Delaware’s Hidden Season

Photos, clockwise: Sunset Over Rehoboth Bay from Dewey Pier, Dewey Waterfront and Lighthouse from Pier; Lewes Waterfront

Delaware’s Hidden Seashore

by Andrew Der

At the beach without a cloud in the sky and hot, exploration of Delaware's Atlantic coast had to wait while I cautiously sipped 300 year-old shipwreck rum from a Spanish Galleon in Florida’s waters.

While my gums tingled, the gracious owner of a modest maritime and artifact "museum" over an unassuming gift shop on Fenwick Island elaborated on the rum’s origins. The Discoversea Shipwreck Museum, my favorite regional “hidden” activity, is easy to miss. But moving past the lower level of souvenir paraphernalia will reveal a staircase to real found treasures of gold, colonial coins, jewelry, tales of Blackbeard, and artifacts of the pre-Titanic cruise ship R.M.S Republic.

Unique artifacts include the once molten "fingers of gold" poured on wet Delaware beach sand by local buccaneers of the 18th century. One can visualize the owner hurriedly melting the valuable metal by a fire while looking over his shoulder. The wet sand at the waters edge provided the firm finger-drawn depressions needed to quickly cool the gleaming liquid before smuggling it shipboard (see sidebar).

Parks, Beaches, and History

Summer is the popular season for the Atlantic beaches of the Delaware, Maryland and Virginia

(Delmarva) peninsula—and our President of the United States' back yard—beckoning those in the Mid-Atlantic with a plethora of enriching pleasures for every taste, from families and retirees to hardened party goers.

But if customary beach activities get just a bit old, go find hidden coastal Delaware. Better yet, for bargain prices and no crowds, enjoy the eclectic year-round community atmosphere from September through April—and is the best time for film, crafts, and arts festivals. My favorite is the independent film shorts festival every November. And the ocean is still warm (for this area) in the fall.

Popular choices include outstanding and creative parks. My favorite is Cape Henlopen State Park just north of Rehoboth. Try the numerous nature appreciation walks and do not miss the massive and famous spring horseshoe crab spawning event north of Lewes along the Delaware Bay near Dupont Nature Center. Cape Henlopen Park is also home to the once active Fort Miles for a bit of WWII history—and offers the best trip back in time to experience a completely intact and preserved military installation with massive big-bore cannons to protect against potential Nazi invasions (a real possibility then from German UBoat sightings).

Find secluded stretches of beach, nature trails and WWII sentry towers at Gordon Pond at the southern portion of the state park. These ghost towers sprinkled along the beaches still hauntingly watch over the coast. Delaware Seashore State Park to the south has an enriching wetland and estuarine inland bay, and a

Photos, top: Delaware Beach Dunes; Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk Photos, bottom clockwise: Best Margaritas Ever at Agave, Lewes; One of Few 1800s U.S. Lifesaving Service Stations Left ; Colonial Zwaanendael Dutch Museum, Lewes

great place to learn about Diamondback Terrapins, crabbing, and surf fishing. The park is also home to the Indian River Life Saving Station built in 1876— now a museum and one of the last U. S. Lifesaving Stations in the country, and precursor to the U. S. Coast Guard.

Colonial history buffs will enjoy walking through my favorite small town of Lewes (pronounced Loo-iss) for a comfortable self-guided tour of maritime history and old homes. Pick up a map of the history trail at the Lewes Visitor’s Center and finish the day watching the Lewes/Cape May, New Jersey ferry load and unload. Lewes is also one of the first Dutch settlements in the New World prior to the English, so learn all about it at the Zwaanendael Museum of Dutch artifacts and history.

Don’t forget the Lewes Historical Society Maritime Museum, or Cannon Ball House , with the 1812 cannonball in the wall. If lighthouses are your thing, then sign up for the Delaware River Bay and Lighthouse Foundation sunset cruise (June, July, and September) to enjoy the Breakwater and Harbor of Refuge lighthouses. Finish up with a selfguided tour of one of the last remaining Lightboats (a floating lighthouse) at Lewes' waterfront.

