Beach bound – here we come!

At last, the weekend before Memorial Day. Of course you are ready to go to the beach, but do you have a strategy for how to get there?

Many years ago when my mother was wheelchair bound, we didn't see any way to wheel her through the sand so she could be with us on the beach.

Thankfully, times have changed. If you visit Cape Henlopen State Park, you may have noticed that there are blue mats which enable people using standard wheelchairs to have access to the beach.

The Division of Parks and Recreation updated its beach wheelchair policy to include Mobi-Mats, which make standard wheelchair travel across the dunes possible.

Delaware State Parks offers beach wheelchairs from 8 a.m. until sunset at no charge, on a first-come, first-served basis. Calling ahead with 24-hour notice will ensure that the chair is reserved for your use.

Wheelchairs are available at Cape Henlopen main beach and Gordons Pond (call 302-645-8983) and at Tower Road parking lot, the South Inlet Day Area, and the Fenwick Island lot (call 302-227-2800).

One way to travel to the beach is to use DART First State's Park & Ride, which offers two Park & Ride lots. The Rehoboth Park & Ride is on Shuttle Road off Route 1 north of Rehoboth Avenue, and the Lewes Park & Ride is just south of Five Points on Route 1.

You can park at the Rehoboth Park & Ride lot for $10, and you'll receive up to four free unlimited ride daily bus passes.

The Lewes Park & Ride lot is located at 17616 Coastal Highway, just south of the Five Points intersection. Parking is free, and the cost to ride the bus is $2 per trip, $4.20 for a daily pass, $18 for a 7-day pass or $65 for a 30-day pass.

If you are 65 or older, you pay a reduced fare. All buses are air conditioned and equipped with wheelchair lifts.

Sara Fuller at DART recommends that you read the How to Ride section at dartfirststate.com/home/about/index.shtml. Look for the blue word "Information" and then click on Getting There Starts Here to find the guide. You can also download the DelDOT Mobile App.

If you are in Rehoboth or Dewey, one way to get about town is to take the Jolly Trolley. Since 1970, the Jolly Trolley has offered fixed routes daily from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day Monday, 18 hours per day, 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Trolleys come every 30 minutes, on the hour and half hour from Rehoboth Avenue and the Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, and every :15 and :45 hours from Dickinson Avenue in Dewey Beach on Rehoboth Bay.

Of course many of us locals arrive a few hours before 9 a.m., and put our chairs in the sand with our coffee in hand!

Whatever your strategy is this season, be prepared as our population soars to new heights. Heights? That gives me an idea!

Why don't we construct an enormous chair lift like they have at ski resorts? Instead of going up and down a mountain, it would traverse Route 1, soaring above the fray in one continuous circle of sparkling lights.

Imagine a colorful, endless loop of cars scooping us up with our beach gear in tow, our legs swinging out to plop down our toes in the sand.

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone!