Photos from a dynamic Labor Day weekend

Some people hunkered down on the blustery and rainy Saturday of Labor Day weekend.  Others dreamed of adventures on the high seas. Becky and I walked the new section of trail between Savannah Road and Kings Highway in Lewes.  That’s where we found the high seas dreamers.  The group of young men - aspiring Thor Heyerdahls of Kon Tiki fame - spent six hours cutting significant lengths of bamboo from a stand in the railroad right of way.  With stout pieces of line, they were lashing them together to make a raft.  “We’d like to sail it to Cape May,” said one.  “Beats doing something else and getting in trouble,” said another.  The movie Stand By Me came to mind.

The next day, we drove to Rehoboth Beach for another hike, around the city.  We came across a prophetic question on a tombstone in the cemetery on Henlopen Avenue.  On the Boardwalk we saw people trudging and laboring on bicycles through thick sand blown onto the boards at the north end. And on the south end of town, Melissa and Jimmy hailed us from their porch and pointed out a house across the street and scheduled for demolition toward the end of September.  “It has Cape Henlopen Lighthouse stone on the front,” said Melissa.

We talked for a while about changes in Rehoboth Beach, houses being taken down on large lots, often replaced with two houses.  While the loss of charm and historic context in Rehoboth Beach may not exactly work with that formula, the numbers do.  We also talked about the trees being taken down in the process, the loss of canopy, more people and congestion and other frustrations.

“Hey Dennis, do you think ten years from now we‘ll all still be happy we’re staying in the area? We’re going to move out in the country but it’s just a matter of time before we’ll be surrounded out  there.” Their property is for sale, on a large lot with a number of big trees. No doubt it will be sold to make way for two lots and two houses.

I thought about Jimmy’s question.

“Well, we’ll always have the ocean and the Boardwalk.  Cape Henlopen State Park to the north and Seashore State Park to the south.  The lakes and the bicycle trails.  Plus the good climate.  It’s going to get more crowded, but it’s tough to keep people away from a good place. Let’s just hope the growth moves forward with some good sense.”  And I always say this: “Let’s preserve some more open space!”

You can see a lot out on your bicycle and just walking. Tuesday morning I rode the grand Cape loop with a solid northwest wind pushing me down the Gordons Pond Trail.  The pond is full again by the way.  Full and beautiful and ready for the migratory waterfowl to start moving in. Riding out Church Street toward Hebron Road, I thought once again about the development pushing into the predominantly black area of West Rehoboth.  Old places are being torn down, new places are being built. Diversity being lost. Hopefully some opportunity offered.

There’s nothing constant but change.