Social Scene and Dining

For relaxing adult time, try a wine tasting at Delaware’s Nassau Valley Vineyards, founded by a visionary jazz singer after being told it would never succeed. For the equivalent beer experience, visit the Dogfish Head Brewery and restaurant alternating with the current show at Rehoboth’s Clear Space Theatre featuring concerts and Las Vegas style productions. Check out the surprising amount of art galleries and exhibits along with ongoing crafts, antique and gift shops—Delaware does not have sales tax.

For the energetic, try the famous evening social establishments of Dewey Beach with special events, unique cocktails, and Bloody Mary brunch’s—more so in the summer when considered somewhat of a "regional Cancun” for many denizens of the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metropolitan areas. Warning—stamina required.

Visitors may be surprised to learn of the area’s other industry—dining. Southern Delaware, billed as the Culinary Coast, offers a multitude of award-winning places to eat and socialize, with many open all year. Highlights include the Mid-Atlantic Wine and Food Festival, along with Eating Rehoboth and Eating Lewes tours. Look for restaurants participating in the “Local on the Menu” initiative pairing local producers with eateries.

As with many seasonal destinations, some popular eateries can be touristoriented, and while not necessarily a disappointment, one can do better if going where locals go especially off season. Popular themes also include wine and brewery tastings as well as happy hour and winter specials best explored on foot or bicycle.

Do not miss the best free evening activity in the summer—an outdoor concert at the Rehoboth Beach gazebo on the boardwalk.

Photos opposite, top-bottom: Annual Horsehoe Crab Spawning, Rehoboth Bay; Ghosts of WWII Observation Towers, Beach Near Gordon's Pond; One of Last Lightships Left in USA, Lewes Photos this page, top-bottom clockwise: Organizing Local Beach Treasure Finds at Dicoversea Shipwreck Museum, Fenwick Island; Molten Fingers of Gold Poured 1700s into Wet Beach Sand Depressions, Dicoversea Shipwreck Museum, Fenwick Island; 1900 Sunken Cruise Ship Artifacts, Dicoversea Shipwreck Museum, Fenwick Island

Treasure hunting on the Delaware coast

For Mel Fisher of numerous National Geographic Magazine issues in the 1970s, keeping the $450,000,000 fruits of his team's labor—even at the expense of some lost lives—proved as difficult as his finding the 1600’s era wreck of the Spanish Galleon Atocha in Florida waters. His famous treasure hunting team eventually prevailed in 1985 after years of litigation in the U. S. Supreme Court. Government agencies conveniently started paying attention and laying claim to their finds only when the treasure was actually found.

But Dale Clifton, then one of Fisher's team, and now the proprietor of the Dicoversea Shipwreck Museum in Fenwick Island, donated most of his share to museums and even reunited some of it with Spain. He was a modest kid-next-door with a fascination in history and pirate gold. Growing up near Delaware’s Atlantic beaches, he honed his skill by actually finding coins and jewelry washed up on shore—and you can too.

My favorite tale of his first treasure find was not unlike an abbreviated version of the movie American Treasure. After stumbling across a very old book in a Williamsburg, Virginia, antique store as a teenager, Dale noticed an inserted hand-drawn map of a Delaware beach. What are the odds? He also observed a code of strategically placed pin holes over the text letters revealing the book pages to be a means to convey the map creator’s homebrewed “code”.

The letters with a pin hole over them actually spelled out directions for finding a chest of valuables hidden for future family investment. After accounting for changes in beach topography, lighthouses, and landmarks, Dale found one of the original book owner’s chests. This is a favorite museum display today with five more chests remaining to be found—some day.

Contrary to exotic Caribbean stereotypes, the Delaware seashore still provides one of the highest concentrations of washed up artifacts in the entire Eastern seaboard due to the unique combination of close proximity international shipping access via the Delaware Bay and the improved preservation qualities of colder silty water. If lucky enough to stop by when he is there, ask him how to get to “Coin Beach” nearby to try your luck—or Google it.

Make it happen

For the best one-stop-shop for all things coastal Delaware, go to http:// www.visitsoutherndelaware.com

If going more than a couple of days, condo and beach house rentals are popular. For shorter stays, check out the many older, as well as new, “mom and pop” hotels which outnumber chains in Rehoboth Beach itself.