Tiny State

Thirty-three Rhode Island’s could fit in Alabama. Yes, it’s a teeny tiny state, but with large amounts of charm! Rhode Island is a beautiful state, and you can tell the locals are proud of it. The prices show it. So, what did that mean for two teachers traveling on a budget? Camping.  We camped out for two nights in Burlingame State Park. The campground was expansive, and our site was perfect - a bit secluded and very quiet.

Through research and word of mouth, we learned that Newport was the area we should see - the place where all the wealthy had chosen to build a home. So, we climbed out of our tent and did our best to doll ourselves up for a day spent wandering around the mansions. We walked much of the small town, gawking at the estates behind fences and wandering into touristy shops. You could spend days touring the many mansions that offer tours, but we chose instead to spend our money at an afternoon tea. Afternoon tea was something I discovered in England, and it is a rarity here in the states, so when I see it offered, I jump at the chance. Afternoon tea was invented by a wealthy lady in the small town of Woburn for that sinking feeling you get in the middle of the afternoon. Of course it includes tea, but also three layers of deliciousness. The first is finger sandwiches, next is scones with clotted cream and jam, and the top layer is dainty sweets. Our tea at the Vanderbilt mansion was a bit different from ones I had had previously, but still delicious and charming. My flavor of tea: sugar plum fairy.

We also enjoyed the Cliff Walk in Newport.  It is a (mostly) sidewalk that runs along the top of the cliff above the rocky shoreline.  On our walk, the ocean was to the left under the fog, and the mansions were on the right.  While it was lovely, there was something odd about being fenced off from the giant homes, and yet, getting to walk around in their front yards.  The sad part to me was also that these stunning homes did not have easy access to the ocean they looked out over.  The mansions we walked by were huge, stunning, and glimpses of the way the wealthy live, but also glimpses of days gone by as many of the homes are no longer owned by the family.  I'm not positive why this was the place so many of the wealthy families decided to build their homes as it is stunning, but I can only imagine that there are only a few months each year you could actually enjoy the weather in these places.

Newport, though, did seem like the perfect place for Jessica and I to make a purchase that we had been looking for.  Our new wine glasses (with covers to keep the bugs out at the campsite) make us feel fancy just like all the people in those mansions!

On our way out of the state, we drove through Providence.  It was a beautiful downtown area with old buildings, green space and new shiny buildings mixed in.  There were lovely homes on the hill above the city.  We ended up at a very hipster restaurant in a seemingly up and coming neighborhood, with a delicious serving of vegetables that we really needed.

Our country's tiniest state is truly lovely and has lots of offer, whether it is visiting a mansion or sleeping in a tent, or anything in between!

Hale and Mystic

New York wore us out - probably because we walked a lot of the city, but also because our senses were on overdrive for so long. So, leaving the city, we decided some quiet time in an adorable town in Connecticut would be perfect for us.

Our first stop was New Haven. The city was larger  than we expected, but certainly not devoid of charm. We walked around the beautiful old campus of Yale and then went to Louis’ Lunch, a place over 100 years old with a huge claim to fame. The little diner is nothing fancy, in fact, the wooden walls and furniture have all had words and names carved in them over the years. There are little choices to be had on the, well, there's not even a menu.  This small little diner is credited with being the place that invented a hamburger, so that is what you get.  What choices do you have?  You can have tomato, onion and/or cheese.  There is no ketchup to be had, nor is there ice for water.  You can get potato salad, and there are a few bottled drinks to choose from.  The kitchen is about the size of one you may see in an NYC studio apartment, and it is there that the burger goes on a cast-iron skillet, and comes out in between to slices of white bread.  The burger was really quite delicious, but it was the character (not charm, but character) of the place that made it more fun.

Unfortunately, after some searching, we realized that tiny, adorable little towns in Connecticut had price tags to match, so our plans changed a bit.  We found a reasonable place just outside of Hartford, which while we never really visited Hartford, we did drive through it the next morning, and found it to be lovely and very shiny!

