Burning Rubber.

Not the Golden Gate.

London, ON – Trees stood like cigars as we wound through Pennsylvania's Ricketts Glen State Park. Billowing fog imitated puffs of smoke hanging in the canyons, and the wet bark even smelled like tobacco.

Around the bend stood Smoky the Bear.

Orange detour signs dotted the landscape, pointing our (alternate) way home on what was generally an uneventful return. In this case, uneventful is a good thing.

The road is a good lover, but home is where the heart is.

Vitals:

• Time: Nine hours
• Distance: 664.3 kms
• Weather: Sun, fog, heavy rain in Niagara Falls
• States/Province: Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario
• Wildlife: None

X Marks the Spot.

"Hi, can I get your number? I'm sin-gull."

Wilkes-Barre, PA – "X marks the spot. Dig for the treasure," said the exasperated father resting on the towel next to us, hoping to placate his excited kids.

"No. There's actually no treasure," the young girl replied with a shrug and a crinkled eye. Her younger brother took off eagerly, shovel in tow.

Before long, the same shovel wreaked destruction on a large sandcastle they had built as a family. The mother's defeated sigh sounded like the lazy rattle of reeds lining the boardwalk.

Salt air breathed over my neck at Rehoboth Beach, and a pair of dolphins rollicked in the surf near the shore. Blue umbrellas flapped in the cool breeze, duelling the sun's heat. Ocean, I love thee.

We were covered in just enough sand to add a layer of grit to the car's floor mats for the drive home. The road beckoned to shorten the haul, so we grabbed one last taste of seafood at Medings Seafood and wound once more through the hills to Wilkes-Barre.

Having been foiled on Sunday, we finally got to visit Breaker Brewing Company, and were impressed by samples of beer flavoured with mango, lemongrass and tomatoes.

It was worth the second attempt.

Vitals:

• Time: Five hours
• Distance: 378.9 kms
• Weather: Mostly sunny
• States/Province: Delaware, Pennsylvania
• Wildlife: Dolphins

Hipsters Beered.

Dogfish Head: off-centred.

Rehoboth Beach, DE – Smoke twisted from the wood fire, dancing in my nostrils. Beer-infused brats squirmed on the grill.

A steel fan rattled and spun, offering only a whisper to the  humidity, but ensuring my taste buds danced along. Bunyan’s Lunchbox was cooking.

Nearby, a large Steampunk Treehouse rose from the ground with gnarled, rusted arms, pointing the way into Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Delaware.

The brewery bought the sculpture constructed of recycled and reclaimed materials for $1 in 2010, following its previous life as an installation at the Burning Man festival. Shipping cost considerably more.

A pair of wooden clunks: yelps of delight. A family celebrated a successful shot on one of the two well-groomed bocce courts on the front lawn.

Thank brew very much for heading to Dogfish.

Lunch under the sun featured bratwurst, chowder, beer pickles and the much sought-after 120 Minute IPA.

Prior to touring the facility, too, the brewery offered four free samples, which we eagerly scrawled onto spare bottle labels and waved toward well-informed staff who shared knowledge about how each brew is made. Mission accomplished.

We made our way back to Rehoboth Beach, where we capped off the day with oysters at Henlopen City Oyster House, and some of the most beautifully cooked scallops I've had. This is what a drive to the coast is all about.

It was no doubt time to meander down the boardwalk lining the beach as the arcade's electronic pings and rings washed over not only the waves, but a day fully enjoyed.

Interlude.

From the waves, it a-piers.

a line in the sand

Drawn in the sand
and to the tides;
to the currents,
and to pasts, remembered
and forgotten;
the sea washes away
lines previously drawn,
and all this history
that still breathes
inside of me.

Memory curves inside each ripple,
slipping from my grasp;
as footsteps vanish,
it becomes easy to forget
the thoughts that once twirled here.

Dewey Lewis & The News.

Shouldn't it be 16.0 to create a Dewey Decimal?

Dewey Beach, DE – The morning was spent carving through creases hewn in the Earth, trees and rock lining a slalom course through the hills.

Against this natural backdrop, steel windmills loomed, marching like soldiers in and out of the fog.

Pennsylvania brought theme-park roads, each curve smooth and unrelenting. I played the role of whack-a-mole, popping up in my seat to peer around corners and ducking again as we dropped gears on steep descents.

Dilapidated barns – haunted fun houses – spotted the fields, bearing faded grins belying a more colourful past.

We stopped at Breaker Brewing Company in Wilkes-Barre, PA for lunch and faced a nod to the state’s puritanical history: closed on Sunday. It seems every trip has an event like this. Onward.

We arrived in Dewey Beach, Delaware unwilling to drive any longer. Before us stood a creaking wagon tugged by a van; it even had free Wi-Fi. For $5, the Jolly Trolley would take us and various other beach goers around town, eventually dropping us for dinner at the original Dogfish Head Brewpub.

Having pointed ourselves through the trees for a thousand kilometres, we had arrived at our destination at the sea. Our table was soon dressed with crab and corn chowder and fried pickles battered with Dogfish Head's 60 Minute IPA, which was paired with IPA truffle mustard. Delicious.

With the Jolly Trolly to take us home, there was, of course, also beer, including a porter brewed with 30 lobsters: Choc Lobster. Clever.

This is the good stuff.

Vitals:

• Time: 13 hours (with one hour delay for an accident)
• Distance: 1,001.2 kms
• Weather: Mostly sunny
• Province/States: Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware
• Wildlife: Deer, Wild turkeys