Sunday, August 27, 2017

A Weekend at Cape Henlopen State Park...

I think we may have found our new favorite campground (sorry Williamsburg KOA) - Cape Henlopen State Park at the Delaware Beaches. Wow! It was so beautiful with so much to do - and not that far from home (2.5 hour drive for the win!)

Andy and I had actually tent camped there a long long time again in a galaxy far far away - well, you get the point - it was ages ago when we weren't even married yet - though I think we were engaged (see, this is what happens when you don't have blog posts to remember these things.) We really used the campground more as an access point to Rehoboth Beach so we didn't really have a memory of the park. The reason we hadn't been back since was that up until this year they didn't have water and electric sites - so once we knew they had renovated we made sure to book a weekend to check it out. 










The campground is so awesome - we had a huge site and the surroundings are just so beautiful. We had a visitor on our first night - Poppy! He was coming through after a couple nights camping down in Chincoteague. Sadly the weather was all kinds of rainy so we couldn't enjoy our campfire cooked steaks and wedge salads that we had planned - but we made the most of it and instead enjoyed some seafood from a restaurant in Lewes just 5 minutes down the road from the campground. Adam got to enjoy his first oyster on the half shell and then he enjoyed 3 more - my boy! 








Luckily the weather improved by the next morning and we were able to spend pretty much the entire weekend outdoors. Adam had so much fun riding his bike to the park and made lots of friends. Every time I'd check on him he'd be in the middle of an epic game of tag - it was fun to see. Harper also enjoyed playing at that park with his big brother - they are quite a pair. 







Adam and I spent one afternoon at the beach while Harper napped. The beach was super crowded so that was the only negative - I guess we've been spoiled with how wide open the beaches are at in the OBX. Adam still had fun splashing in the waves for a little bit though. 




One of the things we loved about the campground were the sites you could see on your walks. Andy and I got to take an early morning walk with the dogs while Poppy was with us and it was so beautiful to see the water at sunrise. It's also pretty cool that Fort Miles is right there in the middle of it all. The Fort was used during World War II to keep an eye on the coast. They still have some of the barracks there and the gun battery as well. Adam for sure got a kick out of learning about all of that. 












They also have observation towers still in place - and one of them you can go up and take a look at the amazing views. I will say I was not a big fan of the winding/rickety staircase and the height at the top gave me the shivers - but the view was worth it. So was the look on Adam's face. 







We had learned that they have a FREE bike rental program through Friends of Cape Henlopen. So we spent one morning riding bikes around the park. It was such a pretty ride and those beach cruiser bikes are so comfortable - haha. So comfortable that we found a local bike shop where I was able to snag myself by very own old lady bike. I enjoyed a solo bike ride along the ocean and it was magical. 








Another cool thing is the Nature Center. They have a sting ray and horseshoe crab pool inside where you can touch the animals. They also have a mini-aquarium with all kinds of cool fish to look at. There's a reptile display as well with various snakes - yikes - and a pretty cool looking turtle. 







The town of Lewes was also a fun place to visit and spend some time in. We hit up their farmer's market one morning and then had breakfast there the next day at a place we heard was really good - and it was! Harper liked visiting the Fire Department which was next door the best. We also had a little happy hour one evening. A charming little town that I can't wait to visit again soon. 












This campground really had everything and we cannot wait to go back.

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