Part of the joy of road-tripping is allowing for detours.  We had our next destination in mind, but decided we'd take the little bit longer route to get there to get to see a bit of the countryside of Connecticut, and I'm so glad we did.  Along the way, I saw a sign for the Nathan Hale Homestead.  The name rang a bell, so I followed signs that led us onto beautiful two-lane roads.  The countryside was really lovely - dense green forests with ferns galore sprinkled with lovely, reasonably-sized homes, nicely spaced-out.  I know about Nathan Hale because he is a children's book author, well, that is the Nathan Hale of today, and he's using his namesake to help him tell stories.  The better well-known Nathan Hale was America's first spy and a hero to his home state of Connecticut.  I learned more about the former Nathan Hale from the current Nathan Hale who wrote a graphic novel about the former Nathan Hale.  In fact, he's got a whole series where he uses the former Nathan Hale to tell important stories from American History.


Nathan Hale (the former) went to Yale to become a teacher, but soon after he graduated, he joined the American army.  Nathan was passionate about independence from England, and wanted to make a difference in the war effort.  Although he was involved with the war for a great deal of time, he kept missing out on big important battles.  Seemingly upset that he wasn't in the middle of things, when Washington called for spies, he volunteered.  Disguising himself, he went off to infiltrate.  Little did he know that he had been watched from the time he left his troop.  The sneaky man who spotted him, followed him a great distance, then joined him at a pub.  When the man told Nathan that he was a spy for the American army, Nathan simply said, "me, too!"  And that was the sad end of Nathan's tale.  But he goes down in history as the first spy in America, or at least the first one to be caught.

Mystic was our next destination.  It is a small harbor town in southeast Connecticut, most famously known for its pizza.  Well, at least for Mystic Pizza.  We had to stop by and have some pizza at the diner where Julia Roberts had her first big break, and let me say, the pizza was delicious!  The movie played on the TV and the walls were filled with shots from the film.  But, despite some of the cheesiness (pun, intended) of it all, the pizza would have been worth stopping for!

The tiny harbor town was bustling on a Saturday.  We enjoyed wandering in shops and along the bay and watching the drawbridge raise to let sailing ships through.

Connecticut is not a large state, and I know that we just barely skimmed the surface, but we enjoyed big cities, a historical hero, beautiful countryside, delicious pizza, and an adorable harbor town.

A Tiny Bite of the Big Apple

"Walking through a crowd, the village is a glow.  Kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats.  Everybody here wanted something more, searching for a sound we hadn't heard before, and it said welcome to New York, it's been waiting for you." - Taylor Swift

I've been to this city now five times, and it continues to amaze me.  While I have no desire to live in this city, there is something that each time, stirs something inside of me.  There's a bit of magic amongst the crowds and towering buildings.  Even when I see some of the same things, they astound me, teach me something new, and wow me.

We were incredibly fortunate, one again, to have a friend offer us a place to stay.  A good friend of mine from high school, through an odd course of events through her husband's work, ended up with a short-term stint in a stunning, spacious apartment in the upper east side. It was an amazing place to stay, and also wonderful to get to catch up with she and her family.

Jessica and I, experts and go-getters at seeing as much as possible, took on the city and saw a whole lot in about two and a half days.  Even when having a free place to stay, cities are expensive, and so we wanted to make the most of our time.  I know that once again, we only scratched the surface, and I do hope to come back to this city again sometime to see even more of it, but for now, I'm thrilled with what we did see.

Central Park is always a favorite of mine, and Jessica was eager to see it as well.  It is a real wonder, seeing a space which takes up so much of the packed city that surrounds it, but the lush greenery and pathways would be my only solitude if I were ever to live in the city.  Watching people run, rollerblade, bike, play baseball, walk dogs, present talents, and just chill is a nice little glimpse into the wide variety of ways the people of New York take advantage of the park.Times Square is another must if coming to New York, simply because watching the masses of people can not only be terrifying, but also fascinating.  We happened upon this spot a few times.  Once, we ended up getting a pretty good deal on some Broadway tickets, and another time, we watched crowds of people celebrate the Summer Solstice with yoga, yep, yoga in Times Square.

