Delaware was another new state for us.  The Welcome to Delaware sign along the highway was small and gone before I was prepared to take a picture.  

There was a visually interesting bridge.  The Indian River Inlet Bridge (officially called the Charles W. Cullen bridge) was built in 2011.  It is the fifth bridge built to span the river.  The first, made of wood, was built in 1934. A concrete and steel replacement was completed in 1940 but collapsed due to ice flows and wind in 1948.  The 1952 replacement held up until the epic Nor’Easter storm in 1962 leveled much of the area.  In 1965 a steel girder bridge was built and declared structurally deficient in 1989. It was maintained until 2005. Whew!  That was a lot to learn when I just wondered about the name of the cool bridge!

We knew we were at our destination when we saw the water tower sign for Rehoboth Beach.  Water tower signs were commonplace along the outer banks and in eastern seaboard towns.

The plan for the day was to enjoy the Rehoboth boardwalk but it was a windy cold day.  

The next thought was to go to the First State National Historic Park but their visitor center was closed for renovations.  In the video on the park website, I learned that Swedish immigrants came to the region in 1638 near present day Wilmington.   They named their settlement Fort Christina after the young Queen in their homeland.  The Dutch took over this region and then the English did the same.  

From the beginning, Delaware included peoples of different origins and religions, It was unique in those respects.  The lands came under the jurisdiction of William Penn who worked well with the indigenous peoples. Those efforts waned under future leaders.  

In 1776, a local resolution was passed to separate not just from Great Britain but also from Pennsylvania. This action formed the state of Delaware.

In 1787,  Delaware became the first state to ratify the new US Constitution.

Years later, when Delaware was in position to be the last needed state to give women the right to vote by ratifying the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, they rejected the measure. Two months later, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, ensuring that the right to vote could not be denied based on gender. 

This was the wall behind the desk as we registered into our Rehoboth Beach hotel.  

The Delaware Blue Hen, the official bird of Delaware, is a strain of American gamecock. It is not a chicken.

We had a miserable weather afternoon in Rehoboth Beach.  It was the only day on our trip (full of marginal weather) that we gave up and enjoyed being warm and dry inside. Somehow I neglected to take pictures from our really great hotel room overlooking the stormy ocean. 

The next morning we boarded the ferry in Lewes, Delaware.

Randy drove our rental car onto the Cape May-Lewes Ferry.

The journey to New Jersey was 17 miles across and took 85 minutes.  It was pretty delightful. 

The ferry has transported 45 million passengers since 1964.

We were in Delaware in May, 2024.

Next Up:  We spend a few days in Cape May, New Jersey.