How to Switch Your Family Vacation Destination And Love It

TV room in our South Bethany Beach House

This past summer, my family reluctantly switched our vacation from Sunset Beach, NC to Bethany Beach, DE.  We always thought we would have to end our time in Sunset Beach when my mom and dad became too elderly to travel.  Not so!  They are in their early 80s and are healthy.  They love our vacation.  Turns out our adult children needed the change to somewhere closer to home. They all could make it for at least a few days around their jobs and various places they now call home.  Who knew.

Our bright and cheery bedroom!

Our last beach experience in Delaware was a week in a townhouse at Rehoboth Beach.  We weren't up for that after our great two weeks at Sunset.  Also, none of us were relishing the COLD water of a Northeast Beach in June. We kind of resigned ourselves to the fact that it wouldn't be as good of a gig as Sunset, but we would all be together and that would be what would be important.  Well, guess what?  We were wrong!

Beautiful beach, lots of space :)

My sister went looking for a place that might be comparable to our Southern experience and she found it in South Bethany Beach.  She worked with Sandcastle Realty.  She described the type of beach experience we were looking for.  They found us a sweet little beach house. It was big enough for our whole clan (15 people). It also had a lot of little "hideaway" places on patios and smaller rooms so if you wanted to be by yourself, you could do it.  It had a large sun room where we all hung out together, laughed, played games and read.

Me, with my rented bike in Bethany Beach

The beach was beautiful, with plenty of room between families. There were lifeguards up and down the beach, which made us all feel safe. The water was not too cold to get in (although on the windier days I opted to stay dry). The best part for me was Highway 1.  There was a bike path that ran up and down the road on both sides.  Hubby and I rented bikes and rode every day. We could ride to Bethany Beach and get breakfast or ride South and take in the old fashioned light house North of Ocean City.
We were also very close to Rehoboth Beach and Ocean City Maryland so we visited those boardwalks too.

Bike ride to the lighthouse.

I almost hate to admit it because I absolutely loved Sunset Beach, NC,  but I think I might like this vacation spot a little better.  What a pleasant surprise!

Where is your favorite beach vacation?  Please share it!

Sunset Beach, North Carolina

It's only fitting that I start my new blog with my vacation to Sunset Beach, NC.  My family has been vacationing there since the mid 80's.  We fell in love with the place after my cousin John moved to Wilmington and raved about how nice it was.  He was right.  Sunset Beach is a little slice of heaven right here in the USA. It's a long trip from PA so when our kids were little, my dad started renting the beach house for two weeks.  That has allowed us to explore a little.  There are SO many things to see and do there.  Let me give you some highlights in pictures.

The Beach

Long, white sand beach, water temps in the 80's by the end of June, waves that won't steal your swimsuit, no jellyfish, no horseshoe crabs, cooling breezes all day long and no crowds.

The Island

Beautiful and refeshingly not commercial, but close enough to lots of fun spots if you want to leave the island.  Here's a few suggestions:

Have dinner at Roberto's

They have great Italian food, steaks and seafood and it's just minutes away in Ocean Isle, NC

Take a ghost tour!

We've done several ghost tours in the South. This year, we went to Georgetown, SC.  It was about an 1 1/2 drive from Sunset.  First we had a great dinner at Limpin Jane's..

then we took the harbor walk.  At dusk, we took the Georgetown ghost tour with William, a lifelong native and history buff.  His stories were great, some were first hand ghost experiences he and his friends have had.  They were added to the documented stories revolutionary war era to the present.

Work Out

We took a spin class and a group pump class at the Fitness Studio.  They were fun and they helped work off the dinner from Roberto's and Limpin' Jane's!

Visit Southport, NC. 

It's a quaint town on the Cape Fear River.  You can take a tour, shop, or if you are lucky enough to be there over the July 4th weekend.  Run or walk in the Freedom 5K, come to the street festival and see one of the ten best fireworks displays in the nation!

Taste some wine

Visit Grapeful Sisters Winery and campground. Amy will surely give you some great Southern hospitality! Call ahead to get a picnic basket lunch.  Eat and sip wine on the wrap-around porch.

If you decide to take a vacation in Sunset Beach, prepare to go back again and again because you are going to love it.  If you have been there, let me know about some of your Sunset Beach favorites.