Part of New York, is certainly seeing the talented people who gather here each year, hoping to make it big.  We took advantage of their talents and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Jessica and I had already serenaded to the soundtrack of Anastasia, an animated film from our childhood, on our way here, so when we saw a deal on tickets to the new play by the same name, we jumped at it.  Although the story line had changed a great deal (probably for the better, and certainly for the more realistic), the songs were very similar.  The set was well-done, and several scenes, like the one of them on a train, were incredibly done.  We loved it, and would highly recommend it!  We also saw an off-Broadway play, a spinoff of Harry Potter.  Puffs was a great parody about a boy wizard of the same time period as Harry, whom was placed in the Hufflepuff House.  Wayne (yes, Wayne) wanted to be a hero, but things just never worked out in his favor.  Our sides hurt at the end, not only because of the jokes at poor Wayne's expense, but also the sly pokes at our beloved story, like the actor playing Voldemort who had a visible piece of tape over his nose.  This was a great, reasonably priced show for any Harry Potter fanatic in the city.

I never really had any interest in seeing the Charging Bull down near Wall Street, but the recent addition of a strong girl facing up the the bull, well, that was something I wanted to see!  The crowd of tourists surrounding the bull made it nearly impossible to see the bull, but for some reason, the crowd around the tough little bronze statue was not as great. My personal opinion, they seemingly missed the mark on one of the coolest things in Manhattan.

Despite being to New York City several times in my life, I had never seen the 9-11 Memorial.  Each time I traveled there had been after the event, but the first couple of times, the memorials had not been finished, and the last couple of times had been fairly quick trips in other parts of the city, so we made getting to the memorials a priority.  They were absolutely stunning, moving and powerful.  The water that cascaded down the sides of the deep holes left by the buildings, moving into a spot we could not even see was a reminder, perhaps, that life does move forward.  And yet, the names, and loud crashing sound of the water makes it impossible to forget the horror that took place in this spot.  Flowers adorned some of the names, some obviously left by loved ones, some marking the person's birthday.  One tree around the memorials was decorated and roped off, the Survivor Tree.  When workers were removing the rubble, some two months after the attack, they found a pear tree still alive, in fact, the only living thing found amid the rubble.  Can you imagine how inspiring even a tree could have been to the men and women cleaning up from this disaster.  The young tree was moved and cared for, but now it has been returned where it continues to grow and inspire those who come to see the memorial.  We did not go into the Memorial Museum.  Part of me did want to see it, but I had heard that the museum was mainly stories of those who lost their lives, and I wasn't sure if I was emotionally prepared to handle that.

The Statue of Liberty is not only a strong symbol of New York City, but also of our country.  She's worth getting up close and personal with.  We pre-ordered our tickets, and although tickets to get to the crown were no longer available, we did get tickets to go to the pedestal, which I believe were the same cost as general admission, and totally worth it.  The view from her feet was pretty spectacular, but it was the significantly smaller amount of people at the bottom of the pedestal, providing excellent photos that was really worth it.  The weather could not have been more perfect: warm, but not blistering, sunny, but with a touch of puffy white clouds.  We stood in her presence for a long time, enjoying her majesty and remembering her importance.  Especially because of the current crisis in our country, we wanted to make sure we saw the poem that we believed stood at her feet.  But after circling her, we could not find it anywhere.  I asked the perfect ranger, who took us back inside where we had been, allowing us to bypass lines and leading us directly the bronze poem.  The poem is about opening doors and hearts to those less fortunate, to those with dreams of being in this country.  We, at least the vast majority of us, are descendants of immigrants.  I hope we can find the right answer that will allow others to be a part of this land, that we are all fortunate enough to be a part of.

The next stop on the ferry was to Ellis Island.  I remembered going here about ten years ago, and how powerful it had been.  It was once again, a very moving museum.  The huge building was the point where so many immigrants were processed coming into our country at a time when our doors seemed to be wide open.  The museum goes through the steps that each immigrant would have gone through upon entry.  I cannot imagine how terrifying those hours would have been, waiting to hear if one little flaw you had would keep you out of the country or separate you from your family.  It was actually while standing in the great hall of this building that I received an update that Trump had signed an executive order that would keep families together.  While I'm glad about that, it's not a complete answer, and it leaves so many more questions out there in the open.  No matter what, visiting these two sites at this time in our country's struggles with immigration was powerful.  It was a great reminder of where we all have come from.

