[WILMINGTON] Rodney Square and River Walk

I guess we’ll just have to admit that Delaware was one of those states that I decided to visit just for the sake of visiting it and crossing it off my map of ‘Murica. The Greyhound from Newark made a bathroom stop somewhere near Wilmington and that was my first impression of Delaware: a pit stop with food options ranging from Panda Express to Cinnabon. There was also a lottery machine there, which had me betting on a lottery I’ve never seen before called Lotto America.

Biden’s name and face was also everywhere. Apparently, this is where Joe came from. We will forget about that for a few days as we head towards our primary destination which is Baltimore. As I come back for a day trip to Wilmington, though, the following Monday, Biden becomes ubiquitous again, what with the main train station being named after him. I arrived on the cheapest Amtrak schedule I could find, which meant getting off at Wilmington at just around 4 PM.

The itinerary was rather empty. Neither Wikitravel nor Google had a lot of suggestions. Most of the attractions listed were museums, which I shouldn’t have had any problems visiting except that all of them were closed on a Monday for whatever reason. That left us with a dearth of options, eventually narrowing it down to Rodney Square, which was around 20 minutes of walking up north. I ended the short half day trip at the River Walk just after the sun came down.

What is there to see in Rodney Square anyway? Well, it’s historical, one of the country’s many historical districts. Named after revolutionary leader Caesar Rodney, it is surrounded by some notable buildings such as the Wilmington Public Library, the high-rise Hotel Du Pont, a Presbyterian church called First & Central as well as the Post Office. Most of the buildings were constructed during the first half of the 1900’s, and the architecture shows.

There isn’t much you can do at that square aside from taking a few photos and selfies. As the sun disappeared, it started to become chilly, and I was caught off guard like a sitting duck because the day promised to be warm, at least before I left Baltimore. Knowing that I would be spending much of the remaining time before the cheapest return Amtrak trip I could find leaves at 21:35, I decided it was time to take that riverwalk as fast as possible so I could find some indoor refuge.

Weirdly, it was that riverwalk that I enjoyed the most. The sun came down and brought along some strange hues of indigo and purple with it, which beautifully tainted the sky before Wilmington was plunged into darkness. Despite the lack of natural lighting, the boulevard along the river was well-illuminated even though there weren’t a lot of people at the time, perhaps due to the cold weather. I did run into some jogging teens as well as toddlers on bicycles.

Some notable places of interest you will find as you walk along the river are Delaware State University and Delaware Children’s Museum, both of which were closed at those late hours, obviously, but well-lit to deserve a slot in your photo gallery. I was able to walk around for an hour at a leisurely pace before I called it quits, which left me with three hours and a half to spare.

I originally thought of just killing time at the cinema but it was empty AF it just felt like I would have some sort of Scream Ghostface episode if I went in. And so I just decided to stay for a while at the local Starbucks before engaging in some “extra curricular activities” that took me to Christiana and back. The 50-minute train ride back to Baltimore was uneventful. And that was Delaware for me. I’m sure there are more to see if you get out of Wilmington, but I just didn’t have the time.

[WILMINGTON] Rodney Square and River Walk

[DELAWARE] Budget and Itinerary