The sights, the sounds, the smells…

In continuing the journey down beach memory lane, today I’m going to share all the sights, sounds and smells that trigger my memories of our time at the Rehoboth beach house.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland

I remember most of the trips to the beach being with my grandmother. I remember her picking us up from my mom’s and piling in to her gold Mercedes Benz with tags that read “MJ100”. We would take the route through D.C. then Maryland and we would always stop at the McDonalds’s right before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. To this day when I go inside a McDonald’s the smell makes me think of the beach.

Then came the Bay Bridge. We would stop to pay the toll and make the journey across. I remember being so scared of crossing this bridge. When I was little I would crawl down on to the floor boards so I couldn’t see out the windows and wait until we made it across which felt like an eternity. It wasn’t until I got much older that I was brave enough to cross the bridge and look out the windows.

Olga and Robert MacDonald’s farm in Federalsburg, MD

Once in Maryland we would make the stop in Frederalsburg to Olga and Robert MacDonald’s house. Yes that was there name and yes they lived on a farm! Olga was a friend of my mother’s and they had worked in the Federal Government together.

The pool at the farm.

The farm was beautiful and they had a garden with a bounty of vegetables that they would let us pick from for our trip to the beach. I remember when the put a pool in, it was such a big deal and they would alway invite us for a swim.

Robert and Olga MacDonald

I just love this picture of them, they were so sweet to us. Sadly Robert passed away but Olga is still going strong and I recently visited her on the farm in 2019. She gave us a tour of the farm and we had a wonderful visit. When we would go to the beach for a week sometimes Olga and Robert would come spend a day or two with us. They are a big part of my beach memories.

A Beach House on Jersey Street in Rehoboth Beach, DE

As I’ve stated before we would stay at Mr. Trent’s beach house in Rehoboth. His house was on Jersey Street. I’ve tried to find the exact house on google maps but not sure the house number but I think the image above is it. This was the classic style of beach house during the 1960’s. They were built with double doors (the sound of slamming screen door makes me think of the beach, lol) that led to a screened in porch. This house had a breezeway that led from the front of the house to the back where additional bedrooms were. It was all wood floors and had wood paneling on the interior. To this day I love that style of beach house.

This picture is of my mom sitting on that screened in porch. That wicker furniture actually came with us when my grandmother bought her own beach house in Lewes, DE, more on that later!

Me and my sister would always share a bedroom that had two twin beds with striped bedding. There was a nightstand between them with a little lamp and a painting that hung above it that I would always stare at. I later found out it was called, “Breezing Up” by Winslow Homer. I actually had to paint one of his paintings “Gulf Stream” in art class in high school, it was so hard!

The living area was an open concept with a kitchen, dining area (which was a picnic table) living area with built in benches for couches and mustard yellow pleather cushions and wood stove in the middle of the room. The sign above hung over the bar/counter area in the kitchen.  I used to read it over and over to try and memorize it and I did and to this day I still remembered it.  The sign also made it over to the Lewes house as well. I googled it and found an exact replica of the one that hung in that house on Etsy so I bought it!

Another memory that stands out to me is a poster that hung high on a wall in the living room. It was like a measuring tool that went under thew water, basically a ruler that measured water level. It had some saying on it but I can’t remember and I did try to find it online with no luck. I remember it scare me. I think it was the knowledge of the ocean being so deep and what was down there and that there was actually something that could measure its depth.

Fifer’s Market

Another fun memory I have is me and my sister walking up to the local corner store, Fifer’s Market for candy. The specific candy I remember was these little plastic fruit shaped containers and they held powder that tasted like the fruit that it was in the shape of. This was one of my favorite things to get at the beach and I think people still make them! I might have to get some for a taste of nostalgia!

So many more memories come up of the beach:

I remember going to the local Ben Franklin store to get beach supplies.

I remember being on the beach and a man with a silver metal push cart selling hot dogs. I remember getting a hot dog and a coke and remember it tasting like the best thing ever.

I remember one time stopping at the McDonald’s before the Bay Bridge and my grandmother getting a fish sandwich and then being sick all night. I remember making a mental note to never get the fish sandwich and to this day never have.

Me, 2 years old at the beach taking a nap

The picture of me above is sitting on the deck in the back yard of Mr. Trent’s house. I have a memory of not playing in the back yard much. I remember there was hole in the ground somewhere on the side of the house and there was always a fear of stepping it so I think I stayed out of the yard.

This pic above is of me in the living room at Mr. Trent’s house trying to listen to the ocean in a big shell. To the left in back of me is the wood burning stove I mentioned and that little wicker table in the front made it to the Lewes house too. Look at that wicker rug on the floor, gosh I love vintage beach stuff!

This pic above is of me and Joan Thompson another friend of my grandmother’s and someone I remember fondly from childhood. She must be trying to show me something but as always while I’m at the beach I can’t be disturbed, lol!

This pic above is of me at Mr. Trent’s house sitting on that mustard yellow pleather sofa playing with his hat. Notice the wood paneling on the wall in the back? Love it!

Whew, that was a long post! I’m all tuckered out how about you? Last but not least one more pic of me on the beach taking a nap. There is nothing like a beach nap is there? I remember this towel and this yellow blanket. I remember opening the linen closet in my childhood home and smelling the beach waiting for that next trip to the beach.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s trip down memory lane, until next time!