Part of our NYC whirlwind tour was of food. We did not get to visit any outstandingly renowned places or anything like that. Not making reservations is a slight disadvantage to road-tripping on the fly. But we did some of the things you are supposed to do here: we ate a hot dog from a stand, a cheap pizza slice and had bagels for breakfast. The variety of bagels, but more importantly the cream cheese you put on the bagels was amazing! I had a rainbow bagel with blueberry cream cheese, a cinnamon raisin bagel with apple cinnamon cream cheese and a blueberry bagel with plain cream cheese. The child in me resisted the cookie dough, chocolate chip and birthday cake cream cheeses that screamed my name. But I made up for it later when we went to, well frankly a place I should have created, DO. It’s a fantastic creation that has a bar, like an ice cream bar, but the flavors you are choosing are cookie dough. That’s right, cookie dough is served in a cup with a spoon. It may have actually been my own personal slice of heaven. We did have some delicious pizza one night where we stood in line for a recommended place with some fellow Fulbrighters from Portland who happened to be in town at the same time we were. It’s so fun to get to keep in touch with cross-country connections! And the pizza was delicious, New York style pizza.

Jessica and I did a few things that I had never done in NYC that I really enjoyed! One of which was a Downton Abbey exhibit. Yes, I know we were in NYC, not London, but this same exhibit was in Singapore last year near the time we were there, and we missed it, so we felt the urge to go this time. It is a traveling exhibit that highlights some of the props, costumes and characters as well as showing some of the real history behind the events in our beloved show. My favorite part? Highlights from the fabulous Maggie Smith including her quote of, “What is a weekend?”

Friends is my all time favorite TV show. Turn on just about any episode and I can tell you the punch line before they say it. Almost every life event somehow relates back to one of the famed six. A dear family friend managed to get me tickets to a taping of the show in its final season, so while I know the show is filmed in LA, it takes place in NYC. There are lots of skyline shots as well as a frequent shot from outside the apartment building (even though the girls’ balcony never matched). So, we set off to find the famous building. The show ended over a decade ago, and yet the corner building that pretended to be the home of our beloved characters was still crowded with fellow tourists. Almost makes me proud!

Washington Square Park is in downtown NYC and was the home to a film Jess loved, so with a bit of spare time, we decided to check it out, and I’m so glad we did! The Park was jam-packed with people, many of whom seemed to be local. There were people sunbathing in bikinis, toddlers playing on the playground, kids splashing in the fountain, jugglers tossing balls high in the air, musicians enjoying the acoustics of the giant arch, drummers keeping a rhythm of the city, poets selling poems and a sand artist creating an intricate creation. There was even a lady out and about with her five-week-old kitten (yes, I stopped to speak to her!). The hustle and bustle, the enjoyment of sunshine, and the appreciation of some green space in the city was infectious and a joy to experience.

No trip for Jessica and I would be complete without climbing something, or in this case, riding an elevator to get to the top of something. I had been to the Top of the Rock a couple of times, and I really enjoyed the views it provided of Central Park and the Empire State Building, so we went there first. There were plenty of other tourists, but the outside space is really nice, so you never really feel crowded at the top. We could see what appeared to be a microscopic Statue of Liberty, the whole of Central Park, the Chrysler Building, and parts of Times Square. But we couldn’t resist the opportunity to go up the famed Empire State Building (of course hoping Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan would be there, too!). So, on our last night there, we decided to get a nighttime view of the city from atop this building. Seeing the city aglow was magical. While on top of the building, I wondered why exactly I find this site so beautiful. I typically enjoy the beauty found in nature, and yet, I was awe-struck looking at this giant concrete formation. Perhaps it is the symmetry or the architectural and electrical wonder of how it all works. Or perhaps it’s something far simpler than that. We always gawk and wonder at the shining stars above. Perhaps it is a similar wonderment of the twinkling lights of the city.

