Heading north on Route 1, rolling past the wind-ripped sands and ragged loblolly pines of the Delaware National Seashore, I kept returning to the same inevitable conclusion: Dewey Beach was going to be just another barrier island-boardwalk town -- at best, a miniature Ocean City, Maryland. What could I possibly find to recommend it over similar resorts like Rehoboth Beach or Bethany Beach? What would set Dewey Beach apart from its more established, larger cousins to the north and south?

Hang ten: Water activities are a way of life at Dewey Beach. (Photo by Patrick Swoboda, Special to SunSpot)
As I entered the town, my preconceptions were summarily confirmed. Boxy, clapboard architecture, pizza parlors, Italian-American restaurants, seashell shops and kayak rentals are all on hand. There aren't even any rustic-looking boardwalk peculiarities like the ones you see in Ocean City (wax museums, for instance). Incorporated in 1981, Dewey Beach is the youngest of the mid-Atlantic beach resorts (and the clean, tidy, planned town looks it).

To find something unique about this tiny swath of sand and soil (population 350 during the off-season and nearly 100 times that in the summer), I would have to go beyond first impressions. Seeing that the Town of Dewey Beach office had little to offer but a parking permit -- required to park anywhere in town during the season for $15 per day -- and a few sagebrushes blowing through the lobby, I headed for Grotto Pizza.

When visiting a mid-Atlantic beach town, stopping at a Grotto franchise is considered de rigueur among true beach-culture mavens. If you're meeting friends in a place like Dewey Beach, just dine at the Grotto and they are likely to show up before you've finished dessert.

Grotto waitress Joanne Iliff was more than happy to share her insights into the type of visitors who choose Dewey Beach. "This is definitely your typical, on-a-mission-to-get-drunk kind of town," she said. "As soon as Memorial Day weekend hits, you'll see people walking up and down the street, going from bar to bar, doing belly-button shooters, that kind of thing. Dewey Beach is a great party town and it's definitely a wild scene for the young people. But it also has a lot of great stuff that the more mature crowd can enjoy."

That stuff, she says, includes good dining at low prices, kayaking on Rehoboth Bay and, of course, sunbathing and swimming on the Atlantic side of the beach.

Rusty Rudder: This hot spot is one of the places the partying throngs flock to on weekends. (Photo by Patrick Swoboda, Special to SunSpot)
After devouring about five slices of my delicious pizza bianco, I decided to take a stroll along the beach. So I got into a 1963 Ford Falcon (driven by a friend, with vanity tags reading "Sweet 63"), flipped the dial to 1340 AM (WMID) and began bopping along to the strains of Dean Martin's "Memories are Made of This."

Before hitting the beach, we cruised up and down the main drag for awhile, surveying the territory. Dewey Beach has only one road running north to south: Route 1. The other roads, numbering approximately 22, run across this mini-highway, which is only one-and-a-half miles long and crowded with motels and condominiums, restaurants, video and liquor stores, bars, miniature golf courses and the like. (As the town's promotional literature states: "Twenty-two Blocks of Fun in the Sun.")

On weekends, a coconut-oiled throng swarms the sidewalks. But during the week, the crowds are a little more manageable. (Keep this in mind, particularly in the spring and early autumn when the best deals on hotels are accompanied by relative peace, quiet and still-great weather.)

Jet-setting: Dewey Beach provides wide sands and a perfect setting for water sports. (Photo by Patrick Swoboda, Special to SunSpot)
After we pulled into one of the public parking spots off of Rodney Avenue, I walked up over the modest dune-line and headed for the open sands. And Dewey has plenty of them. In 1992, the town's property owners passed a tax referendum that now raises $160,000 annually for beach maintenance. Since 1994, there have been two extensive beach-replenishment projects, resulting in surprisingly wonderful beaches. While they aren't exactly the Outer Banks, they're not quite the precariously skinny beaches of Ocean City, either. They are clean, white and soft -- perfect for lounging or strolling down near the surf.

Across the main drag, on the town's bay side, my friend pulled into the lot of the Lighthouse Restaurant (which was advertising something called "Friday Night Taco Tossing"). I walked to the piers nearby, surveying the placid waters of Rehoboth Bay and suddenly, I realized what sets Dewey Beach apart. Besides being very clean and calm, Rehoboth Bay is also deep enough for serious yachting. Sea kayaking is the preferred mode of aquatic travel for many visitors to Dewey Beach, but the number of sizable marinas on the bay side is rather astonishing. The boats range from practical craft like pontoon boats and center-console fishing boats to gigantic cruisers.

Rehoboth Bay's contrast to its saltier counterpart is made more dramatic by its stone's-throw proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. Whereas Ocean City's bay side sometimes seems an afterthought, Rehoboth Bay is a sturdy complement -- a true presence and counterpart to the beach, allowing visitors to take full advantage of its kayaking, yachting and tubing opportunities.

No pier pressure: Dewey's proximity to Rehoboth Bay makes it a pleasant place for either a stress-free or a fun-packed vacation. (Photo by Patrick Swoboda, Special to SunSpot)
In the end, Dewey Beach is just another barrier island-boardwalk type of town (although without an actual boardwalk). But it does have its unique advantages, providing a great party scene for the younger set, excellent beaches and cheap dining for the older set, and the recreational gem of Rehoboth Bay.

As the sun began to set, the Falcon pointed south, leaving Dewey Beach and, with Sam Cooke on the radio crooning "You Send Me," I kept returning to the same inevitable conclusion: I would definitely be back.