How Bill starts the morning – coffee and apple dumpling:

Today we decided we would visit Delaware.  Apparently, you can’t get there from here easily.  We avoid toll roads when possible.  We did have a lovely drive, reminiscent of the old “Sunday Afternoon Drive”.  Our travels took us through Amish Country, we shared the roads with horse and buggy traffic, and many cyclists.  Our route was through farmland and beautiful scenery.

We were driving through Cochranville, PA when we noticed an Old Car Show.  That demanded a U-turn when able, and unplanned stop to check it out.

After adequate confirmation that the car show was legit, we soldiered on to Delaware.  Our original plan to check out a farmer’s market/flea market changed to exploring White Clay Creek State Park near Newark, Delaware.  ($8.00 entrance to the State Park versus me in a Farmer’s Market/Flea Market in Amish country – huge savings here in money and calories!)  There were several hiking trails, so we (Bill, Piper, and I) set off to explore.  You could easily spend a couple days exploring the trails in this area.

There were lovely fields, including one of milkweed (dear to our Monarch-loving hearts):

Lots of old ruins/remnants of buildings from the past to tickle the imagination:

Piper after the 5k walk (keep in mind, she is 12+ years old) – in the car, and then at home this evening (too bad I can’t add volume for her snoring):

It’s always easy to share the fun stuff about our lifestyle.  To keep it real, let me tell you about two of our challenges this trip.  In Michigan and through Maine, we were plagued by gnats.  In Michigan, we actually purchased and set off bug bombs to try and kill them.  My standby had failed miserably (1Tablespoon water, ¼ tsp dish soap, 1 tsp. sugar, and 1/3 cup cheap red wine in a bowl on the counter) – this works excellent for gnats and fruit flies – unless the gnats are swarming outside and enter every time the door is opened.  We seem to have lost them somewhere in Massachusetts.  In Maryland, we were overrun by stinkbugs.  They come inside on everything – and of course, you don’t want to squash them!  At this moment, it appears that they jumped ship at the Maryland state line.

We often sample regional foods that are not familiar to us.  Last night, we did just that.  We had Pennsylvania Dutch (PD) Sausage (fresh), John Cope’s Corn, PD Chow-Chow, PD bacon dressing on our salad, pickled beets with pickled eggs, local cheese, and Lebanon Bologna.  Are you familiar with John Cope’s Corn?  Apparently it is dried, toasted sweet corn that is then reconstituted – doesn’t look like sweet corn, doesn’t smell like it, or taste like it either.  That particular product won’t be on our table again – it must be an acquired taste.

Miles today:  168

White Clay Creek State Park:  https://www.destateparks.com/WhiteClayCreek

 

John Cope’s Corn:  https://www.pageneralstore.com/category/CopesCorn