No matter what, I love New York, and I love being a part of the incredible vibes the city gives off, at least in short spurts.

Splurge Day

As a kid, one of my favorite movies was Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken, a story about a young girl, growing up in the Great Depression who joins a team and learns to jump horses.  She dreams of going to Atlantic City and frequently sings, "On the boardwalk in Atlantic City, life will be peaches and cream."  Despite how little of the song I know, this song went through my head repeatedly during our travels to Atlantic City.

We didn't really know what to expect in Atlantic City, but we thought we would at least go see the boardwalk, and treat ourselves to a nice night.  Little did we know, until we arrived, that June 18th is in fact Splurge Day.  I know, I didn't have it on my calendar either, but now, it will be a staple in my year, making sure to celebrate year after year.  So, we took this on with vengeance... and a combination of good-sense.

The boardwalk is six-miles long, stretching along the beaches with towering casinos, beach shops and restaurants on the opposite side.  There is a pier with all your favorite carnival rides and games, although with the eerie clouds, we couldn't even see the top of the ferris wheel.

As it was splurge day, during our walk along the boardwalk, we treated ourselves to a beachside bar which not only provided a nice break, but also some incredible people watching.  Atlantic City draws an incredible crowd, one that you can probably all imagine.  There were the retirees spending their hours at the slots, families escaping to some time in the sun, young adults escaping work, and some incredible fashion statements being made.

We tried our luck at some casinos, something I have really never done.  Sure, the thought of leaving with more money than I started is an exciting possibility, but it is the thought of losing so much in such a short time with nothing to show for it that haunts me more than anything!  I played $11 on some different slot machines and made a little along the way to keep playing, but mostly, that money disappeared without a trace.  Later, Jess taught me about video poker.  Although this game took only a minimal amount of skill, it was at least a bit more involved than just pushing a button or pulling a handle.  On this game, I put in $20, played at a few different machines, and ended up leaving with my $20.  Not a bad time in the casinos!

Remember, it was Splurge Day, so to finish off our evening, we went to our hotel's rooftop bar to watch the sunset.  After the sunset behind us, we could hear the waves and watch the colors of the ferris wheel change in a variety of colors and patterns.

Our hotel is in the reflection, in fact if you look REALLY closely, you can see us!

I'm not sure if Atlantic City is a place I would necessarily recommend, or a place I want to return to, but I'm so glad we chose to spend Splurge Day there.  But, if you do ever happen to go there, make sure that you stop to see Lucy, the six-story elephant that is America's oldest roadside attraction, even older than the Statue of Liberty.

Philly Philly

Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, was the next stop on our tour of the North East.  I'll be honest that I knew very little of the city besides it was where the Declaration of Independence was written.  However, it was a place we felt we needed to visit, and I had some incredibly generous friends from my hometown that are currently living in Philadelphia who welcomed us with open arms.

During our time in Philadelphia, we thoroughly enjoyed walking the city.  While the population of Philadelphia is quite large, the Center City is fairly small and walkable.  The people we encountered were friendly, helpful and proud of the history of the city.

We purchased tickets to a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus to get around the city a little and also learn some of the fun stories, and background information of the city.  For instance, did you know that Philadelphia's City Hall is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most window air conditioners?

One of the other things I absolutely loved about Philly was the way that they deal with graffiti artists.  Quite some time ago, the city decided to combat graffiti problems by giving people who were caught defacing property the chance for either jail time or to help artists create a mural around the city.  Now, the city has almost 4,000 murals throughout, featuring all sorts of scenes that represent different areas of the city.  What a great way to combat crime and give people a second chance!

There is a whole lot to do in Philadelphia, and I will admit that we only scratched the surface, but we had fun seeing what we did see!  Although I've never seen one of the Rocky films (I know, I know...), I have seen the scene where he runs up the steps multiple times.  And don't worry, I, too ran up the stairs and celebrated at the top.  Although, we never actually made it into the Art Museum at the top of those steps, we still did thoroughly enjoy the climb!

