6-19-10 Wilmington DE

Our trip to Wilmington began early on Saturday morning with a drive up Highway 95. It turned out that our trip was more a visit to the DuPont areas close to Wilmington but that was plenty special, as you will see. On the way we stopped at Harve de Grace to see a lighthouse, the Concord Point Light. Close by was the famous duck decoy museum, but it was closed when we were there so we bypassed it.

Our first stop in Wilmington was the old and original DuPont family home and nearby factory grounds, Hagley. Black powder was their ticket to fortune after arriving in US after fleeing France to escape the guillotine. Under E. I. DuPont, the family made it big and the factory site was very large, using the water of the Brandywine to power the machines. Lots of explosions, fires and rebuilding. What's there now is an old school building turned into a museum and showcase for DuPont discoveries, patents and innovations. You can see Sue and I in two of the technological systems that rely to a great deal on DuPont materials. Then we went up to the old family mansion. The house is filled with period furniture and has very nice gardens. We took a tour of the place.

We had our picture taken on one of the balconies in the house. The weather was warm and got warmer as the day went on. We decided to skip any lengthy tours of the grounds and outbuildings and head on to our next destination, Longwood. It is just over the state line in Pennsylvania.

Longwood, in my opinion, is just drop-dead gorgeous. This is a garden area developed by one of the very very rich DuPonts early in the 1900s. It was originally a private arboretum and bought by Pierre S. DuPont to save from development. He was really into landscaping and off he went. The grounds are filled with fountains, flowers, lawns, trees. There are amazing elaborate fountain shows in the large gardens, and even on one of the stages where shows take place. The water comes out of the stage in synchrony to music being played. There is a spectacular huge conservatory filled beautiful flowers and plants and, as you see in the picture, a large entry room with grass as carpet. I have included a few of the pictures. If you even get close to the Gardens, do yourself a favor and see it. Plan for at least a half day. Just amazing. On the scale of Kew Gardens in London.

We stayed at Longwood until dark, saw a bit of a show with a local singer (so-so), had dinner, and then headed off to our hotel back in Delaware. What a place!!!!!!