Anthony Carson remembers visiting Fenwick Island to interview for its then-vacant town manager position this winter.
“Deserted” was the word he used to describe Delaware and Maryland’s beach resorts at that time of the year. He even had trouble finding a restaurant to sit down and eat in Delaware’s southernmost resort beach and Ocean City.
With thousands already packing their cars and gearing to make the trek to Delaware’s South Coastal resorts — sometimes for the full summer — Carson, now Fenwick’s first town manager, said he has been briefed on the magnitude of the season in the area.
“That’s great. That’s what, at a resort on the beach, you expect,” said Carson, who moved to the area from Ohio, where he was a county administrator. “This is what the town gears up for: the summer season. I can see the enthusiasm by the staff. They realize this is our time to shine.”
As the average price for a gallon of regular gas in Delaware continues beyond $3 and national prices break records set the day before, AAA predicted last week that gas prices will not deter travelers and, in fact, more people will travel in Delaware and nationwide this Memorial Day weekend than last year’s summer kickoff holiday.
The travel experts projected that Delawareans traveling by car 50 miles or more from their home will increase .1 percent this weekend over last year’s Memorial Day weekend to 92,200. Some 7,700 Delaware residents are expected to board a plane this weekend.
AAA projected Monday that travelers in Delaware will spend $774 on vacation this Memorial Day weekend, an average household cost in the southeast region which includes this state.
An average price for a gallon of regular in Delaware of $3.06, as of Wednesday - 10 cents higher than this time last year - is not enough to keep people from packing bags and leaving home this weekend, according to AAA. And many of them will head to Delaware’s beach resorts.
“This is the kickoff to summer,” said Ela Voluck, AAA spokeswoman. “Nobody wants to miss out on that.”
Reading off population estimates formulated through work on this year’s comprehensive plan, Carson said that between 4,000 and 5,000 stay in Fenwick Island homes and hotels every day in the summer.
The small town of less than 400 residents can accommodate up to 5,300 people, according to comprehensive-plan estimations based on examination of amount of residential bedrooms and hotel rooms.
Bethany Beach Police Chief Michael Redmon said his job changes “drastically” on and after the Memorial Day holiday. Roughly half of the town’s 2,000 annual complaints are called in between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
According to Redmon and town population estimations, Bethany Beach, a town of roughly 1,000 full-time residents, accommodates 15,000 to 20,000 on holidays during the summer season such as this weekend, July 4 and Labor Day weekend. Bethany officials reached that number by examining traffic tickets issued, residential bedrooms, rental licenses and hotel rooms.
“Memorial Day through Labor Day is truly our season here, with the demand and influx of people vacationing in and around Bethany Beach,” Redmon said, voicing something many people here take for granted. “It’s progressively grown.”
As for Carson, his perception of summer on Delaware’s coast has been formulated to this point only by stories, local enthusiasm and word of mouth. But he knows what to expect.
“I keep hearing about all the people and the traffic,” Carson said.