Tucked on a quiet, tiny spit of land, surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Rehoboth Bay, Dewey Beach becomes a vacation mecca in the summer when its population explodes from 300 to 30,000. Even though Dewey beach is only two blocks wide and a mile long, its broad sandy beaches make for excellent sunrise walks, where we recently spotted plenty of horseshoe crabs, sand dollars, starfish, and an assortment of seashells. Four legged companions are welcome to walk the beach as well, to play in the surf or simply take in the salt air during a morning constitution. One of our favorite sights during a recent trip was the Golden retriever who patiently waited for his owners to finish their synchronized series of yoga sun salutation postures. Dewey is one of the few towns on the eastern seaboard to permit dogs to enjoy the beach. During summer season, dogs avoid the hottest rays and the increasing crowds by limited strolls to before 9:30 a.m. or after 5:30 p.m. The only other restrictions are that the dogs are licensed and under control, and of course, owners must clean up after them. Catering to families, Dewey offers plenty of activities to make a vacation memorable, from skimboard lessons on Saturday mornings to Monday Movies on the Beach, where families are invited to bring their beach chairs to the beach at Dagsworthy Street for a big screen experience as soon as the sun goes down. This season includes favorites like Kung Fu Panda, Bolt, and The Tale of Desperaux.
We took in Dewey’s Wednesday night bonfire tradition, roasting marshmallows from our beach chairs while listening to ghost stories from noted storyteller Ed Okonowicz, who regaled us with tales of history, mystery and humor about the Delaware’s noteworthy and infamous events. Bonfires will be held through the summer season from 7-11 p.m. on the beach at Dagsworthy Street. While we turned in before the fire burned out, we were impressed the next morning to find no traces left of our festivities, only memories of a fine time in the First State.