Despite having to move to a second place to park overnight after getting kicked out of Walmart for the first time, the rest of the night at the Biden Welcome Center was peaceful and uneventful. But we did wake up in the morning to use the restroom, only to learn they had no running water, and were turning people away! We left quickly after that to avoid seeing any angry Delawareans (we'd had several cranky interactions already yesterday!).
New Castle, An Old Town
New Castle is a small town with a long history--settlers arrived in 1651, with Dutch, Swedish and English immigrants all leaving their mark here. We'd returned after a cursory drive through yesterday, to explore the quaint town further. A lot of trade occurred in New Castle and it was once the seat of government before Philadelphia was established, but heading into the 19th century, New Castle's economy started to decline, which prevented most residents from making any significant structural changes to their homes. Today, this means that many buildings of historic New Castle have largely not been upgraded or restored and appear much as they did in the Colonial and Federal periods, making for an interesting visit to see this period of history. Additionally, Delaware--and certainly New Castle--was vital to establishing the US, and its colonial history eventually led to it being the first state to ratify the US Constitution.
Besides seeing the exterior of Amstel House yesterday, a few highlights included the New Castle Court House Museum, which was built in 1732, and previously served as Delaware’s first court and state capitol. It's a stately and handsome (we feel like this word is so fitting, as the English would have used it in the Victorian era) red brick building, and is one of the oldest courthouses in the country. Admission is free, but on Sundays it opens late (1:30-4:30pm), and since we were here in morning, we didn't stay to check it out.
Next to the courthouse was a small farmer's market, which was also dog-friendly, with numerous pups walking around, and a few stalls selling dog treats. There were also fresh empanadas, local honey, and various other food and craft stalls mingling with each other. Towards the back there was a group of seniors playing live music, including a cover of the classic Gloria Gaynor hit, "I will survive," which was rather adorable. How lovely for there to be activities for seniors to get together regularly!
Across the road from the courthouse and the farmer's market was Packet Alley. Small boats, known as "packet boats" would dock here--these boats were named for the packets, or mail, that they would deliver. By 1790, there was a wharf that was built in front of what would eventually be called Packet Alley, where would disembark and then get on a stagecoach to wherever they were headed next. There was a small historic plaque detailing this history. New Castle certainly embraced its history, and we saw lots of red brick buildings, Colonial-style taverns (serving "Colonial" ice cream with flavors including Swedish lingonberry and Olde English Maple Walnut), and old churches that were lovely to walk around and see.
A Foxy Meeting
About 40 minutes south of New Castle is the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, which spans almost 16,000 acres. Established in 1937, it's a refuge and breeding ground for migratory and wintering waterfowl and other wildlife. The wildlife drive and trails are open from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Because we were there during the US government shutdown, there were no rangers or other staff working at the wildlife refuge (so they weren't checking for entrance passes), so we could simply drive to the trails.
We were reminded of our time in Yellowstone National Park, as there were a few people who toting binoculars and expensive professional cameras and giant lenses here to spot the wildlife. We saw a few birds, but for us the highlight was seeing a red fox, who stayed some yards in front of us on a trail, where it was eating its catch of the day. If we had more time we could have stayed longer, as it's a wonderful place to simply be serene and in the moment with nature.
A Road Monster
In contrast to the wildlife refuge, the Dover Motor Speedway, an oval racing car track that seats 54,000 people and has hosted major events including the NASCAR and IndyCar races since it opened in 1969. It seems rather rural in the surrounding areas (and is less than 10 miles from the wildlife refuge), so it's rather fascinating to see a huge speedway suddenly pop up along the drive! The speedway parking lot was completely empty as there weren't any events on when we were there, but we did have Miles the Monster greet us at the entrance!
Miles is the world's largest monster, made out of fibreglass and standing at 46 feet (14 meters), and weighing 20 tons. Part of a $6 million project known as the "Monster Makeover" that included renovations to the speedway, Miles was unveiled in 2008, with his grey skin, blazing red eyes, and clutching a racecar in his right hand. At his base there are granite plaques paying tribute to the winners of every Dover NASCAR race since the track opened in 1969, with enough space for winners until 2035. He is so huge that Sheila was completely dwarfed by Miles when she ran up to him!
Beer and Pizza!
In the late afternoon, we checked out the Steampunk Tree House, a large-scale public sculpture made of steel and reclaimed wood, with a Victorian-inspired design that pays tribute to the worlds of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and steampunk aesthetics. The artwork was originally exhibited at the Burning Man festival,, before it was permanently installed in 2010 at Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Delaware.
The Brewery has huge silos (they offer 90 minute tours to get behind-the-scenes of its beer making), and there's a tasting room, an indoor pub area, and plenty of outdoor space, where customers can play the quintessential American game of cornhole, or just hang out near the Tree House. Because it gets darker much earlier now, we had dinner before 6pm (we were hungry!) and got a pizza to have with our drinks. Dogfish has other brewery locations, and this location seemed to be a central and popular spot for the locals.
In the evening, we checked into a Cracker Barrel, which had a decent-sized lot where we were with other vans and RVs for the night. We'll be wrapping up our visit to Delaware and heading into Maryland tomorrow!