Doggy-Paced Day in Delaware: A Weekend in Wilmington

Wilmington, Delaware

Saturday, June 16, 2012 – Monday, June 18, 2012

Written 9/29/25

For a couple of years after my father retired, we would meet up somewhere in the northeast for a few days to spend some time together, usually it was in the Spring or Fall. This year, it was Wilmington Delaware.

Travel Day: Saturday, June 16

My partner and I left Long Island by car on Saturday, June 16 around 11:00AM, this had us arriving in Wilmington shortly before 4:00PM. Since my parents had arrived a few days earlier, we would synch up with them as soon as we were settled.

In theory, our drive shouldn’t have taken five hours, but leaving the NYC area is frequently a car congestion nightmare. (Note: I’ve found leaving before 7:00AM to work well.)

For the next two days we’d be staying at the Inn at Wilmington, A Hersha Hotel. (From what I can tell, the Inn at Wilmington was torn down in 2017, and is now Holiday Inn Express Wilmington Brandywine.) We arrived at the hotel close a little after 4:00PM. Check-in went smoothly.  The hotel room was a nice size, and was very bright and airy, as the linens and comforter on the bed were white and the walls painted a light color. Once we were all settled into the room, we headed over to the hotel my parents were staying at.

As we approached their motel room, we were greeted by a couple of high-pitched yips. My parents traveled everywhere with their two little dogs, a poodle and a shih tzu, and they were just as happy to see us as we were to see them.

We soon discovered that stepmom, dad, and pups were tired from a full day of adventure and were tucked in for the night. Understanding that, we kept our visit brief and stayed to discuss our plans for Sunday. Meet-up time for Sunday would be 10:00AM at back at their motel room. About 90 minutes later, my partner and I said our adieu’s and were off in search of dinner.

As we got into the car, I suggested to my partner that we eat at the Red Robin restaurant that we saw the sign for as we drove into the area. Red Robin was lessening its presence on Long Island, so eating there was a little nostalgic for us. This Red Robin was in Brandywine Town Center, a strip mall with a beautiful water fountain in the center of a pond outside. Our table didn’t have a view of the fountain, but after dinner, we walked over to admire it. We spent about 45 minutes taking photos of the lighted fountain and just taking in the night air, before we headed back to the hotel room.

Photo 1: Pups in their stroller

Photo 2: view of fountain and surrounding mall at Brandywine Town Center

Photo 3: fountain at Brandywine Town Center

Parks and History: Sunday, June 17

Up and out of the hotel room by 9:30AM, we arrived at my parent’s room with a few minutes to spare.

Brandywine State Park

They already knew how to get to where they wanted to go, so we all piled into their car. Our first stop was at Brandywine State Park. It was here that my parents let the dogs run around and stretch their legs. The parking lot was very quiet, only about 8 cars in a lot that could easily accommodate 80-100, so we really had the place to ourselves. The owners of the vehicles weren’t even in sight, so I suspect they arrived earlier and were birdwatching or hiking.  Since it was mid-June, the trees were fully green. I can only imagine how gorgeous the colors are in Fall.

Next, we stopped at Brandywine Creek State Park Nature Center. My stepmom wandered to the back of the building, and I followed her shortly afterwards. There, I found her sitting in a large, wooden, rocking chair, inside a room with floor to ceiling windows overlooking several bird feeders. I was intrigued. So relaxing. I’m sure during the summer it’s very crowded but at the time, we were pretty much the only two people in the room. I could spend hours here, if they let me, lol! But the doggies were out in the car for us, and my dad kept walking back to the car to look in on them, so we needed to be on our way.

My dad drove us over to the New Castle Historic District for the afternoon.  We spent the next few hours walking around, taking photos, and reading about the history of the buildings and area. We had a beautiful day, no clouds in the sky, and not too warm yet either. It was a very leisurely afternoon, and we enjoyed our time outside in the sunshine.

What amused me was how much attention my parents received from passersby. They’d see the dogs in their stroller and immediately start speaking to my dad about how well they behaved or asking where my parents got the stroller or what breeds they were.  It felt like more of a shared experience, and it added a bit more warmth and connection to others while we were out.

Photo 1: a view from Brandywine State Park

Photo 2: an informational sign posted at Brandywine State Park identifying birds that can be seen.

