Day 4: Delaware

Friday, July 16, 2010

I woke up in time to check in for my flight on Friday, but my internet was slow and by the time I checked in at two minutes late at 7:57, I was already A60! I left the ants to their hotel and headed a little bit north to Pennsylvania to get my Delaware sign picture. I was much closer to the border than I thought so had to turn around. I used my tripod again to get the Delaware picture, but Pennsylvania sign was in a bush on the wrong side of the street. I got it, but not my best as I am barely in the corner of the photo.

That area, Brandywine Valley, has some really huge houses, and it also where the Winterthur Mansion and Grounds are. I drove by where it was but wasn’t too interested in stopping.

I headed instead to the Brandywine Zoo in Wilmington, which is the only zoo in Delaware. The lady asked for my zip code when I bought my ticket, and when I gave it to her, she said I must be from far away. I told her Kansas City, and she said she’s always amazed how many people from all over find their tiny zoo.

It was a pretty small zoo, and it was also 100 degrees. Luckily most of it was well shaded. My favorite part was the golden handed tamarins. They are very small.

After the zoo, I headed to New Castle, DE, and parked near the wharf. I walked back to see the court house and the streets and buildings from the 1600s, but again it was really, really hot and there wasn’t much to do there so I got back in the car. I had lunch at Arby’s, and the sign out front was pretty funny. It said “In Need of Management.”

Mom texted me to see if I felt the earthquake. I hadn't even heard about it and must have slept through it.

I was heading south along the coast, intending to go to the beaches in Dover, but about halfway there I decided I didn’t want to so I turned around and went back to Wilmington. I had read about the Wilmington Riverfront, but after I finally found a place to park, it turned out not to be very interesting. It was well landscaped but not shady, and other than a few restaurants, I couldn’t tell there was anything to do.

At this point, it was only about 2:00 and I had the rest of the day to fill. So I did what I used to do frequently when I traveled – I went to a book store. I drove back east to Christiana Mall and spent about an hour and a half in Barnes and Noble. It was air conditioned and I didn’t have to be in the car! Around 4:00, I headed to Baltimore and went a different way that only required $2 in tolls to go in the tunnel.

I checked in at the hotel, TownePlace Suites at BWI, and then took myself to Panera for dinner. I haven’t had that much fast food in a year and was ready for something different. I stopped to get gas for the final time (I thought) and then went back to the hotel to watch Shrek the Third. I liked this hotel for being very environmentally friendly, and they even had reserved parking for hybrid vehicles.