Delaware
14th Anniversary
October 25, 2008
State of Delaware
City of Wilmington
Old Swedes' Church
Day One
We flew from Seattle through Minneapolis to Philadelphia and then drove toward the New Jersey coast to begin our Delaware vacation. Four states before we even got to Delaware!
Day Two
We arose with a quick breakfast at our hotel and drove to the Cape May - Lewes Ferry that would take us to Delaware. It was a stunningly beautiful Fall day, and we saw cargo ships going across the Delaware Bay on their way up the Delaware River. Whether it was the size of the ferry or whether we were close to the mouth of Delaware Bay, we felt more motion on this ferry than on the ferries we ride across Puget Sound in Seattle. We looked around historic downtown Lewes, the first city in the first state of America. It was quaint and friendly. We saw the Cannonball House with a cannonball lodged in its foundation from the War of 1812. Pretty cool.
Then we went through Cape Henlopen State Park which is where Eric's family used to vacation in the summer. They would tent camp at the beach for a week, taking home lots of shells and fun family memories. He enjoyed reminiscing as we walked all over the area. We climbed one of the thirteen observation towers built during World War II to spot German ships and U-boats. The view was expansive. We walked along the beach and picked up shells, crab exoskeletons, and horseshoe crabtails. Julie loved the seafoam bubbles and how they wiggled in the wind. We then moved on to Rehoboth Beach where we walked along the deserted boardwalk (October of course) and dined at Victoria's Restaurant in the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel where we were staying. (Anyone catch the significance of the Plaza Hotel?)
Day Three
After a lovely night sleep with the balcony door open to the sights and sounds of the ocean's surf, we headed to Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast. Popular opinion on the east coast is that Dunkin' Donuts coffee is better than Starbucks, so we decided to give it a test (oh, and we had a few donuts, too). We did not think the coffee was as good as the coffee we have in Seattle from a variety of places, but that's just us. We then hit the road heading south on US 1 to Bethany Beach. On the way to Bethany Beach is Delaware Seashore State Park and in that park is the Indian River Lifesaving Station. The Indian River Lifesaving Station is the last lifesaving station on the east coast that remains in it's original location. These lifesaving stations were vital in saving many people from shipwrecks along the coast. We saw a map of the shipwrecks in the Delaware Bay area, and there were hundreds and hundreds in the past 300 or so years. We also found some books there on local history (the WWII towers, Fort Miles) as well as a children's book about the British attack on Lewes in the War of 1812 which produced the Cannonball House we saw yesterday. After driving through Bethany Beach we headed inland and up through Georgetown and Milford before stopping for lunch in Dover. We drove past Dover Air Force Base as well as the Dover Speedway.
From Dover we decided to take a scenic route marked on our map which wound through several wildlife refuges along the Delaware River. Much of it was farm country and though the leaves were just past their peak it was a nice drive on a twisting two land road. In the distance we spotted a huge cooling tower from a nuclear power plant, and as we got closer we realized it was across the Delaware River in New Jersey. There were alarm sirens in all the communities in Delaware along the river that would go off in the event of some nuclear accident. Yikes! We eventually made it up to the Wilmington area through a maze of oil refineries and interstates (there are no interstates in most of Delaware) and checked in at the lovely Hotel du Pont. The du Pont family has a very extensive history in Delaware as we would learn.
After resting for only a few minutes we were off again and believe it or not we were on our way back to Dover. We had stopped earlier in the day and bought tickets to see the Harlem Gospel Choir at the Schwartz Center for the Arts. It was a small venue and yet it was only half full. We were also two of the youngest in attendance with the average age probably at least 60. The choir, after making several comments about how quiet Delaware was, proceeded to bring the house down. Their enthusiasm, joy and love for singing praise was infectious and by the end of the show our hands were sore from clapping along and our voices were tired from singing and shouting. After the show we had dinner and ice cream at Friendly's and drove back to Hotel du Pont.
Day Four
We had breakfast in the Green Room of the Hotel du Pont. It was a beautiful room and when we started we were the only ones there. The hotel has a collection of art by members of the Wyeth family who are from the Wilmington area. We spent some time admiring the paintings and our favorite was A.N. Wyeth. After breakfast and our art viewing we went to the Old Swedes Church where we were going to renew our vows. When we arrived we were greeted by a wonderful older lady who promptly started giving us a tour. We learned all about the church and the different parts of the building. After touring the church building we also received a tour of an 18th century stone house also located on the property and learned a lot about the Swedish and Dutch people that originally settled the Delaware area. We renewed our vows outside under the beautiful fall foliage of the Old Swedes Church. It was another wonderful time of recommitting ourselves to the vision we have for our marriage.
After Old Swedes we headed to New Castle, Delaware. In New Castle we first stopped in at the New Castle Court House. We were met by a guide (Joan) who was extremely knowledgeable about New Castle and Delaware history. We learned about the history of how Delaware came to be shaped the way it is, why they are called the first state and about many of the significant personalities in Delaware history. Unfortunately she had too much history and we had to leave the tour to be able to see some other things before we left. We walked around New Castle and saw some of the other historic buildings. We saw the New Castle waterfront on our way out of town and the Delaware River was pretty choppy due to the wind which had picked up. I'm glad we took the ferry earlier in the week because the river did not look friendly anymore.
Our last area to visit in Delaware before we left was the Brandywine Valley, home to beautiful rolling fall colored hills and the many mansions of the du Pont family with a completely different feel from the beach and city areas of the state.
