North to Rehoboth Beach Delaware

…continuing with our September 2023 road trip, with Laurie’s sister Bonnie and her husband Bill, to explore the Delmarva Peninsula.

After our browsing and shopping experience in Berlin Maryland, we turned east on US Hwy 50 and reached the Atlantic coast at Ocean City Maryland, a popular tourist town. 

I pulled these photos of Ocean City from the Internet.  As of the 2020 census, Ocean City was home to 6,844 residents.  However, on summer weekends, the city is host to as many as 345,000 vacationers…with as many as 8,000,000 per year.  On summer weekends, Ocean City becomes the second most populated city in Maryland, with only Baltimore having more residents.

Crowds of tourists in an ocean side ‘theme park’ is just not our thing.  Although we were in ‘off season’, just the sight of one hotel or condo after another interspersed with amusement rides and other attractions just isn’t our thing… Sorry, but to our little group, this isn't going to the seashore.

So we continued north on MD Hwy 28, crossing over onto DE Hwy 1 and the town of Fenwick Island Delaware.  I had found one attraction along this crowded coastline that I thought the group would be interested in...

The building isn’t particularly attractive…but it’s all about content isn’t it?  We aren’t ‘into’ sea shells or nautical décor, but we do like to browse and see what might be available.

This second-generation family-run business was founded in 1967 with a number of seashell and souvenir shops in Ocean City Maryland.  The family purchased this store in 1975 and, a few years later they sold their businesses in Maryland to focus on Sea Shell City.

Admittedly, sea shells and related items weren’t the prime reason for my planned stop...

If you love ocean related items, the entire first level of Sea Shell City is packed with sea shells, coral, coastal and cottage home décor, hermit crabs, gifts, souvenirs, t-shirts, hats, beach supplies, books, gifts, novelties, videos, netting and more... The selection was indeed impressive.

Located at 708 Coastal Highway in Fenwick Island Delaware, Sea Shell City is on Facebook at Sea Shell City | Fenwick Island DE | Facebook and I understand they do on-line sales.

Now on to the second part of the sign in my second photo above…and the real reason that I picked this place as an interesting stop along the way. 

It’s all about the DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum!  What a great symbiotic match up and tourist draw for both Sea Shell City and this museum…

The first photo is of a display case full of items recovered from what is popularly called the “China Wreck”, so named by local divers.  This shipwreck is located about 12 miles off the coast at Cape Henlopen Delaware.  The best guess is that the shipwreck…now a muddy, coral and salt encrusted mound in 39 feet of water, was once the Principessa Margherita di Piemonte out of Naples Italy.  She was sailing from England to Philadelphia with her cargo of British stoneware and pottery.  On March 12, 1891, she foundered and wrecked on the Hen and Chickens Shoal.

The second showcase displays items recovered from the mid-15^th century wreck of a ‘freighter junk’ in the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam.  Prophetically, the area where the wreck happened is called “Dragon’s Embrace”.  By the time the archeological recovery was completed in 1999, 244,000 artifacts had been recovered.  The most amazing find is that 150,000 items were still intact.  

The first display case shown above included a reflective photo of Laurie and me as she took the photo.  This display contains early wine bottles, rum bottles, pots, jugs, bowls and more.  The wine bottle at the upper right was recovered from a wreck dating back to the 1700s off Fenwick Shoal.  At the opposite end of the same shelf, there is a Dutch wine bottle dating to about the same era.  A small olive jar ca. 1724 is displayed at the bottom just to the left of that big green container.  The small earthenware pitcher on the shelf just above the olive jar came from the wreck of the Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, a Spanish galleon that wrecked along the coast of the Dominican Republic in August of 1724.  The ship was also carrying 250 tons of mercury…aka quicksilver…  It has never been recovered due to the solid construction of the second deck of the ship.  If the mercury could be recovered without harm to the environment or to the recovery team, a single gallon of mercury today is priced at $3,400.00.

