... which is nice to see as national recognition.
At the Beach this weekend I noticed that crowds were perhaps a little down, even though the lines at Gus N Gus are still long, and George looks happy to be flipping burgers in the warm weather again.
There are signs of recession if you look. The wait at the Big Fish, even around 6pm, was only twenty minutes. On Mother's Day last year at the same time it was an hour. There are some empty storefronts that are usually occupied by the latest entrepreneur who thinks, Oh, wow, tourists at the Beach will buy tasteless T-shirts when they're drunk.
The artificial dunes, thanks to one of the last pieces of really sizeable pork that Senator Joe Biden would bring home, look to be holding up well, although the downside is that in many spots on the boardwalk they keep you from actually seeing the beach.
The Blue Moon, the Purple Parrot et al on Rehoboth Avenue seem to be doing a rip-roaring busines, but the season will not really have started until Kris Petersen is back at the Sands doing his Eye-cons show, channeling Lucy, Cher, and Bette...
Do we dare tell America (or even Delaware) that Rehoboth is unique for its live-and-let-live atmosphere between the evangelicals and the gays, who are now pretty much so used to each other that nobody seems to notice anybody else [which is, by the way, a good Libertarian definition for a functional society]?
Nah, maybe not.
Comments
And it happened in Rehobeth. Looking at that photo, I believe I was there when it happened.
Eerie.
(Not too mention Rehobeth was the place where I - ahem - lost my virginity at age 16. First headache, first f*ck, gotta be some sort of Karma in that, 'eh?)
It won't be long before they break out the Virginia Beach model of family friendly which includes a no swearing ordinance, and ticketable fines for being caught doing so. Those no cursing signs can be found everywhere on the beach.
passed an ordinance banning certain types of offensive t-shirtsI guess my "Sick Bitch" shirt is out of the question.
..still love it as a middle-aged lunkhead!Ditto that, Hube. Was there a few weeks ago. Beautiful. Way better than any place in New Jersey. I remember as a 20-something renting a room for a week. Trouble was, I got my dates messed up and showed up two days early. I managed to find some friendly older folks who put me up until my room was available. Different times, for sure.
That nearby state park, in the big parking lot, appropriately in the back seat of a chevy.
Didn't go as far as Eric, though.
City government has gone way too far in the direction of trying to project a wholesome, family friendly facade while trying to soak both the tourists & the locals for every penny they can get.
Way too many cops. They are now actually trying to preemptively enforce their stupid Beach Ordinances (that can best be summarized as "No Fun Allowed". my favorite of the lot is "No games involving a moving object") instead of just dealing with complaints like they used to.
They harass the bars & clubs with the most draconian noise ordinance in the state - no complaint required, the cops just stand outside with a noise meter and wait for someone to open the door so the level will spike over the limit, no time weighted average, no comparison to the ambient, just a peak reading.
When it's not busy, the cops will just pick random cars and follow them around town in hopes that the driver will get nervous and give them an excuse for a traffic stop. not a fun place anymore.
Big Fish's popularity always surprised me. $25 for 4oz grilled tuna and mashed potatoes in a loud environment overlooking a busy highway over a mile from the beach where they attempt to flip tables four times in a night. That's some bussiness plan But, I guess its working for them.
Blue Moon seems to be doing well, although they have significantly altered their menu. I was happy to see that Nage has backed away from the "bistro stlye" menu and is again serving perhaps the best food in Rehoboth, if not all of Delaware (and for about the same cost as 4oz grilled tuna).
http://www.nage.bz/rehoboth_beach/menu/dinner_menu.htm
meatball