A fun day in the sun....

I finally took the antique car out for its 2017 shakedown run, after its recent visit to the shop - which turned out to be over 200 miles and 6-1/2 hours plus.  The weather was beautiful (sunny, low 60's), and perfect for traveling.  Plus, Mandy was able to get out and about for a while, in her newest skirt...

First stop was the former PRR station in Laurel, DE - on the ex-PRR line to Cape Charles.  It's a beautiful little station, and the Laurel Heritage Museum is located inside.   Unfortunately, it wasn't open...but that was a plus, which gave me some extra time to spend at the last stop...more on that later.

 

Laurel Heritage Museum

Has anyone heard of the Transpeninsular Line (a cousin of the Mason-Dixon Line)?  It's a surveyed line (at approximately 38 degrees 27 minutes north) across the entire Delmarva peninsula, dating back to the mid 1700's as a result of a land dispute between the Penns (of DE) and the Calverts (of MD.).

The eastern half of this line forms the north-south border between Delaware and Maryland.  That border turns roughly north from the mid-point of the line, following the official southern extension of the Mason-Dixon line , north toward the Twelve-Mile-Circle, both of which together form much of the remainder of Delaware's perimeter.  That intersection is marked by several stones (inside the iron cage to protect from vandalism) and it also serves as the southern end of the Mason-Dixon Line.  You can see the cage beyond the car's hood and over my shoulder.   I knew the Transpeninsular Line existed, but not the "mid point" intersection.  Interesting!

Time to move on...   Enroute to my next stop, I passed through the town of Delmar, which is right on the border between Maryland and Delaware.  Literally.  The border (Transpeninsular line) is basically Route 54 (State St.) - right down the middle of town.  If you're on the Maryland side of the street, it's only a short trip across the street, to get to Delaware (where there is no sales tax.)  But it's a small town, with not too many stores to choose from.

Sorry about the moving shadow on the subject in the following picture...it was windy, and I only had the self timer to "take the picture."   Once you push the button, there's no way to know where the shadows will be when the shutter clicks.

At the mid point of the Transpeninsular Line.

From there it was a wonderful drive on varying types of country roads, out toward Ragged Point.  The scenery there was gorgeous, as were some of the mansions.  In places, the road was hugging the shoreline, and marshy shoreline scenery such as this appeared in other places:

Marsh scenery...

The end of the road was blocked by a gate, but even so, the scenery in the area was outstanding and well worth the drive.  The picture below was taken at a nearby public marina, where I ate a quick lunch from my cooler...

A picture after lunch...

Now it was time to return to "androgynous mode" - via another cornfield change, not at the marina - for the drive to my next stop on this journey.  That stop will be the subject of my next post.

More later...

Mandy