We arrived late afternoon, and after a quick round of fetch, we headed into Rehoboth to pick up dinner. We were armed by the Lazy L with a list of places dogs are welcome, such as restaurants, beaches and shops. Some places weren't open yet for the season.
We've been to Rehoboth many times, preferring the Delaware beaches that have kept the mass, commercial development to Route 1 outside of the town centers. That development does include a large collection of outlet stores for a pre- or post-beach spree, if your dog is willing to wait outside.
There are a couple of other B&Bs and rental houses in town that allow dogs, as well as some campsites and hotels on the fringes, but the choices are not vast.
On our drive to Rehoboth, we were hampered a bit by some road construction. We headed right for Nicola Pizza for one of the essential beach food groups. Dizzy waited outside while we ordered takeout. The family-owned business makes its own dough and sauce, which it advertises as fat free. Not fat-free is the cheese, plentiful on the pizza, in the stromboli that's called Nic-O-Boli and on the salad.
Our vacation bellies stuffed with shredded mozzarella, we went to sleep early. We were able to leave the room's windows open for a nice breeze. You can't hear the ocean at the Lazy L, but you can't hear traffic or drunken beachgoers either.
Breakfast the next morning was a warm muffin, fruit and a homemade waffle. We missed the other guests even though our dog woke up at 4:30 a.m., excited to start his day despite the dark.
The other dogs were hard to avoid later on. There was a beautiful golden retriever named Heather, a set of happy-go-lucky black and yellow labs named Mya and Porsha, an extra-furry border collie mix named Ralphie and a pair of standard poodles. Somehow, we didn't get many human names.
Of the five sets of guests this weekend - some from as far away as North Carolina and Pennsylvania - only one didn't bring along a dog. It's not a requirement, though not minding dogs and not being deathly allergic to them seem necessary.
Kirk and Paige Kerstetter, owners of the labs, said they have no dog parks in their neighborhood in Winfield, Pa. They had looked for a place where they could meander about without repercussion and swim without an appointment. "We did a Google search to find this place," Paige Kerstetter said.
