Pandemic Road Trip 1: Maryland and Delaware (September 2020)

The pandemic took quite a toll, all of our travel plans were thrown into disarray -- we had planned to go to Antarctica, Croatia, Austria and Switzerland (and these were only the trips we actually booked), but these became impossibilities during the lockdown.

So we had to adapt. Initially we mostly stayed home or limited ourselves to walks in uncrowded local parks. But tentatively at first, we started taking longer trips. Finally, in September, we took our first road trip: to the states of Maryland and Delaware.

(Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)

It was a very modest road trip. To reduce the risk of getting covid, we camped for 2 nights and cooked our own food in Elk Neck State Park in Maryland and Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware, that was it. Remember, this was at the height of the pandemic, we were very tentative and cautious. I will never forget the eerie feeling when we ventured out at last.

Our first stop was in Havre de Grace, dubbed as "the beginning of the Chesapeake Bay". Concord Point Light stands guard at the head of the bay.


Concord Point Light


Concord Point Light


Concord Point Light

We spent the first night in Elk Neck State Park, our first night hour in the year! Turkey Point Lighthouse is another prominent landmark of the Upper Chesapeake Bay in the park.


Turkey Point Lighthouse

It was still fall migration season, and we saw some warblers in the woods near the lighthouse, this Magnolia Warbler was one of them.


Magnolia Warbler

On a later, separate trip, we went to nearby Swan Harbor, also near the head of the Chesapeake. I will lump these pictures here too.


Swan Harbor


Swan Harbor


Patterns of wave caused by a boat wake in the Chesapeake Bay

The next day we drove to Cape Henlopen State Park and entered our first "new" state during the pandemic: Delaware. We also reached the Atlantic (or any ocean) for the first time during the pandemic (there were a lot of "first"s in this trip). From the beach, we could see Harbor of Refuge Light just offshore.


Harbor of Refuge Light


Harbor of Refuge Light

There were shorebirds on the beach, and we also saw some dead Horseshow Crabs. Occasionally an Osprey flew by, sometimes carrying a fish.


Sanderling


Semiplmated Plover


Horseshoe Crab


Osprey

In the nearby woods, we saw some smaller birds too, such as this immature Indigo Bunting.


Indigo Bunting

As we walked on the beach, we saw a pod of dolphins feeding near the lighthouse, always a delightful sight.


Harbor of Refuge Light

On the other side of the cape -- on the Delaware Bay side, there stood the Delaware Breakwater East End Lighthouse. At one point, a Coast Guard helicopter flew close to it to check things out.


Delaware Breakwater East End Lighthouse


Delaware Breakwater East End Lighthouse



Thus it concluded our first "road trip" of the pandemic. It was a very modest road trip (we drove less than 500 miles for the trip), but it was a reprieve in a very difficult time. And the important thing is: we lived to see another day.



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