Happy 1st Anniversary

It's hard to believe that our first wedding anniversary has come and gone but here I sit, ready to share with you highlights of our anniversary getaway. Where did the year go?! :) Initially, we had hoped to plan our re-do honeymoon vacation to Ireland and Scotland since the volcano in Ireland ruined our initial plans. But alas, bedroom furniture took precedence, so after lots of Googling and Internet searches, we had a thought. Why not visit the place where it all started ~ Bethany Beach.

As you all know, Ed proposed to me while we were on vacation in Bethany. So it seemed appropriate that we spend our first anniversary in a place that holds so many wonderful memories. My Mom's good friend Shelia and her family graciously offered for us to use their GORGEOUS beach house for our trip and we gladly accepted. Since it is impossible to explain how adorable this house is, here is a quick tour:

As I said in the video, my family has been lucky enough to stay in this house for close to 5 years and hopefully will continue the tradition in years to come. Thank you Doyle family!!

After our scenic drive over the Bay Bridge and through rural MD and DE, we made it to the house and settled in. I forgot how much I love this drive - lots of open land and farms.


After a quick trip to the grocery and liquor stores (a must!), we cleaned up and headed to Rehobeth Beach for some dinner. If you are not familiar with the MD/DE beaches, here is a look at how they are laid out. Rehobeth is about a 20 minute drive north along the beautiful Coastal Highway. It was a beautiful night so we walked around town and on the boardwalk a bit before settling in at Dos Locos for some margaritas and burritos.


Day 2 brought us sunshine but a ridiculous amount of wind. But that didn't matter, because we were headed to Milton, DE to visit the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. We are big fans of their beer so thought it was appropriate that we see where it was made. Throw in a free tasting and we were on board! The historic town of Milton was adorable - completely quintessential with small streets and big houses with wrap around porches.



When we arrived, we were greeted by a HUGE tree house and a friendly face who offered us some fancy schmancy protective goggles and our beer tasting coupons.


Our lively tour guide John took us through the brewery and taught us all about how they make their micro brews and how a guy named Sam started the business with a 10 gallon brew tank and $30,000. Fifteen years later, they are the 13th largest micro-brewery in the country. Not too shabby!



Next it was onto the tasting. We enjoyed 4 different beers: Midas Touch, Palo Santo Marron, Black and Blue (our fav!) and Raison D'Etre. Cheers!


The tasting at Dogfish Brewery was a great time, but it was time to get down to business and go to the Outlets!!! It's amazing what you will buy when you have a small beer buzz! Since my wardrobe is much to be desired these days, I went a little nuts, but got some really good stuff. After hitting 1 of 3 outlet areas, we decided to grab some food at none other than the Dogfish Head Brew Pub in town and ended the evening with a good old movie - the Lincoln Lawyer (good flick btw).

Day 3 was our actual Anniversary and like our wedding day, it was gray and gloomy. No worries - we had no problem having a good time. After a delicious Cracker Barrel breakfast, we continued our shopping extravaganza at the remaining 2 outlets and in the small town of Bethany. We relaxed in the HUGE jacuzzi tub before heading out to our Anniversary dinner at Bluecoast Grill. Mom and Dad Q. surprised us with a gift card to this place so we indulged ~ the night ended with cupcakes and champagne back at the house and a very drunk Laura. :)



Day 4 (also known as Laura's hangover day) was VERY low key. We took a drive south to Fenwick Island and realized that Fenwick does not have a small town like I thought. It did have a Lighthouse, a Country Store and some really cute housing. The remainder of the day was spent in Rehobeth again now that the stores were open and then dinner close to home. The drive back was un-eventful, but we did have a sighting of Ed's favorite local college ~ University of Maryland University College. He loves that the college not only has the word "college", but "university" twice! :)



All in all, it was a wonderful anniversary. We had a great time at the beach and I was able to cross "go to the beach during the off-season" off my bucket list. :) Now that we are home, re-united with Lucy, we are looking forward to the summer and the many, many home projects we have ahead of us. Happy Anniversary!!!