Delaware and Wonder Woman 2

This blog is a bit like Forest Gump's box of chocolates...you never know what you get next.  Of note, this blog includes our visit to the state of Delaware which marks our 28th state - tick. Delaware is a tiny slice of state and its claims to fame are that in 1787 it was the first state to ratify the Constitution of the US. It’s now referred to as the First State. It’s also the state where Joe Biden served as Senator before becoming Vice President to President Obama. And I think he still lives in Delaware. And really important is that Delaware has zero, none, nil sales tax. A lot of people move to Delaware to take advantage of that tax break.

Kalmar Nyckel model

Delaware shares borders with Maryland, Pennsylvania and across the water from Lewes Beach is New Jersey. When I asked around for things to see and do in Delaware, I was met with those same squinted eyes and frowns when I said I wanted to go to Detroit two years ago. Of course, it’s not New York or Texas but for us, it was another opportunity to see something new. It’s on the coast, has beaches and it’s a good 3-hour day trip from DC as you can see on the map. So we took our two good friends A&PH and headed to Wilmington first where we explored some of the landmarks. PH found a great app on her phone that provided a GPS route for several self guided walking tours of Wilmington. The first stop was to the Kalmar Nyckel which had nothing to do with the metal nickel. It was a tall ship named after a small town in Sweden called Kalmar and nyckel is the word for key. Kalmar Nyckel is a re-creation of the Tall Ship of Delaware, built by the Dutch in 1625, that brought Swedish settlers to North America in 1638, to begin establishing the colony of New Sweden (Delaware).

 

the city that built 10,000 ships and 30,000 rail cars !!

 

We were in an industrial type area near the water and drove around a while looking for a big tall ship, it should be easy to spot right. Giving up, we eventually we stopped at the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation which is a privately funded museum dedicated to the Kalmar Nyckel and other interesting maritime things. We were greeted by two lovely ladies (all volunteers) who said we were in the right place but the ship was away sailing. Great, first tour stop to see a ship and there was no ship. However we paid the $5 entry and the lady kindly gave us the express tour of the museum (and we needed a toilet stop as well). They had a model ship collection and interesting history on Wilmington being a major builder of ships and railcars. Our tour lady was interesting, helpful and showed us a few extra things not usually shown to the public. We learnt more than we expected and we were off to a great start to Delaware despite the ship not being there.

We then headed into the small city to a chocolate shop, the next stop on the self guided tour. We parked in the street and walked to the Govatas Chocolate shop only to see the CLOSED sign on the door. This was now getting funny - no ship and a closed chocolate shop. Not off to a great start for the landmarks tour. Never mind, we grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and walked up the street to our next stop – the Casear Rodney statue. And hooray, it was there !! 

An interesting name, Caesar Rodney was an American lawyer and politician in Dover, the capital of Delaware. He was an officer of the Delaware militia during the American Revolution and a Continental Congressman from Delaware and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was also a President of Delaware during the American Revolution.

My post-visit blog research found some good info….In downtown Wilmington, Delaware stands the statue of Delaware’s most cherished patriot, Caesar Rodney. At almost midnight on July 1, 1776, Caesar Rodney was informed that he was needed in Congress regarding Delaware's tied vote of independence. Rodney rode 80 miles horseback to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania without delay. On July 2, 1776, Rodney casted his crucial vote that paved the way for the passage of the Declaration of Independence. Caesar Rodney’s vote for independence ended up being considered high treason and caused him to be branded a traitor to the Crown. Rodney suffered from ill health including asthma and cancer of the jaw in which would have made his ride strenuous. “As history records, Caesar Rodney gave up the possibility of receiving medical treatment in London because he voted and pledged his life, fortune and sacred honor for American Independence”. Rodney’s heroic act was commemorated by a statute and also by his image appearing on the 1999 U.S. Delaware Quarter. Caesar Rodney’s statue stands on Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, honoring him as Delaware’s most cherished patriot.

Next on the GPS self guided tour was the cemetery. I drove in the gates and my nervous passengers were not sure we should be driving the car through the cemetery – where was their sense of adventure - everyone's dying to get in here!!  The sign at the gate said walkers and historians welcome. But I’ve driven through plenty of cemeteries so I pushed forward and my fearful passengers decided that we would be ‘historians’ if we were questioned. The one site that stood out was one with a greyhound type dog statue in front of it. As dog lovers, we took great interest in that. Nothing else jumped out at us (pard the pun) but I finally found the one site I wanted to see…it was right there at the front entrance where we drove in – the gravesite of John McKinley who was the first person to fill the office of President of the State following the signing of the Declaration of Independence.


