Every summer, thousands of people come to Rehoboth Beach looking for a relaxing weekend. Those people have clearly never met the gays.
A gay weekend in Rehoboth starts the same way every single time. You arrive Friday afternoon with a plan. A beautiful, organized, color-coded plan. By Saturday morning, the plan is gone. Someone has invited you somewhere. Someone else has texted, “Come meet us!” You’ve run into three people you know, four people you sort of know and one person you’re pretending not to know.
Welcome to Rehoboth.
The first stop is usually Baltimore Avenue, where every gay person immediately begins the traditional summer activity of walking up and down the street hoping to accidentally run into someone. We all pretend we’re headed somewhere important, but let’s be honest. Half of us are just taking laps.
At some point, you’ll end up discussing where you’re going for dinner. This conversation will last longer than the actual dinner.
Then comes the outfit change.
Never underestimate the importance of the outfit change.
A true Rehoboth professional can go from beach casual to cocktail hour to drag show-ready in under 30 minutes. It’s a skill. Some might even call it a sport.
Saturday is where things really fall apart.
Someone suggests brunch.
Someone else suggests day drinking.
Before you know it, you’re three drinks deep, you’ve spent $40 at a cute boutique you didn’t intend to stop at and you’re making best friends with someone whose name you absolutely won’t remember tomorrow.
This is called community.
One of my favorite things about Rehoboth is the people-watching. The beach town itself is beautiful, but the cast of characters is what keeps me entertained. You’ve got the fitness gays. The theater gays. The retired gays. The beach gays. The dog dads. The lesbians who somehow always look comfortable. The tourists who bought rainbow apparel 12 minutes ago and are already fully committed to the lifestyle.
And then there are the drag queens.
Trust me, if you think you’re exhausted from your weekend itinerary, imagine spending three hours getting ready just to have a seagull judge you while you’re carrying your wig through a parking lot.
Speaking of drag, if you’re visiting Rehoboth and you’ve never been to a drag show, go. Seriously. Whether it’s your first show or your 50th, there’s something magical about sitting in a room full of people laughing, cheering, tipping and collectively forgetting about their problems for a couple of hours.
By Sunday morning, everybody looks the same. Sunglasses. Iced coffee. Questionable decisions. A determination to squeeze every last minute out of the weekend before returning to reality.
And honestly, that’s probably my favorite part.
Underneath the cocktails, the beach trips, the drag shows, the dance floors, the selfies and the chaos, Rehoboth has always been about one thing: finding your people.
Some come here for a weekend.
Some come here every summer.
Some never leave.
But for a little beach town, it’s done a pretty remarkable job of making people feel like they belong.
Until next time, support local events, tip your drag entertainers, wear the outfit, take the picture and remember: The best weekends are usually the ones that didn’t go according to plan.
I’ll see you out and about.
