State Capitol – Treat Yourself to Travel

Did you see what I did there? Delaware is considered the “First State” as it was the first one to ratify the Constitution of the United States and was also the first state we visited to kick-off the new year! On our Sunday day trip we visited Dover, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Henlopen and Rehoboth Beach. We got very lucky with a 50ish degree day, which made it a perfect day to be outside and exploring new places. It also meant that because it was January, we had each of these places to ourselves.

Boardwalk Trail | Teamtravelsbaby — Boardwalk Trail at Prime Hook NWR | Teamtravelsbaby

Don’t Ditch Dover

Dover is a really quaint capital city. The highlight for me was stopping at the House of Coffi. The coffee house is adorable with lots of unique art inside to match their unique selection. I completely indulged with a cinnamon roll latte and red velvet muffin (yep, muffin, not cupcake)! No wonder this place has 4.8 stars on Google!

After you’re loaded with your caffeine, it’s only about a 10 minute walk to see Wesley College. It’s was the first private college in Delaware and has beautiful brick buildings. The gorgeous Victorian houses along the way really make the walk worthwhile. On your loop back toward the coffee shop, stop by Woodburn, which is the Governor’s Mansion to at least get a picture of the building or gardens.

Across from the House of Coffi is the huge public library and then easy access to all kinds of Federal buildings from the post office to the archives and eventually the huge Legislative Hall (or State Capitol). Coming in January has its perks – like being able to photograph the entire Legislative Hall across the Green without a single person in the pic! Seeing the Old State House is also nice and right next to it is where we found free, unlimited parking for our time here.

In talking with the locals at the coffee house, Silver Lake Park was recommended. The park has a pretty waterfall and some nice areas to walk. While we didn’t try it, McGlynns Pub and Restaurant were recommended to us because of the perfect location in the middle of the lake.

All in all, this is a great day trip from the Washington, D.C. area as it’s only two hours away over the Bay Bridge. If you’re interested in touring any of the historical places or the Capitol, make sure to verify the hours online in advance.

Prime Hook and Cape Henlopen

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge and Cape Henlopen are great stops on a nice day for some hiking. Prime Hook has tons of trails and it’s free! We hiked the Dike Trail and Boardwalk Trail near the Visitors Center (which was sadly closed due to the government shutdown along with the restrooms) because we were able to take the stroller on both. We only saw one great blue heron, but if you love birds, you’ll want to check the website for which migratory birds will be there and when. We found Christmas Holly, which is Delaware’s State Tree along the Boardwalk path.

Cape Henlopen normally costs $10, but for some reason it was free the day we went. It’s really close to the Lewes Ferry that will take you to Cape May, New Jersey. We drove up to Herring Point which had ample parking. There’s a great view of the ocean as well as access to a beach. The physical structure there has a “spy” history. Across the street from the physical structure are some paths, including a nice boardwalk path along Gordon’s Pond. If you have time, the Visitor Center offers free bikes on a first-come, first-serve basis and there are tons of biking paths to take advantage of.

Sunset on Rehoboth Beach

Rehoboth Beach is one of the many beaches in Delaware (some other include Dewey and Bethany) and popular for retirees. From researching which beach to check out, it appeared Rehoboth would be the best due to the one mile boardwalk. We timed our arrival so we’d get there around 4:30 pm and close to the sunset time. We are so glad we did because the sky looked beautiful. With the exception of a jewelry store, candy store and a restaurant that were open, this place was a ghost-town. While I imagine it is completely different during the summer, I think I would still prefer Ocean City, New Jersey.

We didn’t go, but I read “the Avenue” and the Tanger Outlets are popular to check out due to Delaware being tax free on clothes. Plus, if you’re a AAA member, don’t forget to stop by the Tanger Info Booth and get your coupon book!

If you want to make this trip a full weekend adventure, I recommend reading my article about the East Coast of Maryland called Ponies by the Seashore.

Richmond is Virginia’s capitol and full of U.S. historical sites. It also boasts cool street art and some delicious treats! Spending a holiday weekend during the cold months meant no crowds, easy to find parking and the sites were still open!

Richmond Highlights over New Years’ Eve Weekend 2017

Belle Isle Pedestrian Bridge
Maymont
Hollywood Cemetery
Carytown – Street Art, Carytown Cupcakes, Lamplighter Coffee
Virginia State Capitol
Shockoe Bottom and Main Street Station

After sipping our free hotel coffee, we headed into Richmond. It was a cool morning and we parked near 300 Tredegar Street in order to take the Belle Isle Pedestrian Bridge. The bridge is really unique and gives you some great views of Richmond.

Belle Isle Bridge View | TeamTravelsBlog

After a little exploring, we got back in our car and drove to Maymont. We parked outside the gate and walked onto the property, which is beautiful! The mansion itself is gorgeous, but we didn’t take the tour (I’m 99% sure I did as a kid though, because the whole place felt nostalgic to me). There appears to be a lot to do, like a nature center, the mansion tour, etc. if you have time and are interested.

The Hollywood Cemetery was a must see for us. Before you drive into the cemetery, there’s a map you can get or take a picture of, which we found to be really helpful as we didn’t want to miss any of the historical figures like James Monroe and John Tyler. I think because we were here on a holiday weekend during a cold month, this is why it wasn’t busy at all and even enjoyable to drive around and park where we wanted to take pictures.

We drove to Carytown next and found a free parking spot on a side street. This street is a must see with its cool street art, the delicious cupcakes at Carytown Cupcakes (you really can’t get just one) and the yummy coffee at Lamplight Roasting Company.

Yummy cupcake | TeamTravelsBlog

Caffeine | TeamTravelsBlog

As it was approaching 1 pm, we made our way to the Virginia State Capitol which has pretty short hours on Sundays and is closed on holidays, like New Year’s Day. Again, I think because it was a holiday weekend, we basically had the place to ourselves and one of the docents gave us an excellent tour.

The statue of George Washington in white marble under the rotunda is incredible and has a lot of details that you may not notice without a tour guide or doing some research ahead of time. We had a little bit of time afterwards, so we explored the Capitol grounds which included seeing the Governor’s Mansion on one end and St. Paul’s Church at the other.

Our last stop in Richmond before making the two hour drive home was Shockoe Bottom historic area. We found another side street parking spot and checked out the artwork along the street before making it to the train station. The train station is beautiful inside with an art exhibit, a mini visitor center and because it was NYE, they were setting up for a party upstairs. Don’t miss the opportunity to take a picture with the “Love” sign in the Main Street Station.