anticipation & preparation: delaware

To prepare for our three-day trip to Delaware, I started by looking through a guidebook, Moon Handbooks: Maryland & Delaware. Focusing on the Delaware section, I found two areas to explore, Upper Delaware and Lower Delaware. I read about the du Pont family, why Wilmington has seen hard times, and about the history in the area.

I found some novels and a memoir set in Delaware, as follows:

1. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez (& Mexico) ****
2. Shattered: Reclaiming a Life Torn Apart by Violence by Debra Puglisi Sharp & Marjorie Preston (memoir) – my copy of this book is autographed by the author, who I met at a writer’s conference in Dewey Beach, De. in 2005. ****
3. The Saint of Lost Things by Christopher Castellani ****
4. Beloved by Toni Morrison (also Ohio & Kentucky)
5. West of Rehoboth by Alexs D. Pate

I finished the first three books and I own #4.  I don’t know if I’ll have time to read more than the first three as we’re going at the end of December or in early January.

Itinerary:

Day 1: UPPER DELAWARE

1. Drive to Nemours Mansion and Gardens (2 h 33 min drive)
2. Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington (7 minutes)
3. Old Swede’s Church in Wilmington (12 minutes) (Make appointment on website)
4. Walk around Wilmington, including the Riverfront
5. Stay night in New Castle (17 minutes)

DAY 2: UPPER & LOWER DELAWARE

1. New Castle Court House Museum
2. New Castle Historic Homes (can only see outside in January)
3. Biggs Museum of American Art, Dover, DE (51 minutes)
4. LOWER DELAWARE
   1. Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge (21 minutes)
   2. Cape Henlopen State Park (1 hour 4 minutes)
   3. Stay the night in Rehoboth

DAY 3: LOWER DELAWARE AND RETURN HOME:

1. Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk (25 minutes)
2. Delaware Seashore State Park (18 minutes)
3. Drive home (3 hr 12 minutes)

JOURNAL AND INTENTIONS:

Here are my intentions for this trip:

To see books set in the U.S.A., please visit books | u.s.a. |

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“ANTICIPATION & PREPARATION” INVITATION: I invite you to write a post on your own blog about anticipation & preparation for a particular destination (not journeys in general). If you don’t have a blog, I invite you to write in the comments. Include the link in the comments below by Thursday, January 24 at 1:00 p.m. EST.  When I write my post in response to this challenge on Friday, January 25, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation, on the 4th Friday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂  If you’d like to read more about the topic, see: journeys: anticipation & preparation.

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!