Tuesday, August 17, 2010

June or August?

We have vacationed on the Delaware beaches for about 5 years. We always chose the month of June soon after the kids were out of school because hotel rates are less. Last year the whole family decided to go with us. Plans changed from a hotel reservation in Rehoboth to a townhouse reservation in Bethany. This year we changed location and the month. We found a bigger house in Fenwick Island and thought August was a better month because the water would be warmer. The water was warmer but found several other differences too. So which is better.....June or August?

June -
  • weather is usually cooler
  • water is cold!
  • there are a lot of people vacationing, but...
August -
  • weather was wonderful! Was hot which is good for the beach
  • water was cold, according to some, but nothing like June water
  • many, many people vacation in August
  • Rt.1 to the Rehoboth area is insane!
  • Kim and I and some of the kids went to a Walmart near the outlets on Sunday evening to get some supplies. It took forever to get there. Should only take about 20 min.
  • It was even worse on Thursday afternoon. It rained and stormed during the morning so we changed plans for the day. We went to the outlets to shop. Again, the traffic was horrible. But the outlets....I have never seen them so full! We found parking because people were leaving by the time we arrived. Had we been earlier, we may not have found any. Not even in a field behind the big outlet where we stopped at first. There were even cars parked along a side road. Crazy!
  • I wanted to find some clothing for Ellen for school. Many, many Moms were also shopping for clothes for their kids! In Justice (a neat store for school age kids) the cash registers were at the far end of the store. The line to them stretched 3/4th the way to the entrance. We survived!
  • Shopping on a 'not so good beach day' should be done after 2p. It was getting less crowded as the afternoon went on. But that may have been because, by then, the sun was shining and people headed to the pool or beach??
  • Eating at Bethany Blues (located north of the outlets) is just as good in August as it is in June!
  • If the last day for going to the beach happens to be a beautiful Saturday, go in the morning. Because, by the time early afternoon arrives, the beaches are FULL! We ended up spending time at the pool because all the State Park beaches were so full they weren't letting anyone in. Parking in the towns with public beaches would also have been nuts. And the crowds even nuttier! I was greatly disappointed but got over it. I love the beach more than a pool.........
So which is better? We did like going in August. We will use our learning curve from this year to vacation smarter next year!

1 comment:

Theresa said...

Hi there and thanks for visiting me and leaving you "short" comment:) We always vacation in July 4th week or the week after that! We found this year that there were so many people where we were because of the problems in the Gulf! We had planned on going to Perdido Key but changed to Myrtle Beach and it was CROWDED everywhere we went. One of the problems is that the Condo places have ALL of their check-ins/outs on Saturday. Which puts everyone at the Grocery Store, unloading etc at the same time. Other than that, we enjoy going when we go. My husband and I usually take a couple of short trips to the beach in the Spring and Fall! Sorry for the long comment:)

Have a blessed day! HUGS!