December 28th, 2014
Hard to imagine that another year is gone. If you are spending the Holidays at the Delaware Beaches then this week-end was awesome!! Warmer temperatures brought visitors and residents to walk, shop, and dine.
Too much eating brought my son, Michael, and I to Whiskey Beach and Gordons Pond. He told me I had to be more transparent when I mention about a “little” walk. Walking 5 miles was not going to be on his agenda on Saturday. He wanted to be on the beach.
On a beautiful day in Rehoboth Beach you can go north, past the Boardwalk, follow the road all the way to the Park. You can park anywhere at this time of the year. You have 2 choices. You can follow the trail on Gordons Pond, which is so scenic and will connect you with Lewes. Take some water with you. Biking, walking, jogging, that’s what most people do. Camera ready, as well.
We decided to go on Whiskey Beach. To tell you the truth just the sound of the ocean, the gentle breezes, and the solitude of the beach made me realize how lucky I am to live here.
The WWII Towers always standing guard. Never get tired of looking at them.
Whiskey Beach has a colorful past. It has been said that during Pohibition in the 1920’s, this beach was a rendezvous for rumrunners. Isolated and out of the way.
Others say that it was an ideal place for soldiers stationed at Fort Miles during and after WWII to gather and party without being bothered.
It is a great place to unwind and breathe that salt air.
Or, to walk off your Christmas dinner…from Hickman’s Meat Market located at 19730 Coastal Highway in Rehoboth Beach, DE.
Talk to you later….
June 21st, 2012
It was the way the sun was setting about 10 days ago. I still remember because I was in Downtown Rehoboth Beach when I took off for Gordons Pond in a north section of town also known as North Shores and Whiskey Beach. It is part of Delaware State Park. The beach on that side of town is quiet and even though it does have a colorful past; it is, definitely, a family beach.
No guard was at the gate so I just went through. I was not even dressed for my hike on the beach. I don’t know what got into me; I wanted to see the WWII Towers. It’s so funny because these towers don’t change. They have been standing there as ghosts; guarding as they have been doing for so many years.
I started walking; pocketbook on hand through the path cars take when parking on the beach. Don’t ask me why. I could have gone by the water’s edge. But, I wanted a different view.
The sand was a little deep and I was wondering how much farther I would have to walk.
Finally, there they were. They looked so gorgeous, imposing, and majestic.
Eight of the 11 towers built along the Delaware and New Jersey coastlines during WWII are, here, on our Delaware Beaches; 3 in New Jersey. Tower 1 is in South Bethany. Tower 2 is south of the Indian River Bridge, Tower 3 and 4 are in Dewey Beach, and 5 and 6 are on Whiskey Beach. The 7th tower is in Lewes and the 8th in Broadkill Beach.
The towers were used as artillery spotting locations. Our military would coordinate artillery fire on enemy ships off our coast from the towers.
Some of the towers have different heights and some of them have only 2 viewing slits, while others have 3 or 4. You could also see about 14 1/2 miles into the Atlantic.
It was believed that after Pearl Harbor, the Delaware Beaches were in danger. In 1941 the German U-boats were sinking an average of a ship per week.
Note: There is a book written by William C. Grayson called Delaware’s Ghost Towers, The Coast Artillery’s Forgotten Last Stand During the Darkest Days of WWII. You can get it on Amazon.
Also, more info. on the WWII Towers can be obtained by visiting www.bethany-beach.net/world_war_ii_towers.htm.
A couple of people were still at the beach. It was not the perfect beach day. A little too windy and choppy.
I walked down Whiskey Beach and thought if there was any truth to its name. They say it is called Whiskey Beach because in the 1920s, during Prohibition, this beach was a rendevous for rumrunners. Others say it had been a place for soldiers to party while stationed at Fort Miles up the road with nobody to bother them.
State Law prohibits pets swimming or sunbathing on the beach but past the northern jetty, they are allowed.
It is, definitely, colorful and a conversation piece.
Gordons Pond is on this part of the Delaware State Park, as well. It was getting too late, so I only walked for a short time. Gordons Pond is one of 4 migration “super highways” in North America. A popular resting spot for a wide variety of waterfowls. Other wildlife is pretty abundant by the edges of the pond.
So, when you are visiting Rehoboth Beach and the downtown beaches are a little too crowded, head towards the Park on the north side of Downtown Rehoboth Beach. More info? Please visit www.destateparks.com.
Have a Good One!! Talk to you later.
July 31st, 2010
After all these years, here, at the beaches in Delaware, I must admit that I had never spent a day at Gordons Pond in Rehoboth Beach. You probably think, who cares? Well, hmm…when my kids were growing up, and I was living in Bethany Beach, then I would either use the beach at 4th street, on the north side of the town of Bethany Beach or I would drive up to the State Park beach right in Fenwick Island. Different beaches; both great.
After the move to Rehoboth Beach, then I would use the beach at Tower Road, south of Dewey Beach. That beach was wide and plenty of parking.
It has been a while since I sat a whole day at the beach. It seems that all of us friends are running in different directions, so we don’t see each other as much as we used to when our children were young and the beach was their playground.
Yesterday, I went with Susie to Gordons Pond. This beach is part of the Delaware State Park system. To access this beach you would have to take Ocean Drive and go all the way to the north end of Rehoboth Beach. The entrance will be right there.
Gordons Pond is one of four migration “super highways” in North America; it is a popular resting spot for a wide variety of waterfowls.
Friday was a perfect day for the beach since Thursday’s storm brought low humidity and sunny skies to the beaches.
Being that Gordons Pond is part of the Delaware State Park system, you do have an entrance fee of $4 for in-state vehicles and $8 for out-of-state.
The beach is wide and the sand was very powdery. Nice dunes protect this beach. For a Friday, it was somewhat crowded and more so as the day progressed.
This beach had a dip as you entered the water and to me the water was freezing. I thought by now it would have been a little warmer.
I took a walk towards the north side of the beach. On that side, it is permitted to fish. One of those fishermen had just caught 2 small sharks. Well, the kids were all excited and as I stopped they could not contained themselves; show and tell it was. Do not worry, the sharks were going to be released.
Further down the beach, standing guard, like ghosts from the past were 2 of the eleven WW II towers built along the Delaware and New Jersey coastlines. Eight of them are in Delaware. They were used as artillery spotting locations during that time in our history. I wrote a post about these towers on April 18th. If you would like to see it just click under Archives on the month of April and scroll down to the date.
These towers are beautiful and stand lonely at the beach. These ones, at Gordons Pond, are particularly gorgeous.
Back at my beach chair I continued to enjoy my day. Living on the coast; how lucky!!
Talk to you later….have a great week-end….
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