The Wandering Disciple

The Delaware Breakwater East End Light sits on a breakwater near Cape Henlopen, Delaware. It was constructed as part of a safe haven project initiated by President John Quincy Adams. The Atlantic Coast from Virginia to New Jersey provided no safe harbors for large ships during storms. So a breakwater was added to protect the Delaware Bay, giving the ships a harbor of refuge. The 49 foot lighthouse was built in 1884 to help guide ships to the safe waters of the Delaware Bay. (Photo: April 28, 2004)

Millsboro, Delaware: Day five of the vacation was a day of rest and relaxation following the hectic past few days. This proved to be the double edged sword. We got the well needed rest but the down town proved to be detrimental as the personality conflicts set in. I love my family to death, but too long together and its time for a break. Plus to make things worse, they were in the process of moving and the living environment wasn’t the greatest. So to avoid a conflict that would start Family World War III, we made the decision to wrap up the trip a few days early and head back home. Delta Airlines was accommodating in changing our flight schedule and we would fly out of BWI in the morning. We spend the evening around town and went into the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk following dinner. After browsing the shops, we went back to the house to get some sleep before the early morning drive to Baltimore.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: We left Delaware in the morning to head back to Pennsylvania. We were going to spend a little more time with family in Lebanon before heading to the airport in Harrisburg. We suffered our only glitch of the trip when we were trying to leave Harrisburg. It began when we tried to make it through security. My mom gave us an anniversary clock for our one year wedding anniversary we celebrated while on the trip on the 26th. To avoid having it broken in our checked baggage, we kept it in our carry on. Well it alarmed the TSA screener and we were taken aside into secondary screening while the examined the clock to make sure it wasn’t a bomb. Then once they cleared the clock and returned it to us, we made it to the gate only to find out the plane was grossly overweight. The Comair representative said that since we were going to encounter heavy weather on the flight into Atlanta, they needed to take on more fuel. They asked four people to voluntarily give up ...

Lewes, Delaware: Located on the site of a former military base, Cape Henlopen is a state park located on the Atlantic Ocean. At over 5,000 acres, the park features beaches, camping, nature trail and much more. The public park aspect of Cape Henlopen began in 1682 when William Penn declared the beaches to be the publics beach making it the first public lands. The cape was an important military stronghold through the World Wars. It was in operation during the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War and both World Wars. The cape was fortified more during World War II with the construction of Fort Miles. The park is also home to two lighthouses that help aid ships through the Delaware Bay. The Harbor of Refuge Light and the Delaware Breakwater East End Light located just offshore help guide the ship traffic through the waters. The state park was founded in 1964 by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. It offers visitors miles of ocean and bay fr...

Lewes, Delaware: Today was a rest day. After no breaks through the first half of the trip, we decided to lay low and recuperate a bit. We took a short drive into Lewes, Delaware and spent some time at Cape Henelopen State Park. We then went back to the house, hung around watching movies and going through pictures from the first half of the trip. Not a very exciting day, but a necessary break. We then went to bed early since we were hitting the road again early tomorrow morning.

Jamestown, Virginia: We hit the road early in the morning enroute to Williamsburg, Virginia. We hit the road early as we had a five hour drive in front of us. Along the way, we crossed through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel. The twenty three mile structure features two tunnels that connects the eastern shore of Virginia with the mainland. Once we arrived in Williamsburg, we headed over to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. However we did not remain there long, actually never making it past the front gates. The number of people and large lines already at the gates combined with the unorganization of the staff sent us back to our truck looking for a new plan. We are season ticket holders for Busch Gardens Tampa and receive discounted admission to the other parks, however while trying to get our discounted passes, we were sent from line to line then to guest services and back into line several times without even getting tickets. So we left the park and headed to the hotel to check...

Strasburg, Pennsylvania: We headed to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport to catch an early morning flight to begin our first travel to leave the state. Yeah we have traveled around Florida plenty of times, but this was our first trip together out of the state and my first visit back home to Pennsylvania since moving to Florida in 1998. The itinerary of the trip was a busy one. In one week we were planning on visiting family and seeing a bunch of stops along the way. We plan to visit Williamsburg, New York City and Washington DC while visiting with family in between the trips. The trip started with an early morning flight out of SRQ on Delta to Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport. This was the first flight for both me and my wife. Then in Atlanta, we transferred to a Comair Regional Jet to take us into Harrisburg International Airport. Both legs of the flight were uneventful, perfect for a first flight experience. Once we hit the ground in Pennsylvania, we were greete...