Our annual family vacation took us to Bethany Beach this year, where we rented a lovely coastal cottage through VRBO. The house was clean, spacious, and a great fit for all of us. Right off the bat, I knew it was going to be a good trip because waiting on the table when we arrived was a sweet sight: Dr Pepper Zeros! Our rental was tucked in the Bear Trap Dunes Resort—which is about three miles inland from the ocean, so you get all the quiet golf course views without the chaotic beach traffic. Between the full kitchen, the jetted tub, the screened porch, and access to the pools and the community beach shuttle, we had everything we needed to just relax. Once we unpacked, we celebrated by heading out in a pouring downpour to stock up at the grocery store, which turned a basic errand into a wet little adventure.
We kicked off our first full morning on a super chill note, hanging by the pool for a few hours. It was so nice to just unwind—some of us were swimming while others were reading and drawing right by the water. Of course, Priscilla brought her American Girl doll stroller everywhere with us this trip, and pool day was no exception! Later, we drove over to the Rehoboth Outlets to look for some tax-free Delaware deals and scored a few good finds, including Bryce’s Class of ’27 hoodie and shorts set for the upcoming school year.
Brian took over kitchen duty that next morning to make a big breakfast for everyone. Once we refueled, we hit the beach for hours of soaking up the sun and getting sand a little bit of everywhere. After heading back to clean up, the kids and I grabbed some sushi while Brian caught up on some schoolwork. Once he was done, we all met up on the Bethany Boardwalk to shop, grab some fries, and get ice cream. The girls ended up getting adorable seagull stuffies to commemorate the trip, though Grace also spotted another stuffie she really loved that we held off on for the moment. Later on, the older kids went back to the house to relax while we checked out a few more spots with the younger ones (and Priscilla's stroller!).
Full vacation mode officially set in by morning number three, meaning we were operating on total turtle time and it took us an eternity to put shoes on and get moving. Eventually, we made our way to the pool for a couple of hours, grabbed a quick dinner at the house, and then headed down to the Ocean City Boardwalk. We goofed around, looked around, and stopped by Guido's Burritos right on the boardwalk for a Monsterita. Emery had hyped this thing up, and she was not wrong—it’s a massive 60-ounce giant margarita! Plus, it happened to be Taco Tuesday, so we got to take advantage of all-day deals like 25% off taco entrees and Guidoritas. So naturally, we had to get one to share! It was such a fun time. After two Monsteritas, our walking paths got a little less linear as we zig-zagged through some more shopping and ended our night with stuffies and more ice cream.
I wrangled the youngest kiddos for a quiet beach run while Emery stayed back to work from the house and met up with us later. It was great that she could still join the trip and get her work done—truly the ultimate remote work perk. After playing in the sand, we wandered over to the boardwalk and found a little pastry shop called Sunshine Baguettes, where we got a chocolate-filled croissant that was so good. Then we headed over to grab the Dachshund stuffie Priscilla had been strategically eyeing to spend her birthday money on. That night, the whole family went out for Mexican food before heading to the Rehoboth Boardwalk. The oldest ones were wiped out and went back to the house, so we took the younger kids to the arcade. They had a great time, and Grace had pure luck on her side: she scored big on the claw machine on her second try, winning the exact Gund Bluey stuffie she had her eye on since day one. Both girls also won big at the water race game.
Saying goodbye to Emery and Dylan as they headed back home left the rest of us moving at a slow pace. We lay around for a while before taking a quick dip in the pool. The air was pretty thick from the Canadian wildfire smoke drifting down, but we made the most of it. Ryland, Bryce, and I took the shuttle to the boardwalk on a high-stakes mission to look for Pokémon cards. For dinner, we all went to Bethany Dough Roller, which had a really good Caprese salad, and then we finally stopped by The Sweetz Shop. It's a giant candy store with ice cream, decorated inside and out with bright candy. We had driven past it all week and couldn't pass up the chance to check it out.
We saved our final day for an all-out beach day. The kids spent hours playing together in the sand and looking for sand crabs, and it was so sweet watching them just hang out. The smoke made the sky hazy and blocked the direct sun, but it made for a surprisingly cool, easygoing day on the beach. That night, Brian, Ryland, Grace, Priscilla, and I headed to the Rehoboth Boardwalk one last time for the arcade, rides, and a trip to our favorite spot, Boardwalk Tasty, for some Italian gelato. It was a great beach getaway filled with good food, arcade wins, and quality family time!
