My heart <3 belongs to OBX but any beach will do on a hot summer day especially with a great friend!
Christine and I decided to take a short beach trip to Rehoboth Beach (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday). Andy, Christine's husband and Roger, my husband are not "beach people" so they were happy to send us off together while they were hard at work! Christine and I are both known to overpack so we started the trip off with a little competition to see who could pack the lightest. It was a dead tie, small carry on suitcase with our stylish beach totes and a purse. The drive to Rehoboth was beautiful, through lots of small towns and corn fields. When we arrived we quickly unpacked the car and headed towards the boardwalk. We realized that parking was going to be near impossible and decided to walk instead.
We went directly to the beach (which was beyond crowded) and then stopped at the Purple Parrot for a late lunch and mojitos! YUM! They were so refreshing!
The weather was hit or miss on Monday and we really couldn't figure out what was going on. One minute the sun was shining and it was hot and the next minute it was breezy, raining and chilly. We bopped in and out of shops along Rehoboth Ave. and found a day spa along the way.
For dinner we went to Pig + Fish. Not only is the name adorable but they had GF options {food & beer} which makes my heart happy and my life easier. I had a delicious Thai salmon dish and Christine had lobster Mac-n-Cheese.
Christine being the good friend that she is agreed to wake up at 5:15 for sunrise! This was prime time for parking and we were just a few steps away from the beach. This is my favorite time of day at the beach because it is nearly empty, the weather is perfect and the ocean is calm. Sunrise was a little cloudy but I think that gives pictures some character :)! There weren't a lot of people on the beach but I was drawn to a nearby couple. For some reason they reminded me of the morning that Roger proposed in OBX. The guy had the same type of behavior and I got a very similar picture of Roger on the morning before he proposed. While he didn't get down on one knee I had fun watching them interact. I always wish that I could give the people that I sneak pictures of the image somehow.
Christine needed coffee and I needed water {picture evidence was the only way to keep Roger's worries at ease haha} so we walked to Dunkin Donuts. They were OUT of water! On our way back towards the beach we spotted a bakery. I was amazed when they had Soy Milk for a blended Chai tea and a GF blueberry muffin. Actually, I don't even like blueberry muffins and before being diagnosed with Celiac I wouldn't have picked that for breakfast BUT just because I could eat it, I did and it was yummy!
After breakfast we went back to the beach where we spent most of the morning. We had front row seats at the ocean view most of the morning. Christine even talked me into going in the water. After being knocked over by a wave and exposing myself to the entire beach I decided to watch from closer to shore! One of my favorite things to do at the beach is spotting dolphins and we saw a bunch. While on the beach Christine mentioned the spa again and we looked at their summer specials. She called and made afternoon appointments for the Head to Toe Summer Relief at
Avenue Apothecary & Spa. The spa treatment was a perfect way to spend a relaxing afternoon and the treatment was amazing. On our way home from the spa the skies let loose and a thunderstorm rolled in. We popped into Dog Fish Head to allow the storm to pass. Sometimes being GF can be such a pain. The bartender who we will call Grumpy Pants looked at me like I was crazy when I asked him if they had a cider. When he responded no I asked about a mojito. He looked at me like, "Seriously, do you know where you are? We brew BEER here." I told him that I was looking for something gluten free and he informed me that they had a beer called Tweason that is GF. Phew!
Christine had a great idea to hit up three different restaurants for the evening one for appetizers, one for entrées and another for dessert. We devised a plan with the guidance of YELP! and after the storm had passed we walked back to get ready. Christine and I walked out wearing almost identical maxi dresses. I made a quick change and we headed towards Fins for Happy Hour and appetizers. It was too crowded and there wasn't even a space at the bar so we headed towards our second destination which we fell in love with, Salt Air, a farm to table restaurant with GF options. The restaurant was gorgeous. The decorations were amazing, bright, rustic, modern with a really cozy atmosphere. The food was the best of our trip. We had crab deviled eggs for an appetizer. YUM! For dinner I had amazing sea scallops and she had a salmon dish. The presentation and plating were stunning {Yes! I've watched too many Chopped, Master Chef's and Hell's Kitchen episodes!}. We were too stuffed for dessert or another drink so we headed back for an early evening. When Roger FaceTimed me he said, "Why does it look like you're in bed?" Andy was also amused when he called to see what we were up to and Christine informed him that we were exhausted and thinking about going to bed {It wasn't even 8:30}!
We decided to wake up for sunrise again on Wednesday morning so we could enjoy our last few hours at the beach. We had another awesome morning with an empty beach. We sat and chatted as the tide rose and fell. A few times it got pretty close but I was determined not to lose our front row seats so we watched cautiously. Let me also mention that our beach totes carrying our phones, iPads and cameras were behind our chairs just as a precautionary measure as we sat chatting with our tops untied {Who want's lines?}. I can't even type without cracking up laughing but the tide came rushing towards us and of course our reaction was to get up and grab the bag. We bumped heads, said a few choice words and scrambled to get the bags out of the sand and water mix. Remember when I said our tops were untied? Luckily it was still early enough that the beach was pretty bare and no one around us seemed to notice our frazzled state, except the man near us doing Yoga. Christine is confident he didn't see it happen but was startled by our laughter and saw us rather in a frenzy. I texted Roger and informed him that I was purchasing a one piece bathing suit after this trip haha!
While our trip would have been complete with Roger, Lilly, Gremmy, Andy and Daisy we had a blast together. We discovered that we can finish each others sentences and caught ourselves saying, "Did you just say that?" a lot while wondering if we were thinking aloud. We also discovered that we were great bathroom buddies and pee more than 90 year old men. We got lots of girl talk in and managed to get a little sun kissed glow. Thanks Christine for being a great travel buddy and an awesome friend. I had a blast and made lots of fun memories with you!
On our way home we saw this gorgeous sunflower field and had to stop and take a few pictures to share with my mom, who loves all flowers but especially sun flowers! This was someone's front yard. You could only see the tippy top of their house!
