Delaware: the First State and the Last State

I bet you're guessing what I meant by Delaware being the first and last state.....so, I'll explain further.  Delaware was the first state to ratify the U.S. constitution, and it was the last state for me to visit.  I officially checked off my bucket list for being in all 50 states!

My daughters, Lisa and Heidi, knew that Don didn't care whether or not he made it to Delaware.  So, they offered to go with me.  Heidi and I flew from Phoenix and Lisa came from Denver, and both our flights landed in Philadelphia at the same time (different terminals).  We met up on the shuttle to the car rental place.  This was the beginning of an awesome long weekend!

Lisa brought along a picture from the time when she was a baby and Heidi was just two.  Don was holding Lisa on his lap while Heidi "shared" her powdered doughnut with her.  Thus began the saga of "Flat Don" who would travel with us everywhere.  What Heidi didn't think of, Lisa did!  It was one photo opportunity after another, most of them posted on Facebook!

After about a 30 minute drive from the airport, we arrived at the Embassy Hotel , situated right across the street from the University of Delaware.

Both girls commented about being glad that I wasn't decrepit and in a wheelchair!  They teasingly said the trip would have been off.  I even had my picture taken in the handicap shower that came with the room.  Who knows, Lisa made the reservation months ago, and maybe was preparing for everything and anything.  We all laughed.  You have to have a good sense of humor with a dash of snarky to hold your own in this family.

We dropped off our luggage and drove another 20 miles south to Chesapeake Inn for a seafood dinner.  We discovered along the way, that it was in Maryland.  So, we had been in 4 states that one day!  We sure aren't used to states being so small and close together.  A twenty minute drive in Phoenix won't even get you from one side of the valley to the other.

 We were seated at a table by the window, overlooking the marina.  The dinner was absolutely wonderful.  Heidi had her Ahi the Sicilian style (EVOO, garlic, pimentos, capers and lemon) and I had Ahi Chesapeake style(baked with crab imperial, lobster sauce).  Lisa chose the swordfish steak.  If we had known how large the portions were, we could have shared two dishes between the three of us.

 After dinner, we enjoyed ourselves by walking around the marina and dock.  This must be a very popular place, since it was quite busy.  Day one came to a close with us looking forward to the next day's adventures.

Delaware and the DuPonts

One place the three of us all wanted to see was the Nemours Estate, built by Alfred DuPont and situated on 300 beautifully landscaped acres.  The house itself is 47,000 square feet and has 20 bathrooms.  As we approached the iron gates, we knew this would be an interesting tour.

 The mansion itself, while massive, isn't ostentatious on the outside.  The rather plain white and gray exterior doesn't hint at the 105 luxurious rooms inside.  The estate was named after Alfred DuPont's great-great grandfather, Pierre Samuel DuPont de Nemours.

 Turning around at the front steps of the house, this was our view!

 Heidi and Lisa posed by one of the huge gates on the grounds.  At this point in time, our legs and feet were still fresh.  At the end of the tour, we calculated that we had walked for 3 and a half hours.  That's a lot of steps!

 As we entered the house,we went up the impressive staircase, and gazed at the beautiful chandelier and stained glass window.

The chandelier below was located in Denise DuPont's bedroom.  She was a French war orphan and adopted as an infant by Alicia and Alfred.  The delicate glass flowers were hand blown, and there is even a matching mirror and lamp.  Opulent, to say the least.

 There are many formal gardens located on all sides of the house, so if you were a guest, you were guaranteed a great view from your bedroom window.

As we passed through the rooms, various docents provided additional tidbits of information.  One lady told us to look closer at this chandelier.  Between the lights are perfume bottles. As the lights warmed up, the perfume would give off a scent!  My gosh, how does one even think about that ahead of time?  If you look close, you can see the bottles with the stoppers on them.

 This was the cooking part of the kitchen.  There was a separate room for the ice boxes (later turned into refrigerators) and 27 sets of dinnerware.  Each meal was served on a different set of plates when guests were present.  Glad I wasn't a servant that had to do the dishes for them! By the time they had cleaned off the plates from the table, I'm sure they were already getting pots and pans dirty for the next meal.

 Other fun facts:  the house included a bowling alley that had both duck pins and bowling pins, an exercise room with it's own showers, a movie room, a library and a billiards room.  In addition, there was a cold storage room used for their mink coats.  That room had a iron gate secured with a padlock.

After touring the house, we strolled out into the gardens, admiring the fountains and pools, thankful that the day was absolutely gorgeous. 

As we walked back to the car, our feet were tired, but our hearts were happy.  What a wonderful day that the Lord had blessed us with!

Chesapeake City

After a late lunch/early dinner, Lisa suggested that we return to Chesapeake City while it was still daylight.  What a charming little town!  Almost all the houses were built in the 1800's, and it seemed like they were 3/4 size.  I guess, at the time they were built, they were considered absolutely huge.

We strolled down the main street, reading the informational plaques describing each structure.

 Lisa stopped by the huge clock, in front of the town hall.

 And here is the "guy" that was just hanging around the town hall!

 This teeny, tiny structure was situated right next door to a larger house.  It is considered the last standing "office" in Chesapeake City.  It was built at a time when it was improper to run a business inside your home, so many businessman built little places like this.  It looked like a playhouse to me.

 This the Bayard House, situated on the water of the Chesapeake Canal and the oldest building in town.   So glad that the majority of the houses in this town have been lovingly restored, rather than torn down.

Believe it or not, we did pass on ice cream here.  We knew the ice cream produced at the University of Delaware couldn't be beat, so we opted to hold off until we got back to Newark.

 Of course, the only cat that we saw headed straight for Lisa.  She got rewarded with some nice pets, and then walked off , quite contented.

