Rehoboth's waking up. . . .

Yup, Spring is almost here and everyone is ready for sun and fun!!!! Of course, the sun is being very elussive. We are having one storm after another, but that isn't stopping people from having tons of fun. As you can see, St. Patty's Day, Destination Art Walk, and the Polar Plunge have brought big crowds here this weekend. There's so much to do, where does one begin?

The Frog Pond has green beer flowing and green hats are all over town. Louis' Pizza opened this weekend. There have been lines waiting to get in for that first slice of pizza this season. They have the very best pepperoni pizza. The pepperoni is so thin that it crunches like bacon and I've never seen more pepperoni on any other pizza. My youngest grandson even chose Louis' for his birthday dinner. ("You know that pizza place on Rehoboth Avenue where Nana always takes me!" LOL) Nichola has a brand new building on Rehoboth Avenue which I can't wait to see. We just can't get enough of their Nic-a-boli's. My son's favorite is with pepperoni, black olives, and mushrooms. Fortunately, they are still open at their original location on First Street.

The outlets are packed with shoppers finding great deals for Easter and those new summer outfits. Last but not least, there are still loads of shells on the beach and you don't have to bundle up for that walk any longer. The temps are finally staying in the high 40's to low 50's. What a wonderful time of year!!!!

Easter is coming fast! That's a fun time for everyone here. Almost all the stores will be open and there are lots of festivals. The Kite Festival in Lewis is a must on Good Friday. There's an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday and a music festival in Dewey.

Summer will be here before you know it. My homes are booking fast so if you are interested in spending any vacation time here this summer, you better firm up your plans fast. The chairs on the left are just waiting for you!!!

Have a GRRRRRREAT week and stay tuned. . . . .

Snow never stays on the beach for long. If the salt air doesn't get it, the salt water definitely will get rid of it. As you can see from the first picture, it didn't get it all though.

Today was the first day since the storms that I have had a chance to take a walk on the beach. My dog, Chance, and I headed out about noon. it was actually quite nice. The sun was shining bright and there wasn't much wind at all. It was even pleasantly warm when I sat sheltered by the dunes. Since, it is a holiday weekend, I had a lot of company. I guess everyone is suffering from cabin fever and wanted to take advantage of such a nice day.

As you can see , the storms have brought a fresh supply of sea shells to the beach. Shelling is always a popular pass time and many visitors come down this time of year just to hunt for shells. Winter always brings tidal pools that appear and diappear as the tides come and go. Chance loves to run through them, she thinks it is great fun. It's fun not only to watch her play in them , just to gaze in them. Sometimes you find some really nice shells lying in the shallow water, but I, also, love the patterns that they create in the sand.

The last two pictures are of the sand dollar that I found. YES. it is a real sand dollar!!!! In the first picture, it is just as I found it. I just couldn't resist blowing some of the sand off and positioning it all by itself on the sand for portrait shot. The reddish color is the true color of a sand dollar. They only turn white when they die, dry out and the sun bleaches them. Many people look over them on the beach because they look more like an old, rusty can lid then a sand dollar. I almost stepped on it before I saw it. I am so delighted with my find as it is very rare to find one this large and perfect in shape - not one blemish!!!!!

It has been a wonderful weekend. Last night my son and his girlfriend took us out to dinner for Valentine's Day. We went to the Cottage Cafe in Bethany Beach. I gotta tell ya, they have the absolute best rock fish. They serve it over jasmine rice and top it with a lobster sauce. It was cooked to perfection! Definitely worth the trip to Bethany.

I hope all of you have had a wonderful weekend as well. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

More snow Pictures

If you are at all familiar with Rehoboth I think that all of these pictures are pretty self-explanatory, except maybe the last picture. It's a picture of the construction on the new bridge at Indian River Inlet. Enjoy!

Snow, snow, snow, aaaaand more Snow. . . .

Hello Everyone, I'm sorry that it has been so long since my last post. I had intended to post about local events all winter long. Unfortunately, it has been a hectic fall and winter. Time has just flown by. Our area has had an abnormal number of strong storms. We've had one Nor'easter after another. From late September until 2 weeks ago, they have brought inches of rain at a time and caused lots of beach erosion.

Two weeks ago, we were hit with the first of three blizzards. That brought 12" of snow to the Rehoboth area. Exactly a week later, the second blizzard hit leaving us with another 12" or so. The picture above was taken of 34 Virginia Avenue right after that storm.


This is 38 Virginia Avenue after the 2nd blizzard. The photos are complements of Dustin Crago a dispatch for Rehoboth Beach Police Department. Thank you, Dustin!

We keep this home open all winter. When I realized just how bad the storm was going to be, I offered to let the PD use it to house the off duty officers and personnel. We have a really great police force. I knew that the officers would be exhausted when they got off duty and thought that it would be nice to make sure that they had a warm, comfortable place to get some rest and relax. They slept in shifts there for 3 days.



This photo was taken at the bandstand. If you look closely you can see the flag pole.








This is another picture of Rehoboth Avenue. I don't know whether you can see it, but the Subway sign is peaking out at you. Aaaaand hidden behind that huge pile of snow is Louis' Pizza. They will reopen in mid March. Man, just thinkin' about that makes my mouth water. There is absolutely nothing like Louis' Pizza. The pepperoni is sliced so thin that it gets really crispy and the crust has just a faint taste of butter. Ummmm!!!! Hurry up mid March!!!!

Here's our landmark replica of the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse. It's the first thing you see when you come into town as it now sits in the center of the turn about. Isn't is pretty sitting there in the snow? The wall you see peaking out of the snow is about 36" tall.

Here's a shot of Lake Geriar. It was taken on the North side of the lake heading toward the Henlopen Hotel. The high rise that you see in the distance is One Virgina Avenue. It's only a short block from my property. Isn't the lake lovely?

I did manage to get to Rehoboth last Monday right after Blizzard #2. Believe it or not, the outlets and Walmart were closed!!!!! Now you know that it has to be bad, when they close.

Route 1 was all but impassible, it was a solid sheet of ice. It seemed like the county had enlisted any and every sort of equipment that could push snow to clear the roads. The outlet parking lots have huge walls of snow along the highway. I would guess that the piles are 10 to 15 foot high. It's impossible to see what lies on the other side.

Now, you'd think that would be the end of it here, wouldn't you? Well, not quite! We were hit again on Wednesday! Yup, blizzard #3!!!!! Although we didn't get as much snow, this storm was worse in a number of ways. It started out as rain giving us a slushy mess. Then, the snow and the wind started, causing white out conditions and a lot of drifting. We have been under a State of Emergency so I haven't been out on the roads, but I've been told that there drifts over 9 feet high. Worst of all, there have been buildings collapse. The Robin Hood Restaurant and California Shine both have damage. I have been told that the back part of both buildings caved in from the weight of the snow. These buildings are next to each other in the ocean block of Rehoboth Avenue.

We have not had this much snow since the Blizzard of 1979!!! In fact, the weather here has been very mild for the last 10 years or so. In the last 6 years, we have had no more then a dusting of snow. I was beginning to think that my grandsons would grow up without experiencing the joy of playing in the snow. Now, the poor kids are sick of being house bound and ready to go back to school.

I plan on going to Rehoboth tomorrow, so I will try to get more pictures to post.

More bad news -There's more coming. . .

Stay tuned. . . . Stay warm!