Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Worst Week To Go To The Beach

So my bakery will be closed for one week in August, and I'm dreaming of going to the beach on vacation. Or more accurately, my daughter is dreaming of going to the beach. I was dreaming of pitching a tent at Audra and staying there for 7 days, living in the great outdoors like some kind of modern mountain woman, but Delia put the kibosh on that plan. "NO." She shivers at the thought.

Anyway, I'm looking at beaches within reasonable driving distance, which seems to start in Delaware and end in Virginia. I'm also looking at houses right on the beach. Keith and Delia and I all agree that if you're going to go on vacation, you oughta be Right On The Beach. Man, the first week in August is evidently "peak season" and therefore everything costs more to rent that week. A house that would rent in May for $2000 is a whopping $6000 the first week in August. I'm beginning to get frustrated.

Anybody know any nice beach places that are quietish and cheap? So far I've searched Dewey Beach and the southern end of Virginia beach, but they're both evidently so nice the rentals are WhooEE.

10 comments:

bnicholson said...

You might consider state parks and their cabins or campgrounds. They usually have nice restrooms and hot showers.
http://www.destateparks.com/reservations/
I've been to Cape Henelopen and it is a beautiful area. You can reserve tent sites and they are pretty specific about whether the site is sunny or shady. Cape Henelopen has beach swimming with life guards which is nice. Also, this is a pretty close to drive to and visit other beaches and beach towns for people watching and eating and fun.

Anonymous said...

Depending on the week, Assateague Island has the pony gathering and auction. The beach is a national park and I can't 'member the name... I've benn drinkin' as u can plainly seee... National Geographic put us up in a hotel near the beach and we got to see Jamestown during the tour, too... memories, like the (something or other) of your mind, misty watercolored memories.... At any rate-you could stay in the Condo with your Aunt B and see the sights in DC (and drive to the beach...there must be a beach with two hours of DC.)Also, there is a POOL at the condo... and an establishment that fixes Chinese food in the basement as I recall.... Please correct my memory, if I'm incorrect.
another drink, bartender!

Serafina said...

Aunt Barbara, looked at the Delaware State Parks page, it is indeed pretty cool. I think camping on the beach would be fun, but the other members of my party have different opinions. I'm definitely going to check out some of the hiking trails if we end up in Delaware though.

Mom, I'd love to stay with Aunt Barbara at her condo, but I can't very well bring the other 6 people who are going on this beach trip - they won't all fit on her couch, and they like to drink even more than you do! :) Delia wants to see the Smithsonian, so we might hit her up one weekend in the spring when it's just the three of us.

I might take my vacation a different week and just have 7 days off in August unpaid... We'll see if everybody else got approved for their vacations.

Emma said...

You will unfortunatley pay through the nose for a beach house. We have camped at Assateague for the weekend and it was fun, but there are drawbacks. It is REALLY HOT in August and the national bird of Assateague is the mosquito. There are nice shower facilities and you can almost camp right on the beach if you get there early enough. You do have to reserve your campsite in advance, but I think you can do it online somewhere. Ocean City is only 30 minutes away so if Delia (or Keith) really need Skeeball, it's there. :)

bnicholson said...

The DC condo offer is always open. We're in North Bethesda (Rockville) right on the Metro line and we have a parking space for you to leave your car in our building. We have one bedroom and one bathroom you share with the cats. But, they are nice cats and won't complain if you stink up their bathroom. All Smithsonian museums (15 of them I think) are a very easy Metro ride away, and you can go up in the Washington Monument if you reserve a required ticket prior to coming...tickets are free ($1.50 online charge for reservations though)
Natural History is a must for Delia. That might be enough for one weekend, they are so big.

You can even have full kitchen privileges...our pool is very nice too...and the work out room if you like, we have a pool table also.

I think it is a challenging drive from DC to the beach. We've done it though. Lots and lots of traffic on Fridays and Sundays both ways. It is always at least a 4 hour drive, more if there is any accident on the bridge at Annapolis. Dewey, Henelopen, Rehoboth and Ocean City MD. are very close together. You can even take the ferry across to Cape May and go lighthouse seeing.

Emma said...

I do hope you know you can always stay with us in DC too. :) We have 2 extra bedrooms (1 is currently a playroom with a bed) and we are on the Metro line too. We have a membership to the Zoo (aka - free parking) and we'd love to have you :)

Serafina said...

You guys are the Best!

Heidi Ho said...

Hey! Contact Tish. She goes every year and they do this "share" thing...They go to Hatteras and that area. She really does find a bargain and shares a house. Her blog can be linked to by mine and she has some pics on there. She is "moore madness". Good luck!!!

Simonetta Clan said...

Not to be redundant but the offer to stay here is also open. We are close to the beach, camping and DC. We can always steal my inlaws camper at the lake and hang out there too.

Keith Strother said...

...has become the best week to go to the beach!