One last stop before bedtime: check out the UDairy Creamery at the University of Delaware .  Deliciousness in a cone!  After all, these were not just plain vanilla and chocolate.  Lisa had coffee fudge cookie ice cream,  Heidi  ordered the Blue Hen which is vanilla, fudge, and peanut butter cups topped with blue and yellow sprinkles.  I wasn't as daring and stuck with butter pecan.  The Fighting Blue Hens do wonders with ice cream!  On top of that, the huge scoop on each cone was only $3.00.  

Perfect way to end the day!

Delaware, Day 3

This would be another long day for us as we headed south to explore two well known beaches: Cape Henlopen and Rehoboth Beach.  Flat Don was brought out of Lisa's purse, and I'm sure he was enjoying the fresh ocean air as I stopped on the pier.  Heidi and Lisa stopped and let me take their photo at the same spot.

We drove to another part of the state park, and of course, Don was wanting to have his picture taken again.  Heidi and Lisa obliged.

Even though the day was partly cloudy, it was still in the low 70's, perfect for dipping our toes into the Atlantic Ocean.  The last time we were together swimming in the Atlantic, it was in Florida when Heidi and the girls were in their teens!  It has been awhile.  This view is looking north toward the lighthouse.

One of the best things about going this time of the year is that 99% of the tourists are at home, and there were only a few other people on the beach.

 The water wasn't as cold as we expected it to be, even though the first step caught our attention!  We made sure we got pictures, just in case we were questioned.

Next to us were a group of birds, running all along the water's edge, each time missing the waves that broke by them.  I took several photos, and was lucky that one turned out.

What do you do when you have to get back in the car and your feet are wet and sandy?  This, and afterwards, we dried them off with the hot air driers in the bathroom.  It worked out pretty well.

In another part of Cape Henlopen state park we discovered an additional place to take Don's picture.  Of all the different dwarfs, this is the one Lisa chose.  Maybe he was just "hangry" at this point in time and wanted the shenanigans to stop so we could go look for a place to eat.

Next stop: Rehoboth Beach, which is a very popular place during summer. In October, not so much, and many of the shops and little restaurants along the boardwalk were closed.  Not a problem for us.

After walking along for a bit, our stomachs were calling to us:  it was definitely lunch time.  We wound up at the Greene Turtle.  Service was abysmal, but the crabby melt sandwiches and the view from our table made up for it.  It seems we were fixated on seafood this weekend, for some unknown reason.  Definitely not here for the Mexican food.

 The view from our table:

 Another walk after lunch brought us right by Laurel Street.  By this point, the wind had picked up, as you can tell from the bangs that were swept away from my forehead.

 Time for another impromptu picture.  The shirt never made it home, but there was more laughing involved.  Flat Don/ Dad was quiet, and never made a comment.

The East Coast people must love their candy.  There were two Candy Kitchens about a block apart and one in Lewes, a nearby town.  Heidi and Lisa said that we needed to support the local economy, so both of them left with bags of candy to take home.

Afterwards we opted to go back to UDairy Creamery one last time, just to be sure the awesome ice cream wasn't a fluke...... Lisa wound up with butterscotch soda ice cream with caramel swirls and Heidi decided on chocolate brownie ice cream with caramel turtles.

On a sad note, Flat Don didn't finish his dinner, so there was no ice cream for him.  Don't worry, he survived even though he was a bit cranky.

Even though the trip was a short one, it was packed with lots of laughter and memories to last a lifetime.  Thanks again, to my precious daughters, for making it possible to visit Delaware.  Love you both a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.

Arizona is colder than Denmark!

Maybe this isn't true all of the year, but yesterday it was for my Danish cousin, Sarah, her boyfriend, Lasse, and us!

It all started when we were thinking of somewhere to go while Sarah and Lasse were here.  We decided to take them up to Flagstaff and to the ski lift on Snowbowl.  After all, it has been unseasonably hot here this last week, and it would be a cooler place to visit.

Don looked it up on the internet, bought tickets and found out the expected temperatures:

Okay, I thought, I can handle 60 degrees.  No problem.  I ended up bring a light sweater, and a heavier one.  Don and Lasse both wore shorts.  After all, neither of them will wear long pants unless it is below 40 degrees.  Sarah also brought a sweater and long pants. We found out as we got out of the truck we were WAY under-dressed!  The wind was blowing and it was chilly when we got out of the truck.....and we weren't even at the bottom of the lift yet!  Yikes!

It's a 2000 feet climb in altitude.  As we were riding on the lift, we see people coming down, all bundled up in winter jackets and wool hats.  Some had heavy blankets over their legs and one person looked like a mummy they were so covered up!  Oh my gosh, I hate to be cold and knew right away it would NOT be warmer at the top! Sarah was cuddled up to Lasse, trying to keep warm.  No wonder some people were looking at Don and Lasse with their bare legs!

It was very windy at the top.  We hurried to find a more sheltered place behind a wall before we made the return trip down.

 At least Sarah and Lasse managed to smile.  By that time, my hands were so cold I could hardly take the cap off the lens and take pictures.

As we got on the lift at the top, the forest service guy said it was 30 degrees....and only 18 degrees with the wind chill!  He had on a very heavy jacket, hat and mittens and he was complaining how cold he was. 

The views were fantastic, but not many pictures were taken since I had to either sit on my hands or have them in my pocket.  My fingers were still cold and tingling 30 minutes after we got back to the truck. 

Lesson learned:  don't believe everything that you see on the internet!  It was not even close to being 50-60 degrees like the website advertises. Just because it was 98 degrees and hot in Phoenix doesn't mean you can't be shivering and cold a few short hours later!