Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for delaware
The Wonders of Delmarva
By Linda Tancs
The Delmarva Peninsula is a large peninsula embracing the state of Delaware and the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland and Virginia. Its name derives from this tri-state reach (DelMarVa) of about 170 miles. It’s one of the earliest sites of European settlement and boasts a record of indigenous occupation since the last Ice Age. Among the many tourist destinations in the region, some highlights are Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, Ocean City in Maryland and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia.
Share this:
Americana in the Valley
By Linda Tancs
The centerpiece of the Brandywine Valley, Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library is an American estate formerly owned by renowned antiques collector and horticulturist Henry Francis du Pont. Located in Winterthur, Delaware, it reportedly has the most significant collection of American decorative arts in the world, boasting nearly 90,000 objects made or used in America since 1640. Along with the stunning mansion, Winterthur also features 1,000 acres of protected meadows, woodlands, ponds and waterways as well as a 60-acre garden designed by du Pont. To make the most of your visit, buy the Winterthur Experience Package, which admits you to the major entertaining spaces on a self-guided tour of the fifth floor of the house and includes access to the garden and walking trails.
Share this:
At the Mouth of the Delaware Bay
By Linda Tancs
Delaware’s Cape Henlopen State Park sits at the mouth of the Delaware Bay. With over 6 miles of coastal habitat, it offers dunes, maritime forests and wetlands. Strategically, its point (where the bay meets the Atlantic Ocean) led to the creation of Fort Miles during World War II. Military history buffs will love the artillery collection at the site, which includes one of the deck guns from USS Missouri. The Point Overlook is a great place to view birds, seals and dolphins, particularly those that congregate around the East End and Harbor of Refuge lighthouses.
Share this:
The House That Gunpowder Built
By Linda Tancs
Gunpowder, also known as black powder, is the earliest-known chemical explosive. In the U.S., French émigré E.I. du Pont founded DuPont Company in 1802 to become the largest gunpowder and explosives producer in the country and ultimately one of the leading engineering firms in the world. That history is evident at Hagley, the du Pont family estate in Wilmington, Delaware. Built along the banks of the Brandywine above the gunpowder mills, it was the family’s first home in America and arguably the least known. You can journey through the powder yards, where you’ll find the only operating black powder roll mill in the country as well as historic stone structures that housed the powder manufacturing process. The home itself is a Georgian-style mansion, filled with furnishings and collections of American folk art and family heirlooms brought with them from France when they left in 1799. The gardens facing the residence are stunning and illustrate the passion that du Pont had for botany. This time of year the brilliant orange of the Oriental poppy is on display, which, according to family tradition, E. I. du Pont introduced into America with seeds sent from Le Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Hagley is part of the Greater Philadelphia Gardens network.
Share this:
Delaware’s First State Capitol Building
By Linda Tancs
Just minutes from Wilmington, Delaware, historic New Castle presents a treasure trove of colonial history. For instance, the New Castle Court House, built in 1732, served as Delaware’s first court and state capitol building. At that site in 1776, New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties declared their independence from Pennsylvania and England, creating the State of Delaware. A National Historic Landmark and museum, the trials of abolitionists Thomas Garrett and John Hunn were held there. In 2003, the court house was designated as a National Historic Underground Railroad Site by the U.S. Government. Visitors to the museum learn about Delaware’s colonial and state history, early European settlements and the Delaware Underground Railroad.
Share this:
Delaware’s Tall Ship
By Linda Tancs
Kalmar Nyckel was one of America’s pioneering colonial ships, a gun-armed merchant vessel leading an expedition that founded the colony of New Sweden in the Delaware Valley. A world power in the 1600s, Sweden established Fort Christina in present-day Delaware, the first permanent European settlement in the valley. Kalmar Nyckel made four roundtrip crossings of the Atlantic between 1637 and 1645, more than any other vessel of its era. Later, it served as a warship for the Swedish navy. The faithful reproduction sailing today is the official tall ship of Delaware. From April to November she sails from her home port in Wilmington and visits ports-of-call along the eastern seaboard from Virginia to New England.
Share this:
Pumpkin Fever in Delaware
By Linda Tancs
Ever wonder what happens to all those Halloween pumpkins? It might surprise you to learn that people from across the country converge east of Bridgeville, Delaware to launch pumpkins into the air during the annual Punkin Chunkin competition in November. Now through 4 November, teams will use their engineering skills and ingenuity to hurl their pumpkins to the greatest heights. A nationally recognized event, a share of the proceeds is earmarked for charitable giving. What better reason is there to chunk than that!
Share this:
Apple Scrapple in Delaware
By Linda Tancs
If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s this: Bridgeville, Delaware’s Apple Scrapple Festival always takes place during the second weekend in October. Of course, apples are ripe and ready for harvesting and storage in October. But you can’t miss the smell of scrapple being processed in the summer months in this western Sussex County town. Come celebrate their export at the festival this weekend. The fun begins at 4:00 p.m. on Friday with the carnival, food court and street dance. Enjoy Saturday’s full day of events, including the Little Miss Apple Scrapple pageant, the skillet toss and scrapple chunkin’, and the scrapple slingin’. So who’ll be this year’s King of Sling?
Share this:
Invention Convention
By Linda Tancs
Calling all young inventors: today is your last chance to tinker at the Invention Convention taking place at the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Delaware. Features include Tinkering Tables to disassemble and discover gadgets, a station to invent your own device and obtain a Hagley patent, a Factory System to try your hand at assembly work and a Patent Model exhibit where you can examine Hagley’s collection of patent models made by real inventors. Workshops run continuously throughout the day.
Share this:
Delaware’s Distinctions
By Linda Tancs
Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Needless to say, historical sites and artifacts abound, but Delaware’s distinctions also extend to its cuisine, unique festivities and great beaches. Learn more about the First State at Travelrific® Travel Show.
Travelrific® Travel Journal 