the kitschy beach town of rehoboth, delaware

I arrived in Rehoboth on a perfect June day, not too hot or humid, with temps in the 70s.  After parking the car at a meter with a three-hour time limit, I walked up and down the main shopping street, Rehoboth Avenue, stopping into several enticing shops.

I found a restaurant called Arena’s Deli for a late lunch; there, I enjoyed pink lemonade and fried shrimp tacos topped with coleslaw.

My hotel, Surf Club Oceanfront in Dewey Beach, called several times to inform me my room was ready. I’ve never had a hotel call me so insistently. I told them I didn’t want to check in yet, as I was strolling the 2-mile length of the Rehoboth Boardwalk, past Dolle’s Salt Water Taffy, T-shirt shops, arcades, candy and ice cream shops, beachwear and seashell shops, and establishments offering beach chairs and flotation devices.

Rehoboth is kitschy for sure, tacky, garish and even sentimental, but a place beach goers in America appreciate in an ironic or knowing way.  After all, this is the way beach towns are in coastal towns, full of vibrant color, funky souvenirs and quirky enticements.

After whiling away the afternoon in Rehoboth, I drove south to Dewey Beach and checked in at my hotel.  I drove to Delaware Seashore State Park, where I though I’d find some trails along the beach, but instead I found a big campground full of RVs and tents.

I drove back to Rehoboth and went to a shop called bella luna, where I browsed for a long while.  The many cute earrings didn’t quite reflect my spirit, and the necklaces I liked were too expensive, so the only thing I came away with was a scarf with flowers and birds on a field of turquoise cotton. For $26, it wasn’t exactly a steal.

Returning to Dewey Beach, I changed clothes and walked to Woody’s Dewey Beach, known for making the best crab cakes around.  I sat at the bar and talked to a woman who was the general manager for a local hotel.  She was married some thirty years ago and had two grown kids.  Her husband was in a horrible accident and, after coming out of a coma, he didn’t know who she or her kids were. He had been on Oxycontin for years and then became addicted to heroin.  He had been still in touch with her and when she hadn’t heard from him in a long time, she went to his house, where she found him dead in the bathtub, where he’d fallen and broken his neck.  He’d been dead six days.

She also told funny stories about working as a hotel manager.  Her employees were 75, 80 and 77, and they didn’t know how to put toner in the printer or how to make photocopies.

Sometimes people tell the darndest tales about their lives.  The things that are possible never fail to amaze me!

I enjoyed a delicious crab cake sandwich minus the bread, tater tots and a Blue Moon.

Before returning to my room, I took a walk out on Dewey Beach as the sun was going down.

Back in my room, I discovered that there was no comforter on the bed, just a lightweight coverlet. The front desk people had left for the night and there were no blankets in the room.  It was too hot to turn off the air conditioning and too cold to have it on.  I tossed and turned all night, never able to get comfortable. Luckily, I would check out the next morning.

*Tuesday, June 4, 2019*

*13,377 steps, or 5.67 miles*

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“PHOTOGRAPHY” INVITATION:  I invite you to create a photography intention and then create a blog post for a place you have visited. Alternately, you can post a thematic post about a place, photos of whatever you discovered that set your heart afire. You can also do a thematic post of something you have found throughout all your travels: churches, doors, people reading, people hiking, mountains, patterns, all black & white, whatever!

In my case, my intention was to look for thematic possibilities during my trip to Delaware.  I combined this photography intention with several other intentions.  One was to find a theme for each day; my theme for today was “kitsch.”  Also, I tried to use five random nouns in my essay: 1) spirit; 2) field; 3) (the) possible; 4) steal; 5) limit. √

You probably have your own ideas about this, but in case you’d like some ideas, you can visit my page: photography inspiration.

I challenge you to post no more than 20-25 photos (I have more here!) and to write less than 1,500 words about any travel-related photography intention you set for yourself. Include the link in the comments below by Wednesday, November 20 at 1:00 p.m. EST.  When I write my post in response to this challenge on Thursday, November 21, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation, every first, second, and third (& 5th, if there is one) Thursday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!