Our Journey East cont.

Part II: Coastal Camping

(Read Part I: Close Friends here.)

It all started with a state study last fall.

My daughters and I were learning about the Eastern regions and I said, “What do you know? Delaware was the first state!”

And then I added, “We should go there.”

It was a novel suggestion,  really, although I did wonder if people actually lived there. Seriously, have you ever met someone who said that they’re from Delaware? Me neither.

We thought it would be fun to go and see. 

Providentially, all the hypothetical talking-about led to actual planning-for, and eventually—ten months later—we were off. What a trek! We drove straight through to Delaware, practically—stopping only for one overnight in Decatur, Illinois and in Ohio for supper with Barbara.

Oh, and there were, of course, all those rest area photos along the way.

We left on Saturday morning and arrived at our destination—Cape Henlopen State Park—on Monday morning at 6:00 a.m. The lady in the little office frowned when we drove up. “Check-in’s at 1:00,” she said unapologetically, not realizing (I’m sure) that she was not making a good first impression as our first ever First State resident. What could we do, though? We did what we’d come all that way to do:

We drove to the beach to see the ocean.

We drove to the ocean because it was there.

These Minnesota kids had never seen one before. (Not that they remember, anyway).  Lakes they got; lakes they understand…so it was pretty hilarious to see their reaction. Basically, they were all “Ew! Ack! This is really salty!”

And then: “Waves! BIG waves! Okay, this is cool.”

George was the least intrepid of the bunch.

In fact, at first he seemed more than a bit unnerved.

Eventually, though, he was all like “Take that, Mr.Shoreline! Try to intimidate me, will you?” He charged the surf and got pounded with the best of them. He saw pods of dolphins; he brought home sand in his pants.

Thank you, Delaware. We absolutely loved your beaches. 

In the end and in retrospect, the best part for me was being a family. The weeks & months fly by so fast that to be there altogether like that…Mom & Dad and every sibling…

Well, it warmed more than just my heart, I’m pretty sure.

It made driving all that way to see a bunch of salt water worth it.

Note: One of the ways that we kept this trip economical was by tent camping. We lived in a tent—and out of a cooler—for two days, which made a big big difference in our budget. That said, I do not have photos from our campsite! Just picture things like a big pregnant momma making pancakes on a cook stove; a tired but happy 13-year-old hanging his beach towel on a line; an 11-year-old engrossed in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; and a 3-year-old playing with the bubbles that were given to him by a neighbor.

Get the picture? It was all good…and we definitely recommend Cape Henlopen State Park.

This despite that crabby employee. ☺

Stay tuned for the next installment! Local Churches & Lots of Lodging is on deck.