The Delaware beaches are seeing a sudden surge of visitors a lot earlier than the usual summer season, especially Rehoboth Beach.
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"Last year surprised everybody and we had such a great turnout, and we're really looking forward to 2022 as well," said Carrie Lingo with the Rehoboth Dewey Chamber of Commerce.
She says this could be a record-breaking summer as far as attendance.
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Historically, Delaware beaches don't become busy until after the Fourth of July. But since the pandemic, it's been a hustle and bustle of beachgoers arriving here in search of a spring fling.
Bob and Janice Muller from Claymont, Delaware are among those early arrivals.
"We were down here in January when they had their blizzard," Bob said.
"So we enjoyed a foot of snow with a heated pool in the hotel," Janice said.
"Then we decided to come back down here for another few days," Bob said.
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The summer of 2021 saw an influx of visitors from as far away as Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.
So merchants have started preparing early this season.
Hotel and rental bookings are already up, and restaurants and shops are desperately trying to hire more people for the summer crush, which seems to already be in full swing.
"Everyone's very excited. I would say that a challenge right now is staffing and supplies as we're all experiencing. So I think the message is to be kind and be patient and we'll all have a fun summer together," said Lingo.