Oh, those lovely style + travel bloggers.

Their perfectly curated outfits and cups of morning coffee mixed with winged eyeliner at the beach and magical image retouching that turns everything bright and pastel and wondrous. I could spend months perusing their blogs and their trips and the accessories they wore to that picturesque brunch on the beach.

Well, my vacation may not have been as picture perfect, but it was real-life perfect. I had grand visions of making the perfect blog post with the loveliest images of me in my fun vaca outfits but once we got there and started enjoying the trip, I wanted to focus on making memories with my husband and his family than posing for style photos. Also, I forgot my battery camera on the one day I could have spent taking excellent pics - but I say it was for the best!



Here is a badly photographed recap of our magical vacation in Fenwick, Delaware!

ACTIVITIES

Fenwick Island State Park - What a beautiful and quiet beach this was to visit! We had amazing weather for our entire week, so I was able to hit the beach 3 of those days. Parking at the state park beach was only $10 per car and a very short walk over to the actual beach itself.

An added bonus was the eclipse happening as we were on the beach. Another beach goer shared their eclipse glasses with us, so the whole family was able to witness the event.

The beach allowed dogs which was fun to watch. We had some great waves, too, so Brian and I spent a lot of time wave surfing. It was a blast! The ocean was very clean and a pretty shade of blue green which made it a pleasant experience to swim in.




Assateague Island National Seashore - My 30th birthday happened to fall during vacation, so my request was to visit Assateague and see the wild horses. The original forecast was rain on my bday, so we took our trip on a beautifully warm and sunny Tuesday.

We had no official plans for the day, so we made the 30 minute drive and decided to park in the State Park portion of the island which was $20, but gave us a pass to visit that was good for 7 days. Just to note - I did plan on taking amazing photos on this trip but realized after we arrived that my camera battery was still plugged into the charger back at the house. Brian offered to drive back so we could get it - but I decided that maybe it was just fate and to enjoy the trip through my own eyes rather than my camera lens. The State Park had a beach area, plenty of bathrooms and changing rooms, a small beach shop that also had firewood and other essentials for the many camping grounds throughout the island.

After parking at the beach front, we took a short walk and decided to drive over to another area where they had all sorts of rentals: bikes, kayaks, and even canoes and stand up paddle boards! We rented bikes and adventured through the island for about an hour. We were not disappointed - we saw so many wild horses and even some deer! It was amazing to see them walking around like it was no big deal that people's camping trailers and hanging laundry were right next to them.



Once we returned our bikes, we changed into our bathing suits and headed to the beach. It was another gorgeous, sunny day so we were able to fully enjoy the quiet time and even snoozed in the sunshine for a bit. I highly recommend taking a trip to see the horses!






Other Fun - The community we stayed in had a lot of other fun activities for us. There were free kayak and SUP rentals which we took advantage of, as well as an awesome community pool that had some of the best drinks I had all vacation!

I learned that I like kayaking much better than a stand up paddle board, and I like drinking grapefruit crushes more than either of those activities. The pool even had live music one afternoon! It was so wonderful to just sit back and relax!

FOOD

Okay, obviously the most important part of any vacation is what you're eating. When we weren't grilling at our rental home or eating cheese fries by the community pool (which coincidentally had some of the best drinks I had the whole trip) we were able to visit some local establishments.

Donuts at The Fractured Prune -


What I ate: We got 6 donuts and egg & cheese bagel breakfast sandwiches.

Donut Flavors included:
Margarita
Carnival
O.C. Sand
Morning Buzz
Peanut Butter Cup
Death By Chocolate

Thoughts: YUM! This small donut shop has multiple locations in the area. The donuts were freshly made, glazed, and topped to-order. They were hot and fresh and soooo delicious! Every flavor we got was a good one!



2. Harpoon Hanna's - This local establishment had a long wait and was pretty packed. It is right on the water and has beautiful views, as well as a deck with a bar. However, the food was unremarkable and the drinks were lackluster as well. It seems more like a touristy spot than a hidden gem. Before apps, they did bring around a basket filled with breads and muffins, and I have to say the coconut muffin was pretty good. But, that was the most memorable part of the meal.


3. Catch 54 - Probably my favorite dinner of the trip! And it just so happened to be on my 30th Birthday - which is why I have a nice glass of bubbly!

Seriously though, if you're in the area you must stop in here for dinner. The location was a bit off the main road and it wasn't busy at all. There was a back deck and outside sitting area that had a gorgeous sunset view. We sat inside, and the dining area looked new and modern. All of our apps & meals were delicious, and this Prosecco wasn't too bad either (obviously)!











4. Parched Pelican - We drove down the Ocean City, MD to eat here after finding it on Yelp. While it was a Friday night, it wasn't very busy and we were easily able to grab a table without a wait. There were both inside and outside seating areas. The outside area was located by the bar that had quite a crowd. It seems like a hot spot for OCMD vacationers to stop by for a drink and quick bite before heading out for the night.

This frose was SO good and the food was pretty tasty as well. They had an interesting menu with lots of sandwiches, burgers, and lighter fare along those lines.

I'd definitely go here again, especially for another glass of frose!





5. The Cove -
Located within the community we were staying at, The Cove was a quick walk for our first night of dinner on vacation. It had a lovely indoor dining space as well as a deck that looked over one of the communities many pond/lake areas.  My salad was very good and pretty filling and they had a nice selection of beers to choose from. The table got a few other meals & apps which they all seemed to enjoy as well. For the location, it was super easy and accessible to eat here, though if we weren't staying within the community I don't feel it would be a must-visit experience.

Vacation Essentials