As one crisscrosses America's storied highways, seeking solace from urban cacophony and life's mundane maladies, there emerges an elusive destination promising both reprieve and reflection. Heralded for its charm, history, serenity, diversity, vibrancy indeed a progressive edge it is none other than the diminutive yet diverse state of Delaware that beckons to those who seek personal enlightenment through solitude.
Sidestep bustling Wilmington avenues where DuPonts once roamed and surrender to verdant sanctuaries nestled amid Delmarva Peninsulas flat expanses. Embark across Route 9 (the picturesque Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway), where fugitive slaves sought freedom beneath star-laden skies. Take heed as latent musings mirroring Dickinson or Whitman emerge amidst landscapes calling up visions of Wyeth.
It comes as no surprise that Winterthur Museum & Garden (5105 Kennett Pike) resplendent with art collections rivaling those housed within literary bastions like The Morgan Library presents itself as first pilgrimage site de rigueur within our journey into silence; just adjacent to the meandering Brandywine River stands your gateway to contemplation amongst centuries-old trees lining rolling hills laden with horticultural treasures - embrace well-deserved decadence on a quiet bench savouring Andrew Marvells fanciful Garden.
Delaware's Atlantic Coast shelters extraordinary oases interlaced between Rehoboth Beach revelers dancing alongside Duffy drums echoing off Boardwalk plankssuch rhythms too much? Traverse but mere paces along Gordon Pond coastal reserve reaching Cape Henlopen State Park wherein majestic dunes reveal inner peace found betwixt tousled sea grass tunesa scene evoking Moran-esque masterpieces captured deftly by two-tone poetry penned eternally by Jack Kerouac within the hourglass of his Big Sur.
To marvel at Delawares cultural tapestry, fear not deserting Wilmington entirely; therein lies a labyrinthine treasure: The Holy Trinity Church (1106 N Adams St) providing sanctuary to weary wanderers since 1899. Traverse Gothic Revival portals inviting reflection upon beauty in silencestained glass narrates biblical tales while organs lie dormant awaiting raucous hymnal praise - for now, hallowed quiet reigns supreme.
While traditional faith hints at spiritual saunterings within Montchanin Village as Swamis propound teachings inside Kalmar Nyckel Foundation's shipyard turned ashram (1124 E Seventh St), wonder is bountiful within Ardena utopian village founded on progressive idealism and Arts & Crafts movement principles where nature meets meditative mosaicing workshops in a Henry David Thoreau-like idyll replete with babbling brooks serenading whispering woodlands and burgeoning azaleas held witness only by sculpted iron gates standing vigil amidst venerable stone walls.
Dare to continue aboard the SS Friendship traversing our tranquil odyssey en route to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge along Smyrna RiverHook rising like an Austen allusion from brackish marshland redolent with flora playing an aromatic jazz score. Seek solace amongst fiddler crabs rhythmically scampering across ribbons of tidal mud whilst sapphiric dragonflies dart above your noggin orchestrating their frenetic ballet --- Nature tip-toes stealthily reminding us that mindfulness never demands company.
We depart refreshed and renewed knowing we are but ephemeral patrons partaking temporarily in spaces far grander than ourselvesone recognizes individualistic enlightenment may be acquired betwixt bedsheets loaned from Langston Hughes' dreams or nestled softly betwixt Ralph Waldo Emerson blankets swaddling silent snowfall ensconcing marble Jeffersonian edifices alongside Brandywine Creek in Delawares embrace the soul meanders, seeks and finds.
The Picturesque Harriet Tubman Underground
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5105 Kennett Pike De
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1106 N Adams St De
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1124 E Seventh St De
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