The second double sided glass display case holds a wide variety of shipwreck artifacts…plus we got another photo of Laurie taking the photo!  This display contains everything from pewter plates and a tankard to shoe buckles, coins, a beautiful 1785 silver candle holder, to a dye pot, red ware and a ship christening timber.  Like today, most day to day items needed or wanted by people, traveled by sea.  Of course, the ships weren’t as safe as they are today and many more mishaps took place, especially in bad weather.

This photo shows how many of the objects recovered from shipwrecks appear before they are conserved and cleaned…a careful process that takes a lot of time.  That encrusted flintlock pistol ca. mid 1700s, came from a ship that sank off the Delmarva coast.  It still contains most of the wood and the barrel.  Note the piles of encrusted coins and that large pewter plate.

FYI, the DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum was founded with the goal of recovering and preserving our maritime heritage.  The museum opened in July of 1995.  It does not receive state or federal grants and is funded solely by owner contributions and via public donations.

That handsome chest on the lower shelf was apparently buried by a local sea captain in the 1800s…but that is not the primary focal point of this display.  In the center, a Feejee mermaid is on exhibit!  The question is whether or not it’s real or Memorex?!  One thing for sure...it isn't attractive!

Mermaids are common in the folklore of many cultures around the world.  There are rumors of mermaids dating back as far as 5,000 BCE.  Folklore in Japan brought Feejee mermaids out of the ‘shadows’.  Created to look like half-man or monkey with a fish tail, they were an exotic import item after Japan opened up trade with the rest of the world in 1853.  Once the public realized how they were constructed, Feejee mermaids were also made in the USA.

In addition to the DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum, many prestigious western institutions currently have them in their collections.  These museums include the British Museum, the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College and the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology at Harvard University.

To explore the history of the Feejee mermaid phenomenon, just go to https://www.coneyisland.com/shof-attractions/feejee-mermaid.  

Not all the displays in this tightly packed 2,000 square foot museum contain large objects or eye-catching items.  This wall display includes recovered bronze mission crosses and trade beads…both meant for trade with Indigenous Americans as well as for their religious conversion. 

The DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum’s collection has been put together by shipwreck enthusiast, diver and entrepreneur Dale Clifton.  In good weather he dives for treasure along the USA’s East Coast, but in fact he states that half of his ‘booty’ turns up along Delaware’s beach via the use of metal detectors.  Following a nor’easter in February of 1998, he found 160 coins and 4 religious medallions valued at $8,000 at the time.

The fact that this chocolate frother even exists is quite stunning.  Wood usually doesn’t do well in the ocean.  Frothers like this were used in the 1600s and 1700s to stir up chocolate…which itself was a true luxury item.  The handle was spun between one’s hands and the mallet-like agitator was spun around to froth the chocolate.

We lucked out and Dale Clifton was on site when we visited.  He answered questions and talked about his experiences and his finds.  Clifton was part of the crew that spent 16 years searching for the Atocha, a Spanish galleon that sank off the coast of Florida during a Hurricane in 1622.  The crew found the ship in 1985 and they recovered $538,000,000 million of gold, silver and emeralds from its hull.

One of the treasures at the museum is a 10-foot long gold chain from the Atocha that had been destined for the Queen of Spain.  Dale discourages photos of his finds for security reasons.  Any photos that Laurie or I took were approved by him.  I’d handled some gold coins and bars previously but Laurie hadn’t.  Dale let her heft some gold bars…nice!  The museum was packed despite being off season.  We definitely donated to the future of this historical treasure.

Exhibits at the museum change regularly, expanding and diversifying with new acquisitions as they are recovered.  The museum houses about 10,000 artifacts at all times.  The other 80% from the collection are rotated through other museums around the world. 

The hours at DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum vary by day of the week and time of the year.  Check ahead before planning a visit.  Phone: 302-539-9366.  Website: Home | Discoversea.

From Fenwick Island, we continued north on DE Hwy 1 toward Rehoboth Beach and our hotