Local Beaches: Virginia Beach Resort area and Sandbridge - Essay Example

Local Beaches The greater metropolitan Washington area offers families and singles many nearby beach resorts, both in Virginia and the Delmarva Peninsula. Not knowing and educating themselves about the differences between the beaches might cause individuals to choose a vacation spot that doesn’t meet their needs or which could make them feel uncomfortable. I grew up in Maryland, and I can remember when I was younger and summer rolled around, I went to the beaches on the Maryland and Delaware Eastern Shore. The beach resorts consisted of Ocean City, the Bayside of Ocean City, Bethany, Dewey and Rehoboth. Years later when I got married, my husband, who is from Virginia Beach, introduced me to the region where he grew up. I discovered that Virginia is a conservative state. The Virginia Beach area has a large military presence, and conservative family values such as the ‘proper’ role of women in the home and church attendance are dominant. Virginia Beach, which is 35 miles of waterfront property, has three different beaches within the city. They are the Chesapeake Bay of Virginia, Virginia Beach Resort area and Sandbridge. By comparing the beaches of my childhood with the beaches of my husband’s childhood, I was able to get a better sense of place and the type of people who might enjoy each location. The beaches of Virginia all have their own distinct personality. The section of Virginia Beach called the Chesapeake Bay area is for the person who is looking for tranquility and a more relaxed atmosphere. It is calmer, quieter and more laid back than many of the party beaches you see on TV. The traditional beach activities such as swimming, building sand castles, strolling along the beach and playing volleyball or throwing a football around are all a part of this scene. The Virginia Beach Resort area consists of a three mile concrete boardwalk. It has hotels, a few outdoor cafes and novelty shops. In addition, on the boardwalk there are roller-bladers, bikers, live music and street performers. There are many special events held here throughout the whole year. During November and December, the boardwalk is opened to vehicles and you can drive down it to see the spectacular Christmas light show. Sandbridge, which is located 15 miles south of the Virginia Beach Resort Area, is a more secluded environment. It is made up of five miles of pristine sand dunes. Most of the condominiums and homes have breathtaking ocean views. This area is very relaxing and peaceful for families because they don’t have to worry about the crazy college co-eds throwing parties. The beach resorts that I am most familiar with, though , are on the Eastern shore of Maryland. The Bayside in Ocean City is separated by the Coastal Highway (Route 1) from the beach side. It has mostly hotels and apartments and is much more low-key than the ocean side to be discussed later. Bayside is famous for its landmark Fager’s Island Restaurant. It is known for its bayfront dining and the most beautiful sunsets in the area. Ocean City’s Bayside has the same beach activities as the Chesapeake Bay area in Virginia Beach making them both similarly family friendly. North of Ocean City, and in Delaware, is Bethany Beach known as “The Quiet Resort.” It has a short traditional wooden boardwalk. It has seven miles of sandy beaches that also include South Bethany and Fenwick Island. Bethany Beach’s famous landmark is its totem pole sculpture of ‘Chief Little Owl’ who was a Nanticoke Indian chief. Every weekend during the summer season, Bethany has musical entertainment at the bandstand on the boardwalk. Restaurant choices are limited because of the boardwalk’s small size and primarily residential nature. The beach is the focal point of many activities which include boating, parasailing, jet skiing, swimming and surfing. I would compare Bethany to Sandbridge. They are both quiet, friendly, family-oriented vacation spots. Ocean City and Virginia Beach Resort have similarities and also their own characteristics. For example, Ocean City has the traditional wooden boardwalk which makes it harder to walk, roller-blade and bike on. This significantly changes the activities and people who frequent the area as compared to those who go to Virginia Beach with its concrete boardwalk. Ocean City has an abundance of vendors and novelty shops on the boardwalk because they don’t need to worry so much about keeping the space clear for these types of uses which Virginia Beach has very few of these kinds of shops, confining them mostly to the areas of Atlantic and Pacific Avenues. Thus, while Virginia Beach offers a great deal of variety of activity on its boardwalk, finding what you want to buy is not so easy, while Ocean City offers everything you might be looking to purchase, but not as much in the types of activities you want to engage in. Both boardwalks have amusement parks with numerous scary, fun rides. Ocean City is more of a crowded, loud, ‘party’ style beach. Going to Ocean City right after high school graduation is a tradition with many high school seniors. Families are more likely to witness an atmosphere of drunken twenty year olds on the boardwalk and around town. The main road that runs the length of Ocean City is always heavily congested with traffic particularly in the evenings. By contrast, Virginia Beach is much more quiet and relaxing. It has a ‘no bad behavior’ ordinance, addressing cursing, drunkenness, lewdness and loud noise thus making it more family-oriented and clean cut. Both places have great wide beaches and sunshine and will offer numerous activities – games, rides, music, etc. – to do in the evening. Rehoboth Beach is an alternative to the nearby and more developed Ocean City, Maryland. It has a very busy boardwalk with lots of shops, up scale restaurants and intimate clubs. Rehoboth attracts many visitors because it has something for singles and families. One distinct characteristic that Rehoboth is known for is its large gay community. Rehoboth has many impressive residential homes as well as homes on the beach. Bicycling is the main form of transportation around town. Similarly, Dewey Beach is unique from other beaches on the Eastern Shore because it caters primarily to singles from the Washington Metropolitan area. It even has its own motto on a bumper sticker, ‘Dewey Beach: A Way of Life.’ Singles rent group houses with 20 or more people in a house. Each group names their house and has a flag representing that house on the beach. House theme parties, such as luau or underwater, happen every weekend. Throughout the years, I have visited all of the above mentioned beaches. I have stayed at some for at least a week or more, others have been weekends or day trips. At different times in my life, each of these beaches were appropriate for different reasons. When I was a child, my parents took me to Rehoboth and Bethany in Delaware because they are both very family oriented. When I was just out of high school, I went to Ocean City, Maryland because it catered to the high school crowd and when I was in my twenties I went to Dewey, Delaware which was, and still is, the place for young professional singles. Now that I am ‘no spring chicken’ and more mature, I like to vacation at Virginia Beach and Rehoboth. By comparing the beaches of my life to the beaches of my husband’s past, I was able to quickly and easily find the beach that would suit my mood and specific position throughout the various stages of my life. To summarize, the Virginia and Delmarva Beaches provides families and singles with a perfect vacation spot for their individual needs. By knowing the characteristics of each location, people can choose a setting where they feel most comfortable and will have the greatest amount of their own brand of fun. Read More