Long time no blog- finally playing catch up and seeing how well my memory is functioning as my weeks spent in Delaware visiting my parents were in… October. A good 6 months ago. And looking back is making me long for those warm and sunny beach days!
After crossing from the Rockies along a northern route following my pandemic hiatus, it was a wonderful thing to be able to spend a few weeks with my parents at their home in Delaware. I had last seen them in February and it was a joyful reunion filled with lots of Jeopardy and British Baking Show episodes, all my laundry, and family meals.
The weather ranged from chilly and rainy some days to sunny and in the 80s in a burst of late summery happiness others. The sunny days took me straight to the beach to swim, read, and occupy my beach chair to doze and snack and enjoy the warmth. My favorite beach spot is on the harbor side near the canal entrance, with views of the ferry to Cape May and the local yacht club. The water is calm here, warmer and often shallow enough to walk out with ease to the sand bars where I’ve spent hours sitting in the water sometimes only a foot high or so.
Cape Henlopen was another frequent destination. Busy with fishing, biking, birdwatching, kids playing and people walking on the beach and many trails, I visited the park with my family for a picnic and a nice walk with toes in the surf foam, and on my own to walk the trails and boardwalk through the marsh. There was one day where a fisherman pointed out a pod of porpoises to me!
Lewes holds claim to being the “First Town in the First State”. The area is home to several beach communities, the ferry to New Jersey, the Dogfish Head brewery and some offshoots, colonial era buildings and exhibits, local Dutch heritage sites like the Zwaanendael Museum, and many cute shops in the downtown area surrounded by a sea of strip mall on the outskirts. With the pandemic still in full swing there weren’t many indoor activities, meals out, or shopping trips, so my days were filled with walks around town and mini trips to see the funky attractions in the area. One rainy day walk took me past the ‘Fountain of Youth’, a fun perspective design on a canal-side cabin, and a slew of nautical themed sights. I took a few trips to nearby Rehoboth to walk the boardwalk and beach, and did a drive by with the fam and some family friends of a local flying saucer house as well our now President/then candidate’s beach home.
Aside from the very welcome opportunity to swap out my wardrobe with the piles of stuff stored in my parents’ closets and garage (eternal thanks, family), this slowing down and adjusting to being in one place, returning to home life for the time being, not living out of a few baskets of possessions was useful, and both a relaxing and welcome time but also strange and antsy. Overall though, so grateful to have had this time with my mama and daddy after the anxious time of COVID thousands of miles apart. Like many other families have experienced with the added frustration of being so close yet feel so far, the reunion was sweet.
The Van is Go 