Spoffords Travel

Day 6 (66 after leaving home) September 27, 2026 Dover Delaware to Philadelphia Pennsylvania 94 miles

Looking out the window this morning the skies are gray and its raining pretty hard. Outside the wind is blowing hard as well.

Connie went down to get a luggage cart to take our stuff down to the car in one trip. The hotel does not allow self serve luggage carts. The staff would be glad to bring one and help move us out. Well we didn’t care for that answer so we just made multiple trips.

Rob went for the car. Well it didn’t want to start and he eventually had to have it pulled. Once he got it running he came to pick Connie up. He wanted to leave it running while under the canopy to keep dry. The bell captain would not let him do that even though other vehicles had done that. Therefore we had to load the car in the rain.

About 9:35 we were on our way. The rain was coming down really hard. Water was coming in the car. Lots of water was on the road. We hit one puddle that sent water all over the car like a car wash.

The towns along the way are one right after the other. There is almost no break in between them. We passed oil refineries and shipping ports. Once we got near Philadelphia we passed the 76ers basketball arena and the Eagles stadium. Neither are playing at home today.

We got lunch at a McDonald’s to use the bathroom and take a break. The cleaning lady was glad to see and talk to a Caucasian. They have to lock the bathrooms because people do such terrible things in them. She said the homeless come in to take their drugs and leave a mess.

Thankfully the rain stopped for a short time. The storage unit was very close to the McDonalds so we went there. The code we had for the gate didn’t work. After a few attempts to contact the company we finally got a pass code. The number of our storage unit didn’t match anything inside. After another look the unit number sent with the pass code was different from the email sent earlier. Well we did finally get in and got the car in as well. The door was rather difficult to close but that eventually worked too. Rob had to grunt a bit to make it work.

We ordered and Uber which came quickly. We were off to the hotel. Now it started to rain again. At the hotel the room key system was broken so we had to be escorted by someone with a master key. They hoped we would have a key within 30 minutes. It’s been more than 30 minutes and no key yet. It is not a problem for us tonight.

While waiting Rob managed to get us checked in for the flight and get one of our SouthWest Airlines accounts fixed. He had trouble earlier. Apparently their system had been compromised and they are in recovery mode for some accounts. Things are looking up and only some water is falling out of the sky at the moment.

Day 5 (65 days after leaving home) September 26, 2026 Dover Delaware 85.9 miles

Today is cloudy windy and rainy. Sometimes the rain was light but others it was moderate. Things here are now rather soggy.

Our tour today went into Maryland to see the Massey Air Museum and the Mount Harmon Plantation. Both were interesting.

The air museum had older aircraft that has been restored to flyable status. They have a grass landing strip and once a month some air craft do land and take off there. It’s another nonprofit group that enjoys the hobby of restoring old aircraft. One of the newer projects is a plane with a Model A engine. That one interested Rob.

The Mount Harmon Plantation sits on the Sassafras River. It was originally a 600 acre tobacco farm with an international port. The brick home was built around 1730. It has sustained several fires and restorations. The most recent restoration was done by one of the DuPont daughters. She gathered period appropriate pieces wherever she could find them. Some of those pieces were very unique. The kings chair was used during fox hunts to allow the host to inform the hunters of any information. Two of the bathrooms had tubs sunk into the floor. Apparently they were common at the time. If you like old furnished houses this is a good one to visit. You get to the manor house by driving down a tree lined gravel road for about 2 miles.

Lunch was served at the Galena Volunteer Fire Department. The couple we sat with were most interesting. He has a mechanical heart. Therefore he has no pulse and no blood pressure. The device is battery operated. He seems very active and doesn’t believe in just sitting around. He has a farm with hay which he takes care of. He is 80 years old and the heart could last 15 years or more. We asked him what the warranty was on his pump. He said even the doctors don’t know.

Tonight is the closing banquet for the Glidden Tour. Then tomorrow we will drive to Philadelphia to put the car in storage. To our surprise Rob won the Glidden Trophy for most road worthy vehicle in the date range of 1914-1942. The trophy weighs about 10 pounds and came with white gloves.

Day 4 (64 after leaving home) September 25, 2026 Dover Delaware 36.8 miles

Started sunny but quickly turned cloudy. Very windy all day.

We started by visiting the John Dickinson Plantation. What a beautiful place. We learned a great deal about his role in the Revolutionary War. His name and role were unfamiliar to both of us. He played a much more significant role than we realized. Look him up you might be surprised as well.

Then we went to the air museum located adjacent to the Dover Air Force Base. They focused on the refueling process with planes in the air. They had lots of military aircraft to include a former Air Force Two. Several first ones made are located here. Most of the aircraft are outside. Many of them you can go inside. We saw a number of planes that we have flown space available flights on.

Next we went to the Dover Agriculture Museum and Village. They did a great job of showing what farm life has been over the years. You could try your luck at milking an electric simulator cow. However she was not plugged in. We had lunch here as well. Milk was not on the lunch menu.

The last stop for the day was the Mighty Mile NASCAR Speedway. We got our photo taken in front of the giant gorilla and then actually drove on the track. The curves are at a 25 degree angle. Connie found that to be too scary so we only did three laps rather than the five the rest of our group did. Don’t need to do that ever again.

Tonight we have a dessert extravaganza as the first year Glidden participants graduate. They usually have to perform the chicken dance in mass. Just one of those silly traditions. Thankfully we have been there and done that.