And, in a similar manner, we enjoyed posing for fun photos with The Thinker, out front of a small art museum down the road, but we never actually made it through the doors to see more of the collection.

Some of the museums that we did enter though, and thoroughly enjoyed were the Betsy Ross Museum (I had no idea how incredibly independent and forward-thinking she was!), the Benjamin Franklin Museum (man that guy was clever!) and the American Revolution Museum (my favorite part may have been learning that when they pulled down the statue of King George in New York, women used the metal to make bullets for the revolutionaries).  The American Revolution Museum also did a great job of pointing out how many people were not freed with the war even though we claimed it was for freedom.  I found the museum much more powerful than I expected, and absolutely full of information.  We stood in a long line and went into a small museum about the Liberty Bell.  Although the bell was actually a little smaller than I anticipated, it was, nevertheless, inspiring and hopeful.  It is a great symbol for freedom.

I had found out just days before coming to the city that you had to get timed tickets to get entry into Independence Hall.  It is free, but as it is a historic site and you must be on a guided tour, there are limited spaces.  Unfortunately, all of the tickets for the weekend were sold out, but we learned that after 5, you don't have to have a ticket, rather you wait with large crowds of people, they let in 70 at a time for a quick 15 minutes, and you hope you make it in before they close at 7.  We arrived promptly at 4:25 and we were the first people in the third group of people.  It was totally worth the wait even though the view inside was quick.  The crowd of people was escorted by a young ranger with a knack for story-telling who told us about the Declaration of Independence that was signed in this room and the Constitution that was also later signed in this room.  He told us of the chair that George Washington sat in, and how it had a half-sun at the top of it.  The men surrounding Washington wondered if the sun was a symbol of a rising or setting sun, but after the Constitution was finished, they were certain it was truly a rising sun.  It was in this room that our Founding Fathers made wise, forward-thinking decisions and formed a totally new government unlike any others before.  If you are going to Philly, don't miss out on this stop - but do try to get tickets ahead of time!

And of course, what trip to Philadelphia would be complete without some food highlights?  We wandered around the crowded Reading Market packed with tourists and locals getting everything from ice cream to fruit to cheesesteaks to fresh fish.  I know that we did not go to the famous nor best place to get Philly Cheesesteaks, but as neither of us had had one before, we decided that one from Reading Market was just fine.  I must admit, that it was much more delicious than I expected, although, I'm still not quite certain what it is.  While wandering around the market, we also encountered a long line of people and decided to join in, happily discovering it was for Beiler's Donuts which were homemade, Amish donuts of just about every flavor you could imagine.  My caramel apple one was to die for, and in fact much of my face ended up being covered in caramel as I tried to lick the plastic it had come wrapped in.  Jan also introduced us to something called Water Ice, which sounds odd, but it was a step closer to a slushy from a sorbet: quite delicious and fruitfully refreshing.  And don't worry, of course we also had a scrumptious pretzel as well!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Philadelphia, but as much as anything, I enjoyed catching up with some friends from home whom I had not seen in years.  I loved hearing about their new lives in the big city, and how they had found their place amongst thousands.  What a joy, and a blessing, to have great friends scattered about the country who willingly and generously open their homes up to us!

Two Days in Two Small States

Remember our goal of seeing all 50 states? Well, for us, that means you have to do something in that state. It doesn’t mean we have to spend the night, just at least do something. We had already spent a night in the other side of Maryland, in Frederick, but we really hadn’t done anything in the state. So, we decided to visit America’s coolest small town: Berlin. I know, you thought you had the coolest small town, but I’m sorry to disappoint you, that belongs to Berlin.

Driving to Berlin was unique countryside. We crossed long bridges from Annapolis over Chesapeake Bay then small islands with bay towns. The land from there was flat, and much to my surprise, full of farmland growing, mostly what appeared to be corn and wheat.