October 25, 2008
State of Delaware
City of Wilmington
Old Swedes' Church
Day One
We flew from Seattle through Minneapolis to Philadelphia and then drove toward the New Jersey coast to begin our Delaware vacation. Four states before we even got to Delaware!
Day Two
We arose with a quick breakfast at our hotel and drove to the Cape May - Lewes Ferry that would take us to Delaware. It was a stunningly beautiful Fall day, and we saw cargo ships going across the Delaware Bay on their way up the Delaware River. Whether it was the size of the ferry or whether we were close to the mouth of Delaware Bay, we felt more motion on this ferry than on the ferries we ride across Puget Sound in Seattle. We looked around historic downtown Lewes, the first city in the first state of America. It was quaint and friendly. We saw the Cannonball House with a cannonball lodged in its foundation from the War of 1812. Pretty cool.
Then we went through Cape Henlopen State Park which is where Eric's family used to vacation in the summer. They would tent camp at the beach for a week, taking home lots of shells and fun family memories. He enjoyed reminiscing as we walked all over the area. We climbed one of the thirteen observation towers built during World War II to spot German ships and U-boats. The view was expansive. We walked along the beach and picked up shells, crab exoskeletons, and horseshoe crabtails. Julie loved the seafoam bubbles and how they wiggled in the wind. We then moved on to Rehoboth Beach where we walked along the deserted boardwalk (October of course) and dined at Victoria's Restaurant in the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel where we were staying. (Anyone catch the significance of the Plaza Hotel?)
Day Three
After a lovely night sleep with the balcony door open to the sights and sounds of the ocean's surf, we headed to Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast. Popular opinion on the east coast is that Dunkin' Donuts coffee is better than Starbucks, so we decided to give it a test (oh, and we had a few donuts, too). We did not think the coffee was as good as the coffee we have in Seattle from a variety of places, but that's just us. We then hit the road heading south on US 1 to Bethany Beach. On the way to Bethany Beach is Delaware Seashore State Park and in that park is the Indian River Lifesaving Station. The Indian River Lifesaving Station is the last lifesaving station on the east coast that remains in it's original location. These lifesaving stations were vital in saving many people from shipwrecks along the coast. We saw a map of the shipwrecks in the Delaware Bay area, and there were hundreds and hundreds in the past 300 or so years. We also found some books there on local history (the WWII towers, Fort Miles) as well as a children's book about the British attack on Lewes in the War of 1812 which produced the Cannonball House we saw yesterday. After driving through Bethany Beach we headed inland and up through Georgetown and Milford before stopping for lunch in Dover. We drove past Dover Air Force Base as well as the Dover Speedway.
From Dover we decided to take a scenic route marked on our map which wound through several wildlife refuges along the Delaware River. Much of it was farm country and though the leaves were just past their peak it was a nice drive on a twisting two land road. In the distance we spotted a huge cooling tower from a nuclear power plant, and as we got closer we realized it was across the Delaware River in New Jersey. There were alarm sirens in all the communities in Delaware along the river that would go off in the event of some nuclear accident. Yikes! We eventually made it up to the Wilmington area through a maze of oil refineries and interstates (there are no interstates in most of Delaware) and checked in at the lovely Hotel du Pont. The du Pont family has a very extensive history in Delaware as we would learn.
After resting for only a few minutes we were off again and believe it or not we were on our way back to Dover. We had stopped earlier in the day and bought tickets to see the Harlem Gospel Choir at the Schwartz Center for the Arts. It was a small venue and yet it was only half full. We were also two of the youngest in attendance with the average age probably at least 60. The choir, after making several comments about how quiet Delaware was, proceeded to bring the house down. Their enthusiasm, joy and love for singing praise was infectious and by the end of the show our hands were sore from clapping along and our voices were tired from singing and shouting. After the show we had dinner and ice cream at Friendly's and drove back to Hotel du Pont.
Day Four
We had breakfast in the Green Room of the Hotel du Pont. It was a beautiful room and when we started we were the only ones there. The hotel has a collection of art by members of the Wyeth family who are from the Wilmington area. We spent some time admiring the paintings and our favorite was A.N. Wyeth. After breakfast and our art viewing we went to the Old Swedes Church where we were going to renew our vows. When we arrived we were greeted by a wonderful older lady who promptly started giving us a tour. We learned all about the church and the different parts of the building. After touring the church building we also received a tour of an 18th century stone house also located on the property and learned a lot about the Swedish and Dutch people that originally settled the Delaware area. We renewed our vows outside under the beautiful fall foliage of the Old Swedes Church. It was another wonderful time of recommitting ourselves to the vision we have for our marriage.
After Old Swedes we headed to New Castle, Delaware. In New Castle we first stopped in at the New Castle Court House. We were met by a guide (Joan) who was extremely knowledgeable about New Castle and Delaware history. We learned about the history of how Delaware came to be shaped the way it is, why they are called the first state and about many of the significant personalities in Delaware history. Unfortunately she had too much history and we had to leave the tour to be able to see some other things before we left. We walked around New Castle and saw some of the other historic buildings. We saw the New Castle waterfront on our way out of town and the Delaware River was pretty choppy due to the wind which had picked up. I'm glad we took the ferry earlier in the week because the river did not look friendly anymore.
Our last area to visit in Delaware before we left was the Brandywine Valley, home to beautiful rolling fall colored hills and the many mansions of the du Pont family with a completely different feel from the beach and city areas of the state.