Photo 3: wider view of the indoor seated bird watching area at the Brandywine Nature Center

Photo 4: bird landing at a feeder at the indoor seated bird watching area of Brandywine Nature Center

New Castle Historic District

If you’ve never been to the New Castle Historic District, it’s worth a stop and a stroll.  History dates it back to the 1600’s and is home to several National Landmarks.  There are close to 50 historic buildings and features within a few blocks of each other. We didn’t take any guided tours or go in any of the buildings while we were there, but if I went back, I wouldn’t mind looking into one or two of the tours. We mostly walked around on our own to see what we could see.

Some of the things we saw were:

❖ New Castle and Frenchtown Railroad – a small building on Delaware Street

❖ New Castle Pier – Delaware River – at the end of Delaware Street

❖ The Landing Place of William Penn - the corner of Delaware Street and The Strand

❖ Packet Alley – along The Strand

❖ Read House and Gardens – George Read signed the Declaration of Independence.

❖ Immanuel Protestant Episcopal Church – corner of The Strand and Harmony Street

Our walking route:

It started on Delaware Street where we parked the car. Walked towards the water. On our way we saw the New Castle and Frenchtown Railroad, then walked down to the New Castle Pier. As we walked back from the water, we saw The Landing Place of William Penn (corner of Delaware Street and The Strand). We then walked down The Strand towards Packet Alley and were near Read House and Gardens (among other things, George Read signed the Declaration of Independence). At this point we walked towards Harmony Street. (I think we walked through some gardens and wound up a block over on Market Street (parallel to The Strand). Immanuel Protestant Episcopal Church (corner of The Strand and Harmony Streets).

Photo 1: a view of the Delaware River and Delaware Memorial Bridge from New Castle Historic District

Photo 2: New Castle and Frenchtown Railroad (toldya it was a little building!)

Photo 3: advertisement on the side of the building, I think it says Ivory - New Castle Historic District

Our last stop was at Traders Cove Coffee Shop at Penn House (Penn’s Place) which seems to be off Delaware Street and near Market (reported as closed in 2019). I read that this building was where William Penn spent his first night in the New World (it used to be called William Penn Guest House).

Traders Cove was a lovely little eatery, on the main level of the two-story building. The counter was towards the front of the building, and there was a converted sunroom that was being used as the dining area. There was also a beautiful garden area behind the house that had tables and chairs. My group entered from back side of the property through the garden. Well, my dad didn’t, he stayed outside with the pups. As we walked towards the counter, I saw that it was high, kind of like a butcher’s counter and mostly glass. We ordered lemonade, and I wish one of my parents had told me that we should sit in the garden area, so my dad could join us.  I wasn’t used to thinking, “doggie-friendly” and plopped down inside. It was a nice respite, but I didn’t realize we’d be inside so long and felt badly that my dad was outside with the dogs instead of inside with us.

After our lemonade we headed back to my parents’ motel. My dad wanted to feed the pups and relax a little, then we’d get together again for dinner. He had an idea of where he wanted to go.

Later that evening, my dad met us at Johnnie’s Dog House & Chicken Shack on Concord Pike in Wilmington, DE. for a couple of hot dogs and fries. Although not really a sit-down restaurant there are a couple of tables, and we took advantage of one of the vacant ones. After dinner, we said our goodbyes as my parents were leaving the area early in the AM the next day.

Photo 1: Entrance to Traders Cove

Photo 2: Quote from William Penn on the wall inside Traders Cove dining area

Photo 3: Johnnie's Dog House & Chickn Shack

Travel Day: Monday, June 18

Before we left Delaware, we made a quick dash to one of the malls and shopped for clothing. While in the area, we drove around some of the residential areas to determine if this might be somewhere we’d want to move in the future. Knowing how much traffic we hit on our drive to Delaware on Saturday, we were on I-95 by 1:00PM on our way home to New York.

Things I learned from planning this trip: This was a trip that my father suggested, so the only real planning I did was to choose the hotel my partner and I stayed in.

Things I learned from attending this trip: It was nice to have someone else take the reins and plan the itinerary. The day we were with my parents was planned for a different pace, as they planned for activities that the dogs would enjoy too. I like bird watching. It’s a quick way to get away from NY and revisit history.

Things I learned from writing this blog post: I want to go back, specifically to the historic district. I think I will have a better appreciation for it. I’d also like to see or eat at Jessops Tavern & Colonial Restaurant because of it’s history. Saddened that Traders Cove/Penn's Place has closed.

Some information, such as baseball game information and directions were sought by using ChatGPT or Perplexity.

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