The town of Berlin is itty bitty, and I only knew it existed because a cousin had recently traveled there and posted pictures. The main strip is about three blocks long full of little shops for beach shoppers, small diners, ice cream shops, wine bars and even a tea shop. There was a children’s shop that had sidewalk chalk and a bucket with wands for bubble blowing outside their door. There was the kind welcome man with pamphlets and brochures to tell you more about the town, including the specific spots of Runaway Bride! That’s right, the adorable town where Julia Roberts and Richard Gere fall in love was actually Berlin, Maryland. My favorite shop in the film was a hair salon called “Curl Up and Dye” which is now the Runaway Tide General Store. We saw multiple store fronts from the film, and the brochure helped by including both the film name and actual name so we could see the bridal shop, Maggie’s shop, the hardware store, and we even walked by her house. All of this in a span of just a few blocks!

We had fish sandwiches and wraps while people watching at an outside table, and I had a major, life-changing kind of moment. How do you eat your hush puppies? Plain? Dipped in ketchup? Dipped in whatever soup you’ve got? Me too. I’m actually not one for a lot of fancy sauces. I typically eat my food with little to no “dressings.” So, when the waiter presented a dip on my plate that I was unsure of, I almost brushed it aside, but thankfully, first, I took a little sniff. When my olfactory senses approved, I gave it a little taste. My mouth was in heaven and the only thing that made it better was dipping the hush puppy into the thick, sweet concoction: honey-butter with a dash of cinnamon. I’m not sure hush puppies will ever be the same for me.

Betty is doing well, but we had encountered a minor problem when we left DC. I believe I accidentally hit the vent/rear window button at one point and it opened, but then it would not close. We read online seeking advice, which we tried such as switching windows on and off, turning the car on and off, and even messing with part of the fuse box. (If you just said, “I didn’t know fuse boxes were in cars, too,” don’t worry, I was right there with ya!) So, we decided to give in and went to Napa Auto. The man there could not have been nicer. After about ten minutes of pushing, pulling and pliers, Betty was once again ready for another adventure. And I put duct tape over the rear window buttons so that doesn’t happen again.

Not far from Berlin, we hit the coastal road. The beach road in Maryland reminded me so much of the coastal road in Gulf Shores or the Florida pan-handle, I believe I could have been transplanted without even knowing it. There were condo buildings on the beach side, with tacky t-shirt and beachwear shops across the street, and scattered among them were restaurants with funny, beach-themed names, but as we crossed the state border into Delaware, the setting changed. There were more state parks, small housing developments rather than large condo buildings, and huge, beautiful homes along the bay. 

Our destination was Rehoboth Beach, a supposedly newer, up and coming sort of beach. There was a long boardwalk that separated the buildings and the beach. Along the boardwalk were ice cream, pizza, and popcorn stands, interspersed with arcade games, t-shirt shops, henna tattoo offerings, and beach collectibles. I’m so very spoiled by Gulf beaches, that while walking in the sand felt great, the tan sand and brown water was not nearly as magical as what I usually get to see in the Gulf. Crowds of people were there, enjoying the beach, though, and I’m so glad the beach is so close for so many people in the area.

The area is also known for their crab, so before leaving, we made it a point to get a crab cake sandwich, and it was quite delicious!

Aside from visiting the beach in Delaware, we decided that we should see something historical since it was the first state. The people here are certainly proud of this claim to fame, too. Dover, about in the center of the state was where the First State House was. We stopped at several places throughout the colonial feeling town, and everywhere we went, we were greeted with overwhelming kindness. We also began thinking that the people in these tourist spots must be a bit bored because they each talked to us for long stretches of time, eager to share with others about the history of their state. I learned more about Delaware than I believe I ever knew there was to learn. Did you know Delaware was the only state east of the Mason-Dixon Line? And although a slave-holding state, they fought alongside the Union. Delaware was at one time part of Pennsylvania, but became its own colony, still controlled by William Penn, so that he could have access to the Delaware River. Also, there is no sales tax in Delaware-a nice little shopping bonus!

One more quick stop in Delaware was New Castle, another old colonial town with an old town square surrounded by cobblestone and brick roads. This was one place William Penn came ashore. We ordered ice cream at the local pub where the waiters dressed in colonial clothing and our only choices were colonial flavors.

The towns we are encountering are seemingly becoming more and more quintessential small-town America, so I can’t wait to see what we encounter the further north we travel!