for high quality jpgs of images on these pages or to commission original images email me at swordwhale@yahoo.com
Cape Henlopen and Cape May lie at the mouth of the Delaware Bay. Cape Henlopen is a state park with camping and surfing and surf fishing and the great horseshoe crab migration. Cape May is a Victorian village, the "painted ladies" (ornate Victorian houses) yet stand, the touristy bits are quaint, and whalewatching boats set out to see what's at sea.
I hate boardwalk empires. I consider places like Ocean City to be an affront to Mother Nature. My beach has sand, surf, sun, sanderlings, and occasionally, wild ponies. When I can't make it all the way to Assateague, there's another wild beach nearby: Cape Henlopen, at the mouth of the Delaware Bay. In May, it is famous for the migration of horseshoe crabs and red knots, whose travelling schedules coincide in one of Nature's great spectacles. Any other time of year the Cape is a great place to hike, bike, kayak (getting your boat to water requires sand wheels or a few doughty buddies) or chill on the beach. Herring Point is where the surfers hang out. One of Henlopen's notable attractions, besides the two lighthouses, are the watchtowers left over from WWII. One is yet climbable. As you pass through Lewes DE, look out for masts towering over the ferry terminal: the Kalmar Nyckel may be in town. If she is, stop and say hi to ship's cat, Ditty.
I hate boardwalk empires. I consider places like Ocean City to be an affront to Mother Nature. My beach has sand, surf, sun, sanderlings, and occasionally, wild ponies. When I can't make it all the way to Assateague, there's another wild beach nearby: Cape Henlopen, at the mouth of the Delaware Bay. In May, it is famous for the migration of horseshoe crabs and red knots, whose travelling schedules coincide in one of Nature's great spectacles. Any other time of year the Cape is a great place to hike, bike, kayak (getting your boat to water requires sand wheels or a few doughty buddies) or chill on the beach. Herring Point is where the surfers hang out. One of Henlopen's notable attractions, besides the two lighthouses, are the watchtowers left over from WWII. One is yet climbable. As you pass through Lewes DE, look out for masts towering over the ferry terminal: the Kalmar Nyckel may be in town. If she is, stop and say hi to ship's cat, Ditty.
Cape Henlopen
There and back again: an August Birthday Journey
(bored, with a camera; are we there yet?)
Watchtower
(built to guard the mouth of the Delaware Bay in WWII, they were meant to last 20 years... they have lasted 70...
there are also some military barracks and gun batteries)
photo by Dave Tristan, sarcasm by yours truly
View from the Tower
Sand and Shadows: the dunes
stuff you need to survive the littoral zone
"In coastal environments the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It always includes this intertidal zone and is often used to mean the same as the intertidal zone. However, the meaning of "littoral zone" can extend well beyond the intertidal zone." (wiki)
The edge of the sea, especially sandy east coast edges, shapeshifts under wind and tide. Everything is always in motion (which why plopping a hotel there is stupid). Animals and plants have adaptations for this ever changing habitat. Those of us who visit it bring our own adaptations ...which is why, when Assateague Island contemplated bus service to the beach I, and many others, responded with a resounding NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, I need an eco-friendly parking lot for the van and the adaptations that fill it.
Here's my beach list:
umbrella (or other sunshade), chair, sunscreen, hat
windbreaker and fleece for when the wind picks up and the temp goes down (and I'm still wet)
one good book (and maybe some field guides)
boogie board or pool noodles (yes, they work in waves, you can sit on them various ways, as on a hobby horse, or swing, or you can hang onto them like a boogie board)
a backpack: towel, drybag for wet stuff, swimsuit, diveskin (a Spandex superhero suit that covers you from head to toe and is 100 proof sunscreen, also proof against jellyfish), mask and fins (I hate swimming, I love "snorkelling" though the snorkel doesn't work well in waves), camera bag, underwater housing for camera
a cooler: frozen water bottles which will melt down slowly, V8, Fusion, Greek yogurt, applesauce, Kashi granola bars, cheese (especially string cheese, it packs well), maybe crackers, maybe a PBJ sandwich (don't drop it)
For launch friendly beaches like Assateague's: kayak and assorted bins of gear (and a van to carry it all, and a parking lot nearby)
For beachcombing hikes:
camera, extra batteries, swimsuit/diveskin, bags for found objects, water bottle (or two), granola bars (Kashi!!!), windbreaker, fleece, bug spray, and a cell phone to call the Coast Guard...
I've learned that it is often better to take pictures of many of the great finds on the beach, the small beauties underfoot, than to try to pull a small dumptruck to carry them back.
The edge of the sea, especially sandy east coast edges, shapeshifts under wind and tide. Everything is always in motion (which why plopping a hotel there is stupid). Animals and plants have adaptations for this ever changing habitat. Those of us who visit it bring our own adaptations ...which is why, when Assateague Island contemplated bus service to the beach I, and many others, responded with a resounding NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, I need an eco-friendly parking lot for the van and the adaptations that fill it.
Here's my beach list:
umbrella (or other sunshade), chair, sunscreen, hat
windbreaker and fleece for when the wind picks up and the temp goes down (and I'm still wet)
one good book (and maybe some field guides)
boogie board or pool noodles (yes, they work in waves, you can sit on them various ways, as on a hobby horse, or swing, or you can hang onto them like a boogie board)
a backpack: towel, drybag for wet stuff, swimsuit, diveskin (a Spandex superhero suit that covers you from head to toe and is 100 proof sunscreen, also proof against jellyfish), mask and fins (I hate swimming, I love "snorkelling" though the snorkel doesn't work well in waves), camera bag, underwater housing for camera
a cooler: frozen water bottles which will melt down slowly, V8, Fusion, Greek yogurt, applesauce, Kashi granola bars, cheese (especially string cheese, it packs well), maybe crackers, maybe a PBJ sandwich (don't drop it)
For launch friendly beaches like Assateague's: kayak and assorted bins of gear (and a van to carry it all, and a parking lot nearby)
For beachcombing hikes:
camera, extra batteries, swimsuit/diveskin, bags for found objects, water bottle (or two), granola bars (Kashi!!!), windbreaker, fleece, bug spray, and a cell phone to call the Coast Guard...
I've learned that it is often better to take pictures of many of the great finds on the beach, the small beauties underfoot, than to try to pull a small dumptruck to carry them back.
surf's up
and suddenly a wild thing appears
(pics by Dave Tristan)
sanderlings and laughing gulls
the Kalmar Nyckel
(and Ditty, Official Ship's Cat)
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Kalmar Nyckel is Delaware's tall ship. She's a reproduction of a 17th century ship that brought the first colonists to Wilmington DE (then called New Sweden). A crewmember told me that no one painted ships blue; blue ships attracted blue water... and sank your ship. The Dutch, who built the original Kalmar, were an exception to this sailors' myth. When Kalmar was being built in 1997, a feral cat had kittens... in Kalmar's toolbox. "Toolbox", a mostly blue with cream tortie was Official Ship's cat for many years until she was retired in 2012 due to age and failing eyesight. Other cats have graced the ship: Timmynocky, Clew Garnet and Lagan. All have been that lovely grey called by cat fanciers "blue". The latest ship's cat for the blue ship is also blue. Ditty is, like the others, named for some part of the ship: in this case, the ditty bag used by sailors. Kalmar does great public sails, including a pirate sail which is great fun.
