“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step” ~ Lao Tzu
Eric & I have enjoyed traveling together since we first met, but what really solidified us as a serious travel duo was the year we spent living in Delaware. Eric’s first job out of college was with a Taiwanese company whose American base was in Delaware. What was supposed to be a six month training ended up being a full year, so we made the most of it. I didn’t have a car & wasn’t working during that time, so I would spend the week planning trips for the weekend. We would rent a car each weekend because the company car they had loaned us could only run a few miles before dying. Plus, it smelled like soy sauce because a previous tenant had spilled a gallon of soy sauce in the front seat & never properly cleaned it. Quite often, we’d get the same rental car, a red PT Cruiser — we LOVED that cruiser! 
When we’d return from a trip, I would write emails to friends & family about our experiences. I also created a scrapbook of that year. So my travel “blogging” essentially began in 2006… 
The photos we have from that year aren’t the best quality, but here are a few that highlight the adventures we had during our time in Delaware. I hope you enjoy!
Ricketts Glen & Jim Thorpe, PA
Ricketts Glen State Park was our favorite place to hike. It had beautiful waterfalls throughout and we would usually spend the night in Wilkes-Barre or Jim Thorpe during these trips. When Eric’s mom & brother and my sisters flew up to visit us, this was the first place we took them.
Eric’s mom & brother
Sisters
Ricketts Glen
Train in Jim Thorpe
Ricketts Glen
Train in Jim Thorpe
Lehigh River
Train in Jim Thorpe
Philadelphia & Lancaster County, PA
I must confess, Philadelphia is my least favorite city in the US, but there were some experiences that we really enjoyed. We LOVED the Reading Terminal Market — it was a feast for the senses & our first introduction to international cuisines. We also loved going to games at the Phillies ballpark because the food & atmosphere were great & the mascot was hilarious! On weekends where we just wanted a quick day trip, we’d drive about 30 minutes to Lancaster County. We would pick up fresh baked goods & produce from the Amish farm stands, watch kids play baseball in their front yards, wait patiently behind horse-drawn carriages, drive along the Brandywine River, & just simply enjoy a slower pace.
We stayed one night at a farmhouse in Lancaster which didn’t have air conditioning — not the smartest choice when the windows all opened up to fresh manure. 🙂
Lancaster Farm
Lancaster Shopping
Lancaster “milking”
Sisters
Lancaster County
Eric in Philadelphia
Philadelphia City Hall
Liberty Bell
Philadelphia Independence Hall
Phillies Game
Hershey, PA
Our biggest disappointment but fondest memory came from a trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania, where the locals all swore we HAD to visit the Hershey factory. We drove in torrential rain to get there & to our dismay realized upon arriving that they no longer allowed tours of the actual facility. Instead, they stuck us on an automated ride where we were introduced to automated cows singing jingles & then ended with a visit to their gift shop — which was covered with tourists losing their minds over marked-up chocolate bars that could be bought at Walmart. Driving home in more rain, we wrote a song called “Hersheyville” to the tune of Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville.” We learned early on to find humor in all things, especially when traveling. 
Cape May, NJ
We spent a romantic weekend in Cape May, New Jersey, at the Carroll Villa Hotel directly over the Mad Batter Restaurant. They’re both still open & I’d love to go back. Skip the Jersey shore & visit this lovely Victorian seaside town instead!
WWII Bunker
New York City
At the time, my aunt & uncle were living in Manhattan so we stayed with them one weekend & had a blast! They treated us to “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” on Broadway & took us to some phenomenal restaurants (Rosa Mexicano, Trattoria Dell-Arte, & others I cannot remember). When we were on our own, we strolled Central Park, toured Ellis Island, learned to navigate the many subway levels of New York, learned a lot about anatomy at MoMA, & stopped to meditate at Ground Zero (the 9/11 memorial hadn’t been constructed yet). I wish we had more photos, but Eric dropped the camera on our last day there so we lost most of our images.
Ellis Island
Ellis Island Ferry
Lady Liberty
Central Park
Ground Zero
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Ellis Island
Washington DC & Baltimore
Washington DC was only about 2 hours from our apartment in Delaware, so we visited several times. We usually stayed at a hotel in Bethesda & hopped on the metro to take us to the center. We loved our visits to DC, especially during the Cherry Blossom Festival. The museums & monuments were all amazing, but I of course especially loved the Library of Congress. One of my favorite stories from DC was on our first experience with the metro. I left Eric alone to help an older Chinese man with the kiosk & returned to an exasperated husband who said “Why did you leave me! I put $12 on one card instead of $6 on two cards!” As for Baltimore, we just had time for a quick visit to the Orioles ballpark at Camden Yards & some sightseeing along the riverfront.
Camden Yards Baltimore
Eric & brother
Cherry Blossoms
Cherry Blossoms
FDR Memorial
FDR Memorial braille
Cherry Blossoms
Washington Monument
Lincoln Monument
Cherry Blossoms
White House (back)
Capitol
Library of Congress
Protesting on Capitol Lawn
Camden Yards Baltimore
Camden Yards Baltimore
Camden Yards Baltimore
Virginia is for Lovers…& more
We visited so many other places during that year, but unfortunately we’ve lost some of the photos. I’ll leave you with a sampling of experiences:
- Hiked & drove through the Shenandoah Valley
- Toured Monticello & drank our way through Virginia wineries
- Walked historic Charlottesville
- Passed through Harper’s Ferry & the gorgeous Potomac River basin
- Weekly strolls in the Brandywine Valley, with its majestic horse farms, quiet streams, & mushroom farms
- Toured Longwood Gardens & the DuPont estates
- Learned to eat Maryland crabs like a local on the Chesapeake
- Dined like a Colonial at Jessop’s Tavern in a 300 year old building
- Watched a live performance of The Sound of Music at Three Little Bakers Dinner Theatre in Delaware (a year before it closed)
- Did WAY too much outlet shopping & seafood dining in Rehoboth Beach
- Experienced the solitude of a fall day in Gettysburg
- Bought antique dishes & toy boxes at the outdoor antiques market in Shupps Grove
- Tapped into my ancestry at the Celtic Fling & Highland Games in Mount Hope, PA
