4 -- the scenic route home

Today I headed home. I left the farm at about six and headed north. It was way to early to stop at Stratford Hall. Next time I head south it's on my to-do list.

I pretty much drove straight thru this morning -- I only stopped for gas and a snack. I really wanted to avoid the Philly traffic. Traffic was light at most places, and I was about 30 minutes outside Willmington by about 11:15. That gave me enough time to do the New Castle Volkssport walk and still beat traffic. My goal time to be thru Philly was 2 pm.

I had difficulty with the instructions to the start point. To me they weren't clear. I stopped and asked an old man and he confirmed that I guessed right. I checked in and read the first instruction. It said to leave the the start point and turn left on Delaware. I did. I was supposed to turn at a school's parking lot.

There were so many cool colonial buildings I didn't realize how far I walked. But the Delaware Bay was facing me. No school. I looked at the directions. Nothing was right. I looked at the map. I was basically doing the route BACKWARDS. That's. I am pretty sure I'm directionally challenged.

I stepped on to the bike trail, that runs along the beach. The beach was covered with a hundred or more geese. Way more than a gaggle.They sat single file.

The turn around point was the boat house. I had to take a pic of it. This blog has way too much history in this time. Had to add a little art.

This is the oldest building in New Castle. I wanted to go in. But it, along with the other museums were not open. It was probably better, since I needed to get out of Philly before rush hour.

And I did it. I missed all the traffic. To reward myself I got off the Turnpike in Lansdale and went to the Wissihickon Green Ribbon Trail and did another walk. I did about 3 miles. One section of the trail was covered with shells and nuts. I'm not sure what kind. I thought maybe black walnuts, but there were no green casings. It was hard to walk on them.

After I returned to the turnpike and forgot I was now heading north. As I turned into the southbound lane I realized I was wrong and it was too late.  Crap. The first exit was in Plymouth Meeting. A mecca for shopping centers and office buildings. I was headed back to Philly. Just in time for rush hour.

Miles/Steps: About 6. Not bad since I spent 8 hours in a car
Weather:      gorgeous
Wildlife:       more than a gaggle of geese. There must have been over 100.
Extras:         At Jo's I've been sleeping on the couch. There are also three cats in the house and they all have distinct personalities. Dobby is the lover. He was always trying to get into bed with me. He's also a roamer. Jumping up and down off furniture all night. Rita is the quite one. She loves to be petted. And Arabella is the spy. The cat tower is right next to the couch and she sits on the highest perch and stares down at me. I think secretly that she's really a softie. Just noisy.