LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
FIRST Hand |
by Peter Rosenstein |
In Rehoboth Beach: The Welcome Mat is Out
It seems to happen earlier and earlier each year but another season has begun in Rehoboth Beach. I think part of the reason is that so many people who used to just spend a summer weekend or be part of a group house, are now buying second homes here and many are finding the Delaware beaches a great place to retire. I have been enjoying Rehoboth for over 20 years. I finally bought a home seven years ago and began to make plans to retire here one day. My sister and her partner who are from the New York/New Jersey area have also bought a home at the beach and are now living in Rehoboth fulltime. In preparation for retirement, I now go once a month all year long and increase the time I spend here during the summer season. The excuse I make to ensure I go at least once a month is that I get my hair cut here. Major Hair Salon on Rehoboth Avenue is a bargain. Even with high gas prices it's still cheaper to get my hair cut at the beach. At $3 a gallon for the 10 gallons of gas I need plus the $28 haircut, and that includes a $5 tip, I get a haircut and a great weekend. That's hard to beat. Rehoboth is a changing community and with change comes the natural questions about whether the change is good or bad. But the reality is that change can't be stopped and the city fathers and mothers in Rehoboth are doing all they can to keep the town a welcoming beach town. There are height restrictions so that it will never look like Ocean City, and Rehoboth Beach Main Street deserves kudos for the great job with the new streetscape to widen the sidewalks and hide all the electrical wires and phone lines underground. The boardwalk has been redone, the beach replenishment project has now been completed, and the dunes have been planted with sea grass along the entire one mile length of the boardwalk. And while Rehoboth has been getting more and more expensive, there are still places to have fun and eat at reasonable prices. For us in the GLBT community it's a comfortable place to stroll along the streets hand in hand if that is your custom. Some of my personal favorite choices for food run the gamut from the Purple Parrot and Aqua Grill to Cloud 9 and the Blue Moon. SOB still serves great sandwiches and they will even deliver them to the beach. Another staple, Dos Locos, is moving to Rehoboth Avenue and will have doors opening up to the street for partial outside dining just like the Parrot. And don't come to Rehoboth without a stop in the CAMP Rehoboth courtyard and a visit to Lori's Caf for great casual food and browsing the racks at Lambda Rising Bookstore. But just look in any copy of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth and choose from any of the great places that advertise and they are all welcoming to the GLBT community who live and visit Rehoboth. I am excited that for the first time in many years someone is starting a new bus service to Rehoboth. Rehobus, info@ rehobus.com, the brainchild of David Salie, Mark Bromley, Till Bruett, and Jim Nastus, will start Friday night to Sunday evening service from the 18th Street Diner in Washington, DC to the parking lot behind the fire station on Rehoboth Avenue. What a great way to come to the beach and leave the driving to others. Invite friends to your home and remind them they really don't need a car while at the beach. Or if your partner can't get off from work early you can now drive up and enjoy the day at the beach while they have a way to get there and join you later in the evening. If you don't know Rehoboth Beach you should make this year the time to visit. The town continues to be welcoming to everyone. Who knows? Maybe you'll come to appreciate it like I do. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 17, No. 5 May 18, 2007 |