Storms including large hail and high winds threatened the entire drive to Raystown Lake but all the nasty stuff stayed to the south of us.  It rained off and on but nothing serious.  We even managed to unload the whole mess without getting drenched.  The big trailer is down in a lower parking lot since our site is perched in the highest loop above the lake.  It is beautifully wooded and very quiet.  We are the only ones up here, at least until weekend.

I just have to have some of that scrapple from the Haas Meat Market for Mom to sample. It tastes just like I remember her talking about from when she was a kid.  So, we drive back to Dover to pick up some.

Since we are here, we spend sometime at Dover Air Force Base at the Air Transport Museum.  This place isn’t about all the exciting, sexy looking fighter jets.  It is all about the huge, lumbering transport planes used by the military through the years to move all manner of stuff.   It is an impressive collection and our tour guide knows all about everything and is obviously proud of the work they do there and the history entrusted to them.  The planes are amazing and the museum displays well worth the walk through.

From the old control tower we see a massive building complex. It is the receiving area and full forensic lab to which every fallen American Soldier is returned as their first stateside stop enroute to their final resting grounds.  My mind’s eye sees the thousands who have passed through here and it isn’t possible to stop that lump rising up in my throat.  God bless you all and your families for the ultimate sacrifice to keep us free.

It is a bright, cool morning perfect for a stroll through Battery Park along the Delaware River.

Next, more history. Cobble stone streets and twisty shaded alleys crisscross the historic district.

The modest Dutch House dates back to 1690.

E.I.s first success in America, black powder.  At Eleutherian Mills we toured the first du Pont home, modest compared to many other of their mansions one can tour.  The house was cool to see but the best part of the site is the manufacturing grounds tour.  Restored equipment and working models demonstrate the making of black powder from refining sulfur and potassium nitrate to the oh-so-touchy mixing process.

There are some great examples of waterwheels and turbines and a working belt driven machine shop. It is admittedly a bit nerdy but a fun stop.

Another bonus, it is on beautiful grounds along Brandywine Creek that has been protected from sure development had this not been set aside as an historic site. It is a lovely place for a stroll.

It starts with a parade

The coolest things? The many people in colonial attire, even the Governor of DE and the Mayor of Dover.  It makes for an interesting looking review stand.

Elementary schools and their maypole teams.

DelDOT’s Wally the Work Zone Warrior.

The Shriners have a fife and drum corp.

One of those huge wheel vintage bicycles, this one is a built for two.

Check out some 1700s pastimes

Making lace. It is kind of like tatting but instead of knotting the thread they loop and twist a lot of individual threads.  It reminds me more of weaving.  It is amazing how they manage all those different thimbles.  The finished work is beautiful but not a bone in my body says that is an art I want (have the patience) to learn.

Quilting. As always, what impressive work.

Dancing. A group demonstrates the minuet.

Winding the maypole. Teams of kids show off their skills.

Food of course

My greatest adventure, a scrapple sandwich from the Haas Family Meats food truck. The crispy, well seasoned slab came nestled in thick cut white bread with a bit of provolone-like cheese.  It was delicious.

We found some polish sausage and nicely done potato-cheese pirogues too.

No, I could not resist the funnel cake today.

It is a beautiful snake but I am thankful it is in a display case in the nature center. The center focuses on amphibians and reptiles (herps) so there are plenty of creepy crawly critters to see.

A hint: “His master’s voice”.

Answer: that is the name of the perky looking white dog with the black eye that became the unforgettable mascot on the Victrola logo.

Dover has a museum dedicated to the evolution of the talking machine.  It started when on a simple hand crank version Edison captured the nursery rhyme “Mary had a Little Lamb” and grew until its heyday when any one who was anyone had to have one of those machines in their beautiful cases in their home.  The collection is beautiful and shows off some impressive, imaginative engineering.

Delaware: the First State.  Another bit of American history that I seem to have forgotten.  They were first to vote to ratify the Constitution…and one of the few to do so unanimously.  They are pretty proud of that First and celebrate it all around Dover.  Interpreters in period costume lead tours of historic buildings.  The docent in the old State house does a great job taking his audience back to 1800.  The celebration goes full swing this weekend at “Dover Days”.

Another historical tidbit; the DE state bird is a chicken. Not just any chicken; the Blue Hen variety.  Apparently it’s a pretty feisty chicken and won a lot of cockfights back in Colonial times.  It makes for a better than average story on how a state bird was chosen.

“The Penman of the Revolution”, John Dickinson

Dickenson authored pamphlets that explained new world governing (British taxation policy, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution…), to the common man.  He was a well to do Quaker with several impressive homes including one along the Jones River here in Delaware where his brick mansion stood in starke contrast with the small one room log and slab wood homes of most of his local contemporaries.

Vocabulary word of the day. Manumission: the freeing of a specific, named group of slaves by their owner.  It’s sort of the personal version of emancipation which applies to the freeing of an entire group of enslaved persons.

There are homes here that date back to 1665. Embedded in one house wall is a cannon ball fired during the war of 1812.  They tell the story of ship building, fishing and fish processing, along with the hustle and bustle associated with a well protected deep harbor.

Today fishing trawlers still move through the Lewes –Rehoboth Canal but much of life appears to revolve around the tourists that make this place home for a few days or weeks, maybe even months every summer.

Rehoboth Beach boardwalk:

It is 1 mile long rather than over 4 miles in Ocean City.

Thrashers, Dollies and Fishers Popcorn are all well represented here too.

There are a few arcades but carnival/midway rides are absent.

Mileage is marked to encourage exercise walkers.

There are lots of hotels and rental cottages and condos vs the slightly seedier looking accommodations out on the Ocean City Boardwalk.

It feels newer, more environmentally conscious, a bit more relaxed and closer to nature.

The town, Rehoboth Beach, is all about shopping.  I am certain that I have not seen a higher concentration of clothing, home décor and whatnot shops anywhere.  The entertainment district spills all the way out to Rte 1 where they try to lasso in vacationers who might else wise head to Ocean City.

We strolled the 2 miles and grabbed some lunch while we watched the dolphins and ships pass by.

We have had a pretty limited sampling of both boardwalks but my current thinking is: If I go boardwalk I say go gaudy and loud, Ocean City.