Staycation

A recap of my decision to travel to Delaware on a whim.

Early May was the perfect time to visit Delaware’s coast as the parks were no opening, the weather was beautiful but not too hot, and I beat the rush of summer tourists. I started off in Delaware Seashore State Park. My inflatable kayak was launched at Burton Island Trail Head at the back of Indian River Marina. Parking for the trail head and kayak launch was free, but there was only room for about 3-4 vehicles. I only spent a little under two hours on the water, hugging the shore as my flat bottommed kayak allowed me to float directly overtop the clusters of horseshoe crabs dwelling in the bay. There was plenty of other examples of wildlife, mostly in the form of birds, so the excursion was well worth it. Another good reason to hug the shores is to avoid encounters with sharks that sometimes find their way into the bays. I was definitely on edge the entire session. The strong wind and currents prevented me from safety traveling further than the small more inland section near the highway that leads into the larger stretch of the Indian River Bay and Rehoboth. My paddle path is below:

After deflating and packing away my kayak, I headed to several breweries on my way to my sleeping destination, starting of course with Dogfish Head, which got its start in Rehoboth beach in 1995.

I parked in the Bowers Beach 24 hour parking lot, located within walking distance to the Delaware Bay and about a 40 minute drive from Rehoboth. There are no bathrooms on site, but a local bar is open until 11:00 on weekends. the views from the rock pier are spectacular at sunset. Just 30 minutes north is the Smyrna rest area that’s also open 24 hours. It was my first stop the next morning.

Heading north, I caught the sunrise at Bull Hill Park in New Castle, which hosts the former Fort Casimir. The fort is no longer standing but is an important topic of archeological study and holds an interesting history. I grabbed coffee in the more populated city of Wilmington and walked along Brandywine Creek in Wilmington State Park.

I headed back shortly after my walk, although there were several things I still would like to visit, including the beautiful Nemours Estate in Wilmington. I opted out of the $20 day pass as I was on a tight budget for the weekend. I will definitely be making another trip out seeing as it’s only a 3 hour drive from where I currently reside in Virginia.

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