacteria and viruses sloshing around in that surf waiting to invade my family and ruin our vacation and maybe our lives???

I can rest easy at my favorite Delaware beaches. My Earth home certainly is not as pristine as it was in the Garden of Eden days. But as far as beaches in the United States go, Delaware beaches are among the best when it comes to clean water. The non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council recently rated U.S. beaches for 2013, and Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach were among the top-rated beaches for water quality. Of all the beaches on the Atlantic Ocean that were tested, the only Atlantic beaches that made their best beaches list were Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Ocean City at Beach 6, plus 2 beaches in New Hampshire. According to the local newspaper, the Cape Gazette, this is the third straight year Rehoboth and Dewey Beaches have received the 5-star rating from NRDC.

I am learning more about how what I personally do affects our environment--it's not just the big corporations or local municipalities who are responsible. And no matter what side of the political landscape each of us lives on, can’t we all agree that we like the ocean and we don’t want to swim in fecal bacteria? The people at NRDC have a list of things we can do if we want to keep the waterways and beaches nice for our grandkids, and it’s not just picking up our Coke bottles from the sand. Some of their recommendations are:

·         Use natural fertilizers instead of chemical fertilizers, and use native plants in landscaping.

·         Correctly dispose of hazardous household products and pharmaceuticals.

·         Use a car wash where the waste water is drained and treated instead of washing your car where the water would drain into the storm drain.

Jimmy Buffett’s, “Treat Her Like a Lady” reflects how we love the ocean and how we want to treat her with kindness. 

~Penny

Baiting my pots, hauling in a catch, and then steaming them up after a long day at the beach is awesome.

You might think staying in a beach front hotel is nice. But, you have no idea how much fun staying in a real house at the beach can be.

BTW, my kids and I are trained, professional crab eaters. Please do not attempt this stunt at home.

~Brian