Next came Delaware. The traffic was a little heavier on 13 now so when I arrived near Dover I decided to pay the $1 to take toll road 1 that I could exit south of Wilmington and arrive in Pennsylvania before dark. It was 6 pm and I was 45 miles from Wilmington and right on schedule. I had just passed a sign for a state park and decided to go on. What a plan! What a mistake!
Soon the toll road traffic was traveling 30 mph and I realized the large area surrounded by bleachers and a huge number of cars and campers was a NASCAR track. I not only didn't know there was a race track at Dover, Delaware, but I sure didn't know they were racing on Sunday afternoon. At first I thought the race must still be going on and that there must have been a wreck on the toll road, so I exited at the first chance to go back to 13 at Smyrna. What a mistake!
As it took me 45 minutes to go a few blocks I realized all these people had been to the race and it must be over. It was getting nearer dark and I was trying to obey rule #1 and not travel after dark. But there was no place to get off, no place to stay, and certainly no campground. At this point if I had even seen a motel I would have stopped. A quick look at the map and I decided to take 6 east and then 9 north to get out of the traffic. That worked beautifully and I sped along the small roads among the cornfields. Shortly after I turned north on 9 I realized that others had the same idea. I soon found myself in bumper to bumper traffic as dark descended. There were cars as far in front and to the rear as I could see and we traveled along the winding country road at 50 miles an hour. I didn't know where I was going but in the dark I thought I would just follow the crowd. Once in awhile the traffic would stop and I would creep along in first gear. This might be caused by a 15 mph curve in the road or a stop sign. We passed through Taylor's Bridge and then Port Penn. A later look at the map let me know I had taken a ride up a Greenway alongside the Delaware River.
Port Penn looked in the dark like a charming old town and then off through the Canal National Wildlife Refuge where the traffic came to a halt. We creeped along for what seemed like forever and I realized we were going over a draw bridge that crossed the C&D Canal. I wondered what would happen and who opens these draw bridges because if a red light came on there would be no way to get off the bridge. I thought if it opened we would all just tumble backwards or forwards on the cars in harm's way. We soon came into Delaware City where I stopped at the first gas station I saw and asked if there were any place to camp. I was informed that Lums Pond State Park was nearby so onto 72 and south on 71 I went.
It was only twelve miles away and the man assured me I couldn't miss it. He doesn't know how my eyes work after dark. I turned at a sign that said Main Entrance and passed the hayride staging area and finally spotted the entrance in the dark but with the car right behind me I went to the end of the road and approached again. When I pulled off I realized the gate was locked and they closed at dark. Another gated community? This made no sense if they had camping but on I went back in the direction I had come. I soon saw a brown camping sign with an arrow and my hopes were up again. I turned right, headed south on 71, and eventually arrived at the entrance to the campgrounds.
I was delighted to be there and it was only 9 pm. I found out that Mark Martin had won the race and felt a little better knowing that at least an Arkansan had put me through this three hours of misery.
I awoke early the next morning and as I could hear traffic nearby and it was obvious everyone was on the way to work. I would look for some back roads and take a new approach to Pennsylvania. The traffic all seemed to be heading north so I headed south and then east along a narrow quiet back road as the round ball that was sunrise appeared over the cornfields. Every morning seems now to begin with a lovely drive through the countryside and I soon found myself again in Maryland and arriving at Chesapeake City.
What a charming little old, quaint town along the C&D canal. The bay area was full of boats moored and the little town streets were lined with old houses, not so large, that had the dates on front. Most were labeled in the 1850's but some dated from 1836 to 1890. What a thriving little village this must have been. As a tourist area they seemed to take a lot of pride in their heritage and the houses and shops were all painted in various colors. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal connects Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River over which I would cross again on a long arching bridge. But first a stop at the Bohemia Bakery and Cafe.
The town was quiet at 7:30 but soon others began to arrive. I really like to watch a new town on my itinerary, planned or not, wake up. The shop had just opened a couple of weeks ago and the bakery wasn't in operation yet but I still enjoyed three cups of coffee, two muffins, and visiting with the people.
I drove down to the park and was impressed when I saw a sign "bikes to borrow" which was indeed different from all the bikes to rent for $4.00 an hour or $10.00 a day I had seen on the Outer Banks. I traveled on north toward Lancaster, Pa up highway 213.
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