4 Days in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

A yearly four-day trip to Rehoboth Beach and Cape May, New Jersey

Every year, my mother, sister, and I would pack up our bags in June and drive two hours to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. When we were kids it would be our place for back-to-school shopping, as the Tanger Outlets in Delaware are pretty big and there’s a big draw to buying things in that state: there’s no sale tax. '

So everything you buy is the price that it’s marketed, which is rare across the United States. The last time I had been to Rehoboth, however, was in 2017. In 2018 I was in Korea, 2019 Iowa, 2020 was COVID, and 2021 we simply did not go because of the price of everything at that point.

My mother booked our hotel in December, when it was cheapest, and I knew I was going to relive the sights and sounds of a place I loved in childhood. I think the area depends on what kind of vibe you’re into—if you’re more into spectacles and rides, then it may be worth going to Ocean City instead of Rehoboth.

We’re older now, so we don’t go to Ocean City except on the drive home. We used to go to Ocean City every year when I was growing up, whether it was for vacation or a soccer tournament I had.

Anyways, here’s what we did over the course of four days.

Rehoboth outlets, boardwalk, and Cape Henlopen.

When we first got to Rehoboth, we checked in our hotel and headed straight for the outlets. There’s four different complexes you can shop around at, and they’re all pretty big, so our strategy is that we split the outlets into two different days. The first day was fairly mild, since we don’t like to shop much.

The only thing I ended up picking up from the outlets as a whole was a Torchic plush from a kids’ store and a pair of shorts from Banana Republic since they were 75% off. I also bought a pair of Doc Marten sandals that I’ve been wanting because of the no sales tax in Delaware. When we were kids you could find better deals at outlets, but nowadays the quality isn’t there for the price that they are selling goods.

We headed over to the Boardwalk after a quick lunch stop at Grotto’s Pizza, which is my mother’s all-time favorite pizza. Grotto’s is the must-go restaurant in all of Rehoboth, a classic staple for the area. I ordered a spaghetti and meatballs, and so did my sister, while our mother ordered a large pizza and proceeded to smash almost all of it into her mouth.

I think it’s a little sweet, but, besides that, it is decent pizza. But I went to the boardwalk with my main objective: Thrasher’s Fries.

Thrasher’s is the most famous fry place in all of Maryland and Rehoboth, and you can only get it on the ocean boardwalks in Rehoboth and Ocean City. We went to the boardwalk twice this trip because we had some free time, and ended up picking up a large bucket of classic fries from Thrasher’s both times. We also got custard from Kohr Brothers, which is another staple for the region. It was thick and creamy.

Besides that, we stopped at the ice cream parlor the first trip, which has amazing ice cream for pretty cheap. There’s a Thrasher’s by it, then if you peer down the side street you’ll see a sign for The Royal Treat. Their ice cream is really, really good and definitely under appreciated.

The place is tiny and off the main path, which is probably why. I stopped in the bookstore on the main drag and picked up a copy of Natalie Diaz’s Post-Colonial Love Poem for $16, and the guy gave me a free bookmark because I was nice to him. We also swung by the Spice and Tea Exchange, but were horrified to see that they jack the prices up double the location we had gone to in Frederick. A small bag was $12. but we paid $6 in Frederick for it. I picked up my favorite berry tea though, and my sister her usual Moroccan tea.

Another notable stop was Cape Henlopen. It’s a state park so you need to pay for admission, but there are plenty of trails to hike on and catch the site of birds on the beach. We went to the trail all the way in the back, but we didn’t realize that most people go on the trail to bike. It was out in the open sun for the majority of the ride and the narrow path was full of bikers, making it pretty hard to take a casual walk on there. The sights were pretty, though, and we spotted some native birds to Delaware perched on the branches above the water.

Cape May Ferry + Cape May, New Jersey

When we used to go to Delaware, about every two years we would buy tickets for the Cape May Ferry to head into New Jersey. You can sit outside or inside, so we planted ourselves at the front of the boat with our books and podcasts and sat back for the hour it takes to sail across the harbor.

I finished my copy of Calcutta on this ride while also managing to take a nap, which is pretty impressive for me in the short two hours it took. We purchased a shuttle pass for a ride to the main town, and were dumped right near the town square.

Cape May is a beach town in New Jersey with the most gorgeous homes. You have to be pretty rich to own one, but they’re painted pastel blues, pinks, and oranges to match the vibe of the town.

There’s also a main street that the shuttle drops you off near that has a ton of restaurants, beach shops, and artisanal stores that you can wander around until you take the ferry back. While my mom and sister went off and explored the architecture, I actually met my friend from NSLI-Y.

We’d both done the Korean program separate years but had never met in person, and he had just moved to the area. So we walked along the beach and talked about life after Korea and what we wanted to do and whatnot. It was pretty chill.

Ocean City and Preston, Maryland

When we leave Rehoboth, we always drive through Ocean City on the way home and stop at the boardwalk. It was upon arriving that we realized, horrified, that Rehoboth jacks up the prices for everything. The Thrasher’s, the Duff'y’s popcorn my mother buys—it’s all cheaper in Maryland.

They have to make up for that sales tax somehow, right? It started pouring while we walked along the boardwalk, so we took shelter in a Quiet Storm apparal shop for awhile before heading to our favorite kite store halfwayd own the boardwalk.

Since we had a massive breakfast at Bob Evans in Rehoboth before coming here, we kind of just wandered the boardwalk and soaked in the vibes. Ocean City is a special place, and it remains a part of many kids’ childhoods if they’re from here.

We also always stop in Preston, where my mother grew up briefly. It’s this rural community on the Eastern Shore of Maryland where my grandfather once had a position as the local preacher. My mom likes to stop at the farmers’ markets and pick up some local corn whenever they have it.

We usually drive by the home she used to live in and she sorts through her memories growing up in the fields and eating their neighbor’s fruit, or wandering the streets in the late sixties. But there’s a reason we always stop there: my grandparents are buried in Preston.

My grandfather was a Korean War veteran. so before he died, he was granted a plot in the veterans’ cemetery in Preston along with my grandmother. Both of their funerals were in Preston, at the same church that he once preached at, and those who were still alive and living in the community showed up to pay their respect at their funerals. Preston is a bit far from Baltimore, about two hours, so we typically make the drive on the way home since it’s on the way. My mother cried for a bit, then we headed home and ordered some Panera to eat.

All in all, it was a great trip, like always. I truly love Rehoboth, it’s a great, quiet place to simply exist in for awhile.