Crossing Delaware

Cape Henlopen State Park,  Delaware

Our trip began in Washington, D.C. We met our good friends, Wolfgang and Sebastian, at the swank AKA Whitehouse, a short walk from The White House.  We shared a comfortable suite and enjoyed the great location, including walks to the Mall, and great dinners at such restaurants as the Founding Farmers. We also made trips to the zoo and to Georgetown, dining at such historic places as Martin's. 

For me Washington meant Art, the National Gallery and the surreal performance of Laurie Anderson and others at the Hirschhorn. Washington was an aesthetic experience.

Founding Fathers

Hermes, National Gallery

Laurie Anderson

From Washington we drove in the rented car Wolfgang arranged, a Nissan Maxima. It was roomy and comfortable. It took us around 3 hours to get out of DC and into the rural and lovely, farming countryside that took us to Lewes, Delaware.

Lewes is a beautiful, historic town filled with attractive houses and gardens. Its Dutch heritage is displayed in a building that is a replica of one in Holland from the 1600s (the British destroyed the original when they seized the town, burned it, and killed most, If not all, the people).

Lewes also has a beach and a State Park, Cape Henlopen, which we visited twice, the second time by bicycle, riding the 8 miles to Gordon Pond (and 8 miles back), seeing vistas, countless birds, marshes, and deer. What a joy and inspiration the bike ride was.

We found out later that it is a favorite of First Lady Jill Biden and the President. They ride there every June around her birthday.

Biking Henlopen

 

Savannah Beach

Darryl and I also took the ferry to Cape May, another beachfront, historic town. The ferry crosses where the bay opens up to the Atlantic Ocean. Sea birds followed us.

Cape May  

 

 Annapolis

One of the surprises of our visit to Annapolis was the encounter with the paintings and life of Charles Peale. His work was featured in the gorgeous Hammond-Harwood House: https://hammondharwoodhouse.org/

The story revealed is his relationship with his slave, Moses Williams. 

Peale taught Williams how to make the silhouettes. Williams became so skilled in doing so that he made a fortune. Peale granted Wilson his freedom and supported his art by displaying it in his own gallery. Wilson went on to marry Peale’s white cook, build a respectable home and have a decent life. We wondered if he was not in fact Peale’s son. I also loved finding an article that traced Kara Walker’s brilliant, provocative art back to Williams.

https://daily.jstor.org/the-former-slave-who-became-a-master-silhouette-artist/?fbclid=IwAR2jjE1f50zyS6noDCSx1AifnFJgSJwiTIvCrFGqZjpRdMZTHJ1qkBZb27o

Annapolis of course is a beautiful and historic small city. We walked the town, took in the houses and state house, and strolled the lovely, shaded campus of St. John’s College, making me nostalgic for my stay there so many years ago. 

Sebastian, Darryl, and Wolfgang, Mike's Seafood

On our last night of the trip, we walked around downtown and the waterfront, dining at the popular, packed, Boatyard Grill. Best fried oysters and Ahi Tuna we have had.