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The ocean side is lined with small (and rigorously private) residential communities, while the bayfront and the charming little mini-canals dredged out like neighborhood boat slips along South Bethany are edged with weathered wood and bay-window palaces built to showcase the views and capture the breezes. Although Bethany's boardwalk stretches for a mile, its development has been so carefully limited that it scarcely intrudes on the view. Instead, it hearkens back to the time when neighbors strolled the walkway in evening comfort free of the arcade-and-radio din that hovers over Ocean City. Its summer residents and downtown business owners tend to the suburban upscale (if the name "Bethany" reminds you of "Bethesda," you aren't far off). But just on the other side of Route 1, in the pine groves along Route 26, is small-town Delaware in all its pretty, farmhouse-cottage simplicity. If its clothing shops are any indication, Bethany's women, like Rehoboth's, are strong adherents of the Flax/Eileen Fisher anti-fashion fashion revolution. Hidden away in the Bethany Town Center on Garfield Parkway at Atlantic Avenue are a couple of fine artisan shops, notably TKO (302/539-6992), a jewelry boutique whose lighthearted, spare and striking pieces (some of which have been acquired by the American Craft Museum in New York) range from zap!-smart zigzag silver earrings with cubic zirconia exclamation points ($36) to an elegant strand bracelet mixing polished black hematite, polished onyx and matte frosted onyx beads in sterling ($15) to a gorgeous cuff of alternating inch-long rectangles of freshwater tablet pearls with natural saltwater pearls ($1,300). In the same warren is Out of the Fire (302/537-6750), a gallery of hand-thrown pottery and glass. Also look for Clouds for Women (302/537-6845), a shop for those who've passed beyond Flax. Around the corner on Philadelphia Avenue is Japanesque (16 Pennsylvania Ave., 302/539-2311), which is still flexing the Flax but also swooning with kimonos, neo-Asian cocktail wear, tea pots and various Zen-worthy objets. On the other side of the Route 1 intersection, Route 26 breaks out in a string of fine and country-style antique, collectible and handcraft shops, perhaps a dozen within a couple of miles that can easily fill a few hours of cloudy afternoon. The recently restored Indian River Lifesaving Station on Route 1 just north of Indian River Inlet (admission $3; 302/227-0478) showcases the life of the men who served in the United States Life-Saving Service around the turn of the century. The pumpkin-and-burgundy two-story structure was built in 1876 and used to rescue sailors until 1962, when it was heavily damaged by a storm. Along with old photos of the service members -- complete with handlebar mustaches -- the station displays rescue gear and safety harnesses and period uniforms. And when the beach carnival and the shopping get to be too much, head inland to the serenity of the Assawoman Wildlife Area, a 2,000-acre parkland with ospreys, waterfowl, otters, rare plants, marshes, fields and forests which offers quiet spots for picnicking, fishing and clamming. (Take Route 54 west from the beaches and follow signs to "Camp Barnes." For information, call the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce, 302/539-2100 or 800/962-8773.) Not surprisingly, given its low-key approach to tourism, Bethany has a relatively small number of restaurants. The best-known (for good reason) is the unmistakably but not mindlessly new-Southwestern Sedona (26 Pennsylvania Ave.; 302/539-1200), where the pan-seared scallops are layered with smoked bacon and grilled veggies ($10), the portobello is stuffed with ostrich sausage ($8) and the Seka venison is to die for, even without those bourbon-pecan yams. Spice is handled carefully but confidently at Sedona, but fans of Mango Mike's in Alexandria should be prepared for its Mango's offshoot at the east end of Route 26/Garfield Parkway having toned down its funk-jerk style just a little for the shore folk (97 Garfield Parkway; 302/537-6621). The popular DiFebo's, which embarked on a substantial renovation last spring and now has a pretty little patio section, is a classic family-run Italian kitchen (on Route 26 a half-mile east of Route 1; 789 Garfield Parkway; 302/539-4914); and the Parkway restaurant (114 Garfield Parkway; 302/537-7500) offers classic resort-continental in a casual setting. You don't go to Bethany for nightlife. It's that simple. And the community has kept a tight rein on the dispensing of liquor licenses, so there are no bars to speak of. The exception is Mango's, the new tropical-themed restaurant at Garfield Parkway and the Boardwalk (97 Garfield Parkway; 302/537-6621), which has a nice long bar and bartenders who know what they're doing. On weekends the whole place stays open until 11:30, so if you're in need of a nightcap after playing volleyball in the sun all day, you've finally got a place to go without having to drive. There's also a nice little raw bar in one corner of this second-floor establishment and a terrace with a lovely view of the beach and ocean. Check www.mangomikes.com for details. Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 1450, Bethany Beach, DE 19930. Call 302/539-2100 or 800/962-7873. Web site: Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce |
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