Continuing:
I liked this sign
I did not like this one as it made me sad that summer is so canceled.
The town was trying. They had signs all over everything with reminders. And they had their bicycle patrol guys all over the place. On the Boardwalk, near the welcome center, on the street corners. All the time.
The hotel was doing well. Clean. Hand sanitizer everywhere. Plexiglass shields. Elevator instructions - either your family, or just 2 with spots to stand on. Masks required.
We received breakfast. The procedure was 1 person at a time. The attendant held a plastic bag and you told her what you wanted from a fairly well stocked and individually packed selection. Fruit, bagels, croissants, boiled eggs, dry cereals in the full size packs - the round ones, red mill oatmeal in the round cups, sausage biscuits, individual milks, bottled apple juice and orange juice, Starbucks coffee with regular and vanilla individual creamer, all the jellies, Nutella, cream cheese, a selection of Tazo teas. And more. I picked up at 6:30 on opening, first one in. Daughter went later. Both of us were the only ones at the time. They had a little sign that said green not busy - 6:30 to 7:30, so we collected in that hour. 8:30 to 9:30 was red time =busy.
Getting it early was fine as it was not like you were scooping up scrambled eggs. It was all eat now or later stuff anyway.
The 2nd evening we eventually decided to eat take out from the hotel again. The food had been good and we wanted to try a few other items. So, we compiled a list and I walked down to put in my order. Calling on the phone wasn't getting an answer. They had decided to close for the evening. I don't know why, but they had gone from eat in to curb side to close. They did say they were reopening the next evening. This is the same kitchen for the breakfast bags.
So, we were going to do the Sunshine Crepes. Closed at 3. Usually open later, as they serve lunch and dinner crepes as well as dessert crepes.
This brought us to ordering from Blue Crab - a few minute walk down Garfield St which is right next to the hotel. Also on the Amex small business offer, so DD and I each did our own curbside pickup order, but she went and picked up both. This is where I got Shrimp and Grits - I actually had Rockfish from 99 Sea Level. Old lady memory.
So, the ocean was within steps of us and the pool was within steps of us. But we did neither. The pool was too deep for the girls by themselves at 3ft 9 in and daughter wasn't up for holding onto them. She was on work calls too much, including room, evening and driving. (Take a dang day off!) I couldn't do just one. Their activity level at these ages meant one of us would probably drown.
Anyway, I walked the streets in the mornings as well as sunrises. In the mornings you have that fresh, cool and more isolated feel that I enjoy. The girls (all 3) slept through this and only awakened when I came in with the breakfast bag and coffee. Then we had the ride to Assateague and a quick stop at the Outlets for some Crocs for the girls. A Nike visit has also been planned but there was a waiting line to get in so that was ditched. Going to and from home, a gas stop each way for gas and potty. The return trip the bathrooms had a sign that they were not open, but daughter asked and she was allowed to take the girls in and use them. They were clean with hand sanitizer available as well as water and pump soap. We didn't use the dryer - just washed shook sanitized and shook some more. On the way home we carried leftovers plus sandwiches I made from food we brought - ham and cheese sandwiches on hawaiian rolls - so little exposure.
All said, it's difficult to avoid people completely even in a small place but I didn't feel significantly threatened. After all, we basically stayed off the beach and the Boardwalk during the popular times and didn't use the pool. The girls love hotels and enjoyed getting some treats/chips from the market and also doing the crafts that the hotel offered each day, prepacked and handed to them in a plastic bag, plus getting to pick a little toy from the boat on wheels behind the check in desk.
Was this a risk worth taking? For the moment, yes. This was not a Myrtle Beach type hot spot. Was it normal? No. Was wearing a mask at the beach a problem? No. We had highs of 80-90 during our trip and 'my' masks didn't bother me, plus the girls actually wore them also, because if someone else is doing it they want it also. They weren't required. I wore the blue and white disposable and my route 1 apparel Maryland strong, and Maryland flag with crab masks. Got quite a few comments on those because seems like everyone I met works in Delaware but lives in Maryland.
Still on the fence about my Hyatt trip end of July as I haven't canceled yet.
Last photo - early morning tidal pools. The sea washed in a few horseshoe crabs and flipped them on the sand, effectively stranding them until the next high tide. I flipped over 3 or 4 and got them back in the water so they could swim back out. You can see the last one as a dot to the left in the tidal pool with the people reflected. High tide was 2 hours away, and that one probably got rescued then.
PS: was not impressed by the beach. Definitely like Ocean City's better. Too narrow and also a lot of people debris in the mornings. Saw no beach grooming but they may have it, I don't really know.
Editing again: I used my Marriott gift card (20% off) to pay for dinner and would have used it for the 2nd dinner. They easily accepted it and knew how to process it, which was nice since this is inconsistent at Marriott. I'll buy another now that I have a small balance only left. I really should stress how friendly and caring the staff were - they get an outstanding for that. The staff makes or breaks a place in my opinion.
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