My work sent me out to Maryland, and since I had a weekend, I cruised the boards to see who was in the area. I contacted Lowviz and found he was in Delaware, a state I had not visited, so asked him if he wanted to do lunch. Lowviz happily said yes and we were to meet at noonish.
As an avid traveler, I am used to driving two-three hours to go somewhere interesting. I looked up our meeting point on the map . . . one hour for 48 miles?!?!!? Goodness, I can drive 48 miles and not leave my county! ROFL!
The morning was gray and steady slight rain, but the forecast promised clearing by afternoon. At 8am on a Saturday, there wasn’t a lot of traffic, so it was easy to make good time even with the tolls. You easterners do a lot of the toll thing, huh? Towards Wilmington, I was given the opportunity to do my first traditional U-turn when the frothy mist churned up by the big trucks blurred the signs enough that I missed that IH95 continued on the left and I ended up on 495 . . . You easterners do a lot of that left-exit thing, huh? *hee* (Please understand that U-turns are a favored part of my travel plan, because in missing my turns, I end up places and seeing things I would have otherwise missed.) Of course I had GPS . . . what, me without a gadget? Oh, heck no.
I tooled around the outskirts of Wilmington, just absorbing the architecture and layout. The houses are usually two story, sided, bricked, or stone-front, with narrow fronts and very deep. I was saddened to see empty storefronts as a sign of the economic times, but happy that many of the houses were well maintained by their conversion into small businesses. I was rather happy to note that, unlike Arizona who names dry river beds, every bridge actually went over water.
The GPS revealed a park in the area, always a fun visit for me, so I entered the Bellevue State Park. Here again, this was a really interesting contrast to the State Parks of the West, which cover square miles and have an occasional toilet and picnic table. The Bellevue, at a hundred acres or so, has a few miles of hiking / running trails and a full stables / rings / paddocks. If you are taking lessons, you can ride there; or you may board your own. Everything is well-manicured and well-equipped, a park of which to be rightfully proud. Very cool, Delaware!
As an avid traveler, I am used to driving two-three hours to go somewhere interesting. I looked up our meeting point on the map . . . one hour for 48 miles?!?!!? Goodness, I can drive 48 miles and not leave my county! ROFL!
The morning was gray and steady slight rain, but the forecast promised clearing by afternoon. At 8am on a Saturday, there wasn’t a lot of traffic, so it was easy to make good time even with the tolls. You easterners do a lot of the toll thing, huh? Towards Wilmington, I was given the opportunity to do my first traditional U-turn when the frothy mist churned up by the big trucks blurred the signs enough that I missed that IH95 continued on the left and I ended up on 495 . . . You easterners do a lot of that left-exit thing, huh? *hee* (Please understand that U-turns are a favored part of my travel plan, because in missing my turns, I end up places and seeing things I would have otherwise missed.) Of course I had GPS . . . what, me without a gadget? Oh, heck no.
I tooled around the outskirts of Wilmington, just absorbing the architecture and layout. The houses are usually two story, sided, bricked, or stone-front, with narrow fronts and very deep. I was saddened to see empty storefronts as a sign of the economic times, but happy that many of the houses were well maintained by their conversion into small businesses. I was rather happy to note that, unlike Arizona who names dry river beds, every bridge actually went over water.
The GPS revealed a park in the area, always a fun visit for me, so I entered the Bellevue State Park. Here again, this was a really interesting contrast to the State Parks of the West, which cover square miles and have an occasional toilet and picnic table. The Bellevue, at a hundred acres or so, has a few miles of hiking / running trails and a full stables / rings / paddocks. If you are taking lessons, you can ride there; or you may board your own. Everything is well-manicured and well-equipped, a park of which to be rightfully proud. Very cool, Delaware!
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Again, heartfelt thanks for your time and riveting discussion. I hope I may entertain you and your wife in the future. 
. Sounds like a great day. I'm gonna have to mosey over there some day:cool2:. 
