June Roadtrip, Day 13, A Day in Delaware

 Day 13

Sunday, June 13

     Someone asked me recently, how do I manage to get up and out to the beach for a 5:45A sunrise, especially since I like to get out early for the first hints of light.  The truth is, I rarely set an alarm.  Somehow I just wake up.  Only one day I almost overslept.  Still, I somehow managed to run out, camera in hand and get one of my favorite sunrise shots of the trip.  There's just something utterly peaceful about standing out there on the beach watching the day slowly begin.  No matter what's going on in my life, good or bad, for that time, I'm just good.  There's nothing like starting the day with a clear head and a satisfied soul.  

     Two years ago, sunrise over Dewey Beach was a mix of deep reds and purples.  With enough textures in the clouds, it looked almost like a painting on velvet.  Today was a bit different, but still worth getting up and out for.

      There were a few things on tap for the day.  Less than a half hour north of Dewey Beach is where you'll find Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge.  None of the trails were especially long, but there were enough of them to keep me hiking into the early afternoon.

     First up for the morning was the Dike Trail.  It's an easy half mile of gravel to an overlook.  

   One weird tree...

       Along the Blue Goose Trail...

   Another looping trail through a pine forest...

    Feeling pretty good from the morning, it was time to think about lunch.  In the town of Lewes, I stopped in the Big Oyster Brewery.  I chose this place simply because it was the only brewery open this early in the afternoon that also served food.  It turned out to be the right call in the end.  Lunch was something they call a Chesapeake Burger.  Imagine a burger cooked to perfection, with crab, mushrooms and onion.  

     Penn Central Railroad had a spur between Rehoboth Beach and Lewes.  The six miles of abandoned track has been repurposed into a rail trail called the Junction and Breakwater Trail.   With another day, I would have hiked it end to end.

     However, I did search out a swing bridge that was part of a more recently closed rail line.   Built in 1916, it's one of the last hand cranked swing bridges around.  You can see the bridge being hand cranked into place here:  The bridge was deemed structurally deficient in 2017 and shut down.   

     The Delaware Department of Transportation made plans to have what's left removed due to the soil erosion around the base.  The Lewes Junction Railroad and Bridge Association is trying to preserve it.  

    As way of compromise, the bridge and decking is set to be moved to a spot alongside the rail trail.  You can read more about that here.  

  

        Back in Dewey Beach, I ditched the car at the hotel and just started walking, looking for a good spot to settle in for sunset.  There was certainly potential..

 

      What a difference a day makes.   Saturday night, lots of noise outside my window.  Sunday night, relative piece and quiet.  

June Roadtrip, Day 12, Here Comes the Sun

 Day 12

Saturday, June 12

       I woke up about an hour before sunrise, got dressed and walked out into the central courtyard.  It was raining steadily.  So, I simply turned around and went back to bed.  

      On the drive out of Norfolk, I crossed a small bridge.  On a dry day I would have gone back.  In the foreground, a whole bunch of smaller, colorful private boats.  In the background a massive gray warship from the navy yard.

      A few more miles and I was on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. Never gets old...

    For those of you who haven't driven this, the entire journey covers seventeen and a half miles shore to shore and dips down into tunnels twice.  When the bridge originally opened in 1964, this would be one lane of traffic each way.  It's now two parallel bridges, two lanes each way.  However, you do have to merge to one lane for the tunnels.  

    A plan is in place to change that, and it's planned cost is only $755 million.  As you read this, a tunnel boring machine is digging the new tunnel forty-two feet wide and at speed of 2-3 inches per hour.  The machine takes twenty people to operate, running two ten hour shifts, followed by four hours of maintenance.  The construction has been named the Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project.  You can watch a pretty cool animation of the project here.

     Just across the bridge is the Eastern Shore of Virginia Welcome Center.  The staff seemed pretty excited about the bridge project.  I told them I was headed to Kiptopeke State Park.  They gave me some recommendations for trails, assuming the rain let up.  I've been caught in the rain on trails before.  It's just not something I'd choose to do.  

     

       What caught my attention about this park are the ships.  

     During WWII, steel was as a premium.  So, McClosky and Company started making freighters out of concrete.  During the landings on D-Day, some of them were purposefully sunk off the Normandy coast to make breakwaters.  But, as soon as the war was over, the concrete ships quickly became obsolete.

     In 1948, the Virginia Ferry Company was looking for create a ferry service between Cape Charles and Hampton Roads and needed a breakwater to protect their terminal.  Instead of building from scratch, they asked the Navy if they could have nine of the concrete ships.  They Navy said sure, take them.  But, the ferry company would have to pick them up.

     So they did.  Some were towed from as far aw Beaumont, Texas, while others came from across the bay in Norfolk.  They were partially sunk in an arc and have been the breakwater ever since.  

    The trail the folks at the visitor center raved the most about is along the far coast.  There's a trail that follows the top of a small ridge.  On a dry day, I wouldn't have hesitated.  

     When I drove up this way two years ago, I had a really great lunch at the Cape Charles Brewery.   So, I went back.  I seemed to hit a quiet point in their day.  They didn't seem to mind that I was trying quite a few samples.  There was something on their list called Creamsicle Ale.  Interesting flavor with a light creamy aftertaste.  Interesting in a sample.  

    There was also something called Portside Saison.  Once brewed, it's stored in barrels that very recently held port wine.  First sip, a heavily prominent port flavor.  Second sip, a little less strong, more balanced flavor.  Third sip, kinda growing on me.  But a full pint, not today.

     Toss in a plate of steamed shrimp, and my day was turning up.

      Crossing the state line into Maryland, the sun finally comes out!

    Eventually, I worked my way out to the coast , then up to Dewey Beach, Delaware.  My home for the next two nights was the Gold Leaf Hotel.  I stayed here on my last visit.  It was off peak and they put me on the fourth floor.  This time, I was on the first floor, right up front.  Such a great view...

     Most of the places I stayed had signs suggesting people wear masks in the lobby.  This place mandated it.  At check in, they told me if I was caught in a public area unmasked, I'd get a warning.  Caught a second time, and I'd be asked to leave, forfeiting what I paid for the room.  Not a problem, I got in the habit of carrying a mask in my pocket when traveling.

     Two years ago, I walked across the street to a public dock for sunset.  The light show wasn't all that exciting, but I met a fascinating woman named Daphney.  We got to talking.  The next night, she was there again.  We wound up having dinner together and have kept in touch since.  

     She's the reason I made a stop once again in Dewey Beach.  Once again, we met at the same municipal dock.

     We still had some time to kill before sunset, so we even went to the same place for dinner, a bar/restaurant called Woodys.  We were seated right away, even though is seemed busy.  The staff, the food and the company were great.  We were having fun just chatting away.   Our timing couldn't have been better, as we walked out, we passed the hostess out front, she was telling people it was an hour wait.

        We drove a few miles south to the big bridge over the Indian River Inlet.  There's plenty of parking and a decent sized campground.  That's where we settled in for sunset.

 

   Just a great way to end the day...  

    Remember when I mentioned I was on the ground floor, right in front?  I heard every loud motorcycle, every car stereo and every conversation outside.  At one point, a group of teens were trying to convince someone else  to buy them beer.  Once obtained, the conversation shifted as to which room they were going to party in.  One suggested the room directly above mine.  You can imagine my relief when that was shot down.