Lewes by Land

Mary and I decided to take a few days away from the hectic schedule and head for the beach. We are fortunate that her Aunt & Uncle let us use their condo that sits right on the Delaware Bay. We invited Mary's Mom to join us since rumor has it that the condo is for sale and who knows how long it will be available.

We decided to pack up the ML320 instead of 679er and drove instead of flying. 679er is headed to the shop Monday morning for a check on the starter then it's back to work for the both of us so I can complete the Instrument Rating. I worked a double Wednesday and took the day off Thursday. After some much needed sleep I was still somewhat out of it as we headed south. I advised Mary not to ask me questions that needed much thought. Ah, you laugh, but I was some what cloudy on the events at hand. I felt ok to drive or at least wanted to give it a go for the short 1.5 hour ride. I would not have made this trip if we had to fly, I just didn't feel as sharp as I would want to be when flying.

Once motoring along I started to get with the program. Traffic moved along at a pretty good pace until the usual pinch points on I-95 here in Delaware. The dreaded I-95/I495/I295 merger, just terrible. Finally clear of that mess and we slow down for the I-95/SR1 merge, just as bad, maybe worse if you throw in the mall traffic entering and exiting at the same interchange. With the worst of the traffic problems behind us I motor along very nicely at 70-75 staying with traffic and shaking that cloudy feeling. We arrive to a really nice wx day and quickly open the beach house and unpack. I grabbed the "cleared for approach" manual from King while Mary was changed and sprinting for the beach. We had a few hours before we had to head to the Cape May Lewes Ferry for the fireworks tour.

Time to saddle up and head for the boats! The Twin Capes (pictured left)took on 800 passengers and no vehicles, the Delaware took on 500 passengers. It was a one hour twenty minute cruise to reach the fireworks display area which happened to be just off Cape May on the Bay side. There were bands playing people dancing and yes, Pete the Pirate making his rounds. The fireworks show was awesome and we all had a good time. We three were dead beat tired when we got back to the condo and I passed out immediately after hitting the bed.

Friday morning has us up and out for a nice ride to the Georgetown Airport, KGED. You must understand that I have to have some sort of flying fix even while on vacation. It was decided that we would try the new Lighthouse Landing Restaurant in the Terminal. I've been on the forums to long, I even keep my non-aviation posts tied into flight somehow. I think we were the first customers of the morning since we had our choice of seating. Window seats of course, like you really had to ask! The food was very good, service was good too and as always the place is very clean. There was a Gulfstream III parked on the flight line owned by LOR, Inc from Atlanta and a Citation 560XL owned by Citation Shares Sales that taxied in while we sat and enjoyed the view.

Mary and I spent a good bit of the day on the beach then made our way back to shower for dinner. Tonight we were going to Lazy Susan's, the best crab place in Lewes/Rehobeth Delaware. We walked in with no waiting line, this didn't last long . The line grew very quickly as we awaited our order. To start off we ordered a bucket of fifty clams, they went quickly but kept us happy until or dozen of large crabs arrived. Ummmm...old bay on steaming crabs, nothing better. I also ordered a side of crabsghetti that we could all pick on. AS I looked around the room there wasn't much talking but a hell of a lot of picking going on, I was in the midst of some serious crab eaters. We waddled out to the parking lot and headed to the condo, tummy's full and now like all good little puppies needing a nap.


Saturday we hooked up with my brother and his wife for breakfast. Cracker Barrel was packed and we waited about forty-five minutes. The food was ok and our server was very good, he was non-stop with orders and keeping tabs on all his tables. After breakfast the ladies; Mom, Mary and Janice headed for the outlets. The men decided on checking out the "Sports at the Beach" baseball complex and a few other locations from years gone by. I'm not sure how but my brother managed to find the first beach house he purchased back in 1976. It was a walk down memory lane as we checked it out and of course commented on the front screened in porch he and my father added. Next on our list were the properties my parents owned in Angola by the Bay. We made it to Rt 24 but the traffic was terrible. I bet we poked along for almost an hour as we made our way towards the main highway (SR1) . We decided not to turn off and loose our place in line, those properties would be there for another trip. The men finally reach home and kick back to watch baseball, nap and channel surf......life is good. Our beloved Brides and my Mother-in-law spent all day at the outlets. Yes, all day, as they returned with prizes in hand as if conquering some new land with the battle lasting until after 5 pm. I don't know how they do it.

After our group dinner we all decided on ice cream. We had passed some dairy on Rt.9 so we made the stop on our way back home. I can not do the explanation any justice unless the people who host this blog can provide a scratch and sniff. Mind you this was a dairy farm....ok your getting the mind scent. As we walked up to order, the lines at least 10 deep, Mary dropped out. She covered her nose said I'll pass and made a beeline for the SUV. I joked it's no worse then when I worked on the horse farm but in all honesty, cows STINK way more then horses. My Sister-in-law was next as she headed back to the car. Just three soldiers left standing, me, my mother-in-law and my brother. After about 15 minutes and no real movement in the line we bailed. The decision was made to head into downtown Lewes and hit the ice cream stand there. The ladies said we brought the stink with us and the group was laughing so hard my sides still hurt. A kodak moment as the old commercial used to advertise.


Sunday morning we rise and shine to cloudy skies. Maggie is scheduled for pick up around 12:30 so we decide to clean house, pack up and head out for breakfast. Today we hit the Lemon Tree, a nice little "hole in the wall" type of place with good service and very good food. My trip north took 1 hour and 20 minutes, yes the um... traffic, yeah that's it, the traffic was really moving. Heavy showers as we passed through Dover but blue skies in north Wilmington.

A fun trip for some beach and study time helps recharge the batteries. Mary and I enjoy the family time together. The cats are avoiding us, "giving us the tail" as Mary calls it. Maggie's pick up time was changed to 6pm which killed our last beach day. Mary's first comment was, she could have had beach time before we headed home.

I'm off to check wx for tomorrow's flight to get 679er's starter checked out. Back to aviation posts tomorrow!