So I went home that day and looked at the current weather maps and decided that is we were going to go anywhere it would be Delaware and Maryland. So I started to look up points of interest, roadside attractions, and things to do in those states. I wasn't looking for anything that we would have to spend hours, so no museums, I just wanted something that would be interesting to see and move on from to the next destination.
It took a couple of days of searching and using google maps to make sure I was going in the most time efficient manner (when you are doing 11-12 hours of driving you don't want to take the long way). But eventually I managed to figure out a trip that would bring us to five destinations. The stats were 11:23 driving time and 650 miles.
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| Trip to Maryland and Delaware |
The trip out of NY had us take the Throggs Neck Bridge to the George Washington Bridge where we joined up with the Jersey Turnpike and took it south all the way through New Jersey. I didn't have any interesting points for Jersey so we were really just driving and talking. At some point "Fly Over States" by Jason Aldean came over the radio and after singing along with it my Mom commented that we were going to be moving to one of those 'fly over states'. I said I know and that I wanted to see all of them. My Mom agreed. She said she wanted to see Amarillo, one of the places mentioned in the song, and Montana's big sky. I said I wanted to drive the Badlands and see the 'amber waves of grain' we sing about every summer. It was a perfect song to catch our mood and our love of exploring new places. Meg had also told me she was excited for when the two of us finally joined her in TN. Then we could use her C-Max hybrid for road trips and Schultzy would be able to come with us.
Also as we were driving on the turnpike and hitting/trying to avoid pot holes I commented to my Mom that when I get my tax returns I should really take Tramp, my Ford Sporttrac, for a tune up. You know a basic check of brakes, brake pads, shocks, tire rotation and balancing, and other things I don't know the name of but are important. I am not sure when I last had some of those things done but I love my Sporttrac and want to make sure it lasts for a very long time. This conversation will be important in a few paragraphs :-)
Our first stop on the trip was Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore MD. This stop was a late addition but had to be first because unlike the roadside attractions the cemetery had specific hours of operation. By chance while double checking the address of my original Baltimore stop a box popped up that said "nearby points of interest" and advertised the grave of Elijah Jefferson Bond aka the creator of the Ouija Board.
The website said that once you entered the gate you could stop by the office and pick up a map that would show where all the famous graves were located. Elijah Bond's wasn't marked on the map, though they are going to add it to the next map, but the caretaker pointed it out to me. I wasn't sure who else was buried there but as I walked back to the parked car I scanned the list of notable residents and saw John Wilkes Booth: actor and assassin listed. Bonus!
So I got back into the drivers seat and turned the car on to drive to Elijah Bond's grave. I grabbed the gear shift and went to pull it back out of park and it refused to move. I tried to pull it again and again it would not move out of park. I removed my foot from the brake and then reapplied pressure to no avail. I turned the car on and off and tried again (I don't know what I thought that might help) but once again it did not budge. We got out the owners manual and there was actual a line about if the car wouldn't move out of park. It instructed us to remove a small access panel from the front cup holder so we could push down on the shifter and then move it to neutral. I tried to do as it said but I didn't have a real screwdriver and I couldn't reach far enough to push the lever down. The manual also said that the problem was usually either a blown fuse or malfunctioning brake lamp. Once we exhausted all options I called AAA. I got the rep on the phone and told her that we were in Green Mount Cemetery and that I had pulled in and put my car in park and now it wouldn't get out of park so my car had died in the cemetery. She laughed and told me that the tow truck driver would be there within an hour and that if he couldn't fix it there was a repair shop 7 miles away that he could bring us too.
Then since we had an hour we got out of the car and walked towards John Wilkes Booth's grave which was close to the entrance.
The family plot was marked off with a tower that said in memory of the children of Junius Brutus and Mary Ann Booth. John Wilkes was the first name listed. The surrounding small headstones had initials etched in to them except for one in the corner with no writing on it and a collection of Lincoln pennies on top of it.
As we returned back to the car I took a picture of the chapel on the hill above some old grave stones and a remarkable head stone with an angel holding a cross.
Old gravestones are amazing with their large statues and ornate decoration.
When we got back to the car I left my Mom with it and went to walk to Elijah Bond's grave. I figured I had at least 30 minutes before the tow truck driver would get there and he was going to call my cell phone when he was on his way.
On the front of the grave was his name and "patentee of the ouija board". On the back it has a ouija board. It was pretty cool to see and a little creepy.
