Rehoboth Beach is ready for the summer beginning with the 4th of July weekend. Ever since Memorial Day, crowds have been coming to the beach and enjoying all Rehoboth has to offer. The one-mile boardwalk and white sandy beaches are ready and waiting. As always, holiday weekends bring the bigger crowds but all summer long Rehoboth has the wonderful feel of an old-fashioned beach community. Not counting the 133 outlet stores you pass on the way to town.
For those who have never been you should know Rehoboth is gay friendly with many gay owned and operated businesses. But the town isn't all gay. The City Manager is a lesbian and was formerly the City Manager of Provincetown but I suggest not trying to compare the two beach towns. They each have their own charm.
For the LGBT crowd in Rehoboth there is nothing like spending time on a hot summer day at Poodle Beach, the gay beach at the southern end of the boardwalk. Then after baking the day away, hopefully with a lot of sunscreen, take a walk into town for drinks and great food at the many restaurants and bars. Of course there is the four-star Blue Moon restaurant and bar, the queen of Rehoboth gay establishments. For more than 30 years the 'Moon' as the regulars call it has been there for the LGBT community. But there are many other places where the LGBT community hangs out.
For a great and reasonable meal you need to stop by the Purple Parrot on Rehoboth Avenue. It is a gay owned and operated restaurant and bar. When there, remember to congratulate owner Hugh Fuller and his charming, handsome husband on their recent marriage. Whether you stop there for breakfast, lunch, dinner or late night the Parrot is always fun and hopping.
One of the highlights for me each summer in Rehoboth is Aqua Grill on Baltimore Avenue. With its great outdoor deck that can accommodate 300 of the hottest men in town, and the hottest servers, well, there is nothing else like it. A good hearty low price menu lets you grab lunch or an afternoon snack on the deck, or a good dinner in the dining area. Gay owned and operated Bill Shields makes everyone feel at home and handsome bar manager Josh and those very hot servers make sure the drinks keep coming.
Take a walk on Rehoboth Avenue and grab a slice of pizza or a giant order of Thrasher's French fries. You can get T-shirts everywhere but I suggest a stop at the newly expanded Gidget's Gadgets emporium on the second block of Rehoboth Avenue. A wonderful fun store to browse for toys, records, furniture and everything else you can think of. Another gay owned and operated establishment, long-time Rehoboth resident Steve Fallon has made this a great place to shop.
Some of you may have heard about the recent nonsensical ordinance the current Mayor and City Commission tried to pass; the one about having to lock up your swimming pool if you were going to rent your home and not let renters use the pool. Well take heart, as all of us who love Rehoboth have, that ordinance never passed because the good people of the town fought it and made the Mayor and the Commission back down. We all thought at first it was a satirical piece from The Onion. Guess the local politicians were trying to compete with the Republican presidential candidates to do and say something that made no sense to any intelligent person. But with its defeat everyone should feel welcome to continue to visit, rent a great home for a week, swim in the pool, go to the beach and enjoy the fantastic ambiance Rehoboth has to offer.
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware is a great place to visit, work, live and recreate. It is even becoming a big year-round retirement community with a large lesbian and gay population. If you have never been to Rehoboth you need to make the summer of 2015 your first time. You never know who you will see walking up Rehoboth Avenue. It is the place Vice President Joe Biden and his wife have been known to vacation and Hoda Kotb from the Today Show has said it is her favorite beach. Visit once and you will come back again and again after experiencing the charms of Rehoboth Beach. For more information visit CAMP, the LGBT community center.