Day 3 (day 63 from leaving home) September 24, 2026 Dover Delaware 122.7 miles

We took an enjoyable drive through the countryside of Delaware to get to the coastal town of Lewis. The day started sunny but windy. As the day went along the wind got stronger. No rain however. The country has lots of small towns and small farms. We did see a couple of what we assume were chicken feed lots. Also lots of field corn and bean fields. The beans are most likely soy since that is part of the food supply for the chickens.

The morning tour include three museums. The first was called Zwaanendael which tells the story of the Dutch who were among the first settlers in Delaware. The second was in the historic district and consisted of several original and reproduction buildings. The third was a ship originally used by the lighthouse maintenance folks.

Lunch was at the American Legion Post. Now we have some form of pasta all three days. The first two were small servings of a pasta salad and today was chicken goulash. We have never tasted three such bland dishes. I think they don’t know what even a salt shaker is. They were disappointing as the food for the opening banquet was very tasty.

After lunch we toured Fort Miles. This is dated from World War II. The fort was used to watch for and destroy German submarines. Some very large guns are located along the coast. Some of the barracks and other buildings are still there. They also tested big guns here. One of the concrete bunkers is available to walk through.

Today’s ice cream stop had real ice cream in lots of different flavors. We could have one or two scoops. Well that really ruined dinner but in a very tasty way.

No issues with the sticky starter today. That’s because Rob ordered parts to fix the intermittent problem last night.

Day 2 (day 62 since leaving home) northern Delaware 131.6 miles

The morning started rainy by afternoon we had a little sun and a lot of wind. More winds are expected tomorrow.

The tour today took us to the home of the DuPont family. They had beautiful grounds with a sizeable mansion. The grounds, barn and mansion were open to tour. We did not tour the house based on the time required versus the time we had. The family was big into gun powder initially but expanded into synthetic materials such as nylon, teflon, spandex and other materials. They built cars for a short while and partnered with Indian Motorcycles.

The box lunch today was delicious. We had a choice of several different sandwiches and the pasta salad or fruit. The sandwiches were big enough that a half sandwich was enough. We brought the other halves back and had them for dinner. At the same table was a couple from Delaware. They said most of the field corn raised here is to feed the chickens. There are over 700 chicken farms in the state.

Then we were off to the Marshal Museum that specialized in Stanley Steamers. The first Sunday in June-November they give rides in a steamer bus. Volunteers are working on the cars.

We saw another unusual sign for a turtle crossing. Although we have seen this before they are rare. Turtles seem to have trouble avoiding even old slow cars.

The directions to the afternoon break were a disaster. The mileage didn’t match, helpful information was missing and sometimes the information was wrong. We did get to the break and enjoyed a scoop of ice cream.

But the time we finished it was after 4 pm. We decided to take the GPS direct route rather than the tour route. As usual we tried to fill with gas before getting to the hotel. The first station was closing because for some reason the pumps weren’t working. So we backtracked to a different station.

Later in the evening we watched a video about the original trophy given during the Glidden tour. It has been found and returned to the original donors. It currently is in Anderson South Carolina.

Day 1 (day 61 since leaving home) September 22, 2026 Delaware and New Jersey 154.1 miles

The weather was rainy most of the day. It was worst early morning and late afternoon.

We drove for about 1 3/4 hours to get to the ferry. We needed to be there earlier but we did get on. Traffic was terrible and the school buses were out. We drove through much more farmland than either of us expected. They are small farms and raise mostly corn. At least that is what it looked like through all the rain.

We passed a sign that read Monarch Crossing that showed a picture of a monarch butterfly. Don’t remember ever seeing one of those before.

The ferry ride took about 1 1/2 hours. The ferry rocked left to right and back again due to the winds. The distance is about 17 miles.

On the New Jersey side we visited a lighthouse. Neither of us opted to climb the 199 steps to the top. The views today would not be worth the effort. Then we drove around the town located on the shoreline. Lots of hotels and beautiful homes. We could not see the ocean due to the tall bushes along the shore.

We were told to be back to the ferry by 2 pm to go back. We made that timeline just fine and then found out the ferry didn’t leave until 3:30. It was after 5 by the time we got off the ferry and the wind was blowing very hard and the rain was coming down in sheets. We decided to take the direct route back rather than the tour route. That still took us over an hour. Sure hope the weather improves. The weather forecast does not look good.

The car started fine all day today. The intermittent starter issue is a bit annoying.

Day 60 September 21, 2026 Valley Forge Pennsylvania to Dover Delaware 91.8 miles

When Connie first looked out the window this morning a van pulling a trailer was driving out of the parking lot. On the side of the van was written Quilters Clinic. Just imagining what was in that trailer.

The day is very cloudy. Some rain fell during the night because the car even had water on the inside.

The backroads option on the GPS really took us on some beautiful backroads. We expected more divided highways. Some big new homes along the way. Not so many small towns just lots of homes.

At one spot a raccoon ran across the road in front of us. It did hurry across the road but slowed down once it reached the other side. It knew how great the brakes are on the car.

We found a do it yourself car wash about 10 miles from the hotel. We stopped there so Rob could wash some of the dirt off the Woodie. The rain just doesn’t get all the spots.

We soon arrived at the host hotel for this year’s Glidden Tour. The Glidden is open to any car made prior to 1942. We checked in and received our car number. Then we went inside to pick up the registration packet. We couldn’t check into the hotel before 3:00 pm so we had some time to wait. We ate our lunch in the car and then only had a short wait. Day 60 and we are still eating meals together.

Tonight was the opening banquet. They introduce several key players and cover any information not in the packets. The meal was delicious. They served chicken, fish, and beef along with mashed potatoes and gravy, carrots and a green salad. Then they had cheese cake for dessert. The woodie started in the rain without a push.