As I was walking back to the car I saw a gravestone with an awesome etching of a ship on it and the name Commodore Thomas Rawlings. I took out my phone to take a picture to show Meghan, because I thought she would really appreciate the etching, and it wouldn't turn on. I pushed the button on the top and the circle in the front but it didn't light up. Then I held the button down and the no battery symbol came up. Well anyone who is superstitious about ghosts will know that it is believed that ghosts drain electronic equipment batteries. So, um yeah, it had been up at 95% when I had left the car. So I ran back to the car. I got there out of breath and my Mom asked me what happened. I explained what happened as I tried to turn my phone back on. She said "Oh I thought something happened." I replied "I'm taking pictures of the ouija board guy's grave. I stop to take another picture and my phone battery is dead. We are in a cemetery. Something did happen!!" Then I looked at my phone and it had turned back on showing 87% battery.
The tow truck driver arrived just about that time but had to drive around to find an entrance that his huge truck would fit through. When he arrived he started going through the same things we had tried. Then he crawled under the steering wheel to check the fuses which were fine and walked around to check the brake lights which were also ok. He was about to give up and tow me to the service station when he gave the shift one more try. He pulled back hard and pulled it out of park. In shock I exclaimed "how did you do that." He then realized that it was probably a safety feature. I was parked on a hill and my car probably rocked back and locked itself in park. I was glad to learn about the safety feature and that my car wasn't actually broke. So with much thanks to James, the tow truck driver, we were on our way to the next roadside attraction with a roughly two hour delay.
This one was actually about ten blocks away from Green Mount on N Charles Street. It is an office supply store called Dawn's Office Supply, named after the owner's German Shepard. It also has a giant pencil sticking out of the building over the sidewalk.
As you can see in the photo we had surprise snow showers on and off throughout out the day.
Our next location would take us out of Baltimore but we did get to see one more beautiful sight as we left the city.
A short drive out of the city brought us to Germantown Maryland and the world's largest cider bucket, actually it is a road side stand in the shape of a cider barrel.
The stand was opened in 1926 by Andrew Baker to sell cider from the nearby apple orchards during the prohibition era. Now it is closed but I think the idea is so cool. I added this to my "if I ever hit the lotto list". I would buy it and re-open it in a heartbeat.
At this point it was getting late and we hadn't eaten since we grabbed coffee at Dunkin' Donuts when we left home. Since we were in Maryland I googled some place to get crab cakes and the Dogfish Head Brewery came up as only 11 minutes away. I have seen their beers in the craft beer section of supermarkets but had never tried them before. We drove over and were seated quickly. Once I got there the temptation to order a burger, my go to item, started to take over but I resisted and ordered the Crab cakes . . . and man am I glad I did! I have always been a fan of the Crab Cakes at Gossman's Dock in Montauk but I think they met their match. These crab cakes were so tasty, filled with crab, and deliciously moist.
And it wasn't just the crab cakes that were unbelievably delicious. The crab cakes came with fries and perfectly roasted asparagus. I paired it with their Indian Brown Ale. And then followed it with a piece of cheese cake with strawberries and coffee. 
At this point we had driven south and west now we were going to turn and head east and then north. East would take us over the amazing and scary Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The bridge is one of the longest over water crossings in the world and it's heigh and narrow structure also make it susceptible to high winds. Saturday wasn't even that windy and I could still feel it pull at my car. It also took us past Kent Island, apparently the oldest English settlement in Maryland dating back to 1631. And then we continued across the Delmarva Peninsula to Lewes, Delaware.
Why? You might ask. Well here is a little secret. Ponce de leon was never going to find the fountain of youth in Florida because it is actually in Delaware.
See!
It says so right here!
Ok so actually this was a little underwhelming. However the fact that we were running about two hours late didn't help and the fact that my gps had me take three lefts in a row and I was pretty sure that it was screwing with me (it wasn't) had me frustrated. At this point instead of seeing the ocean behind the fountain it was pitch dark. However I did get one question answered. When I had originally looked this up the website I saw it on said there was a sign next door that said "Private Property of D.A.R" but the site didn't know what that stood for. I wish I had book marked it because I could go back and let them know that it stands for Daughters of the American Revolution.
Finally we were ready to head back north towards home. We just had one more stop in Newark Delaware. In front of a medical center right off the highway is a giant medical bag, like the kind doctors used to carry door to door, and stethoscope.
Then we were heading north and home. We crossed back across the Delaware Memorial Bridge which stuck out in my mind because of the way it raised at the center to allow for large ships underneath it. Then continued almost the entire length of the New Jersey Turnpike to the Lincoln Tunnel, I was all bridged out so we went home via the tunnels. And at around 130am we were home.
Now I am planning my next road trip!
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