We all got to our motel in Wilmington Friday afternoon. That evening we went to Longwood Gardens, which has more amazing and beautiful kinds of plants than I've ever seen. And the Italian Water Garden was pure beauty.
When we got back, Dave and Sarah got out a bottle of champagne and we all toasted their engagement. They've been looking at some beautiful places in the Albany area to have a catered reception, and Sarah has pictures of about nine gowns she wants to try.
Ralph and Dave have not lost their humorous touch. For example, while at Longwood Gardens...
Mom: What's in the Conservatory?
Ralph: Mr Plum with the knife.
Also, the boys decided our new Honda Insight looked like a Transformer, a Decepticon no less (those are the evil Transformers) and gave it an appropriate name: Otakron. (I had just gone to Otakon the previous weekend)
below: Ralph with Otakron
The next day we went to the Hagley Museum, where the du Pont family started making its millions by manufacturing high-quality black powder for guns. This was Ralph and Ken's favorite (possibly Dad's too; I didn't poll him)--lots of cool 19th century technology. I enjoyed the foreman's home with its middle-class late-1800s furnishings and all the bits of social history along with it, and the river where the mills were.
That night we had dinner at the Wilmington Riverfront at Iron Hill Brewery--great food, service and of course, beer. I am not a beer person and I drank nearly all of my sampler of their delicious blackberry-flavored specialty ale.
Sunday we hit Winterthur--I'd been there twice but we had a great guide through the house, and the natural-style landscaping is always lovely.
Monday we thought we were out of luck for a place to go, but the Brandywine Museum was open, so we enjoyed three generations of Wyeth paintings and other art. I actually liked George Weymouth's work as much as any of the Wyeths.
Naturally, we had to go to the beach (Sarah and I both love the beach, and Mom has a thing for funnel cakes), so we drove 1 1/2 hours there. Ken and I had just been to Rehoboth in May and loved it: cool stores, a short boardwalk but with everything from the necessary funnel cakes to "nostalgia" portrait photography, and a nice beach.
at left: Dave and Sarah at the beach
I rode to the beach with Ralph so we got to talk about some serious stuff, such as why he wants to be a psychiatric nurse (he has 2 semesters of nursing school left, and did his psych rotation last semester). So good to have a real talk in person (and with no 3 year old interrupting)!
The whole vacation was just as good as my best memories of vacations when we were all kids--and in some ways, better. No sibling fights, and no getting stuck on the swan boats (though Ralph and I agreed we should go to Dutch Wonderland again for nostalgia's sake, and take his kids with us.)