Having not been arrested for driving through the cemetery, we headed towards the Village at Trolley Square. It is an area with lots of shops and eating places. It wasn’t quite as exciting as I’d hoped but, we found a nice pub to eat lunch. It was clearly tennis day as there were lots of ladies enjoying some drinks and food after their game - or before, who knows how they play in Delaware. When we parked the car, it was behind a mini cooper convertible. I was just about to take a photo of the Delaware number plate when the owner (Di) rocked up. - and I think she had come from tennis also. She was happy for me to grab a selfie with the her car's Delaware rego plate (photo at top of blog). She told us this was her retirement present from her husband and there was something about gin and tonics also but I forget now. She was telling us how great it was to drive with the roof off. So I joked with her that it was pity there were 4 of us as she could have taken us for a spin around the Wilmington sights. She didn’t pick up on my joke and quickly said she had a tennis game later that arvo and couldn't do it. Everyone in Wilmington must play tennis.

With fully bellies, we drove down to the coastal beaches which was the only thing people recommended we see in Delaware. We chose Lewes Beach, pronounced Lewiss - not Lose or Loo's -  which was a very nice cosy quaint seaside town. I kind had the feeling I was on the Amity Beach where Jaws lived. And so you know, Jaws was filmed around Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, a ways north of Delaware. My mission was to find the ice cream shop and Italian deli recommended by a friend. It wouldn’t be hard to find apparently as there were only two streets in Lewes Beach !!  It was late afternoon and busy with the summer holiday beach go’ers. Lots of nice little shops and of course, we found the ice cream shop….vanilla and strawberry for me and vanilla and choc chip for Deb. We explore the area and found Cannonball House which is famous for having a cannonball lodged in its wall from the 1813 war against the British.

We found a clever idea on a street corner. You grab a yellow high-vis flag to wave as you cross the road. You place the flag in the box on the pole on the other side of the road. And the little red box is for you to pay your parking fines. 

 

It had been a long day and we enjoyed the sunset as we drove over the Chesapeake Bay bridge. I love this bridge, it’s like the Sydney Harbour Bridge to me. We got home around 9pm to two very happy hungry dogs. So for me, Delaware was a great place to visit. Going with good friends made the trip even more enjoyable especially since they brought a container full of lollies, chocolate and lollipops. Not many left when we got home I have to say. I would definitely recommend any of the beaches to visit but Wilmington has plenty of interesting things to see and offers some more pieces to the history of the US.

And of course, this is a classic line…

If Mississippi gave Missouri her New Jersey, what would Delaware

On totally different tangent, lets travel to 1984. Last weekend we went into the city to check out the filming locations for the Wonder Woman 2 movie, titled WW 1984. Filming has been going on for a few weeks around DC including Georgetown. We meet our good friends A&PH who had scouted out the streets the day before. I was very excited with even the remote possibility of seeing WW herself. I wore my best superhero shirt. We saw old cars, taxis and police cars and shopfronts were modified to reflect 1984 with signs and even a telephone box. What a blast from the past. We stood on a street corner watching a red Transam doing laps of the block as they filmed the driver and passenger. So, I was convinced the passenger was Chris Pine with lots of makeup on but my friend AH was not convinced. He googled Chris Pine’s stunt double and I have to admit, he looked more like the guy in the car. Bugger it. Kirsten Wig stars in the movie too and I wondered if it was her double in the driver seat as she/he was a blonde with wild hair. Who knows, we will see in Nov 2019 when the movie is released.

 

During our WW2 filming excursion, we grabbed a burger at this very cool place called Lucky Buns. It had a mini Eiffel Tower on the roof so not sure what that's all about. Thanks to PH for her excellent research. I can never resist a burger with egg so it was the Bogan Bun for me and Deb had an Alphie Bun with beetroot and pineapple. And they were not those sweet brioche buns but rather, good seasame seed buns. Very good burgers (buns) and yes a lucky find not too far from work up there on 18th St for any locals. Oh and the chips were fantastic !!!

 

Summer heat and humidity is killing us and sweaty shirts and undies are a daily thing. So too are dog swims. Macey got a haircut and loves it so much. Lots more cuddles now and easy to dry after the daily swims.

 

And here's some recent pics from Deb's camera as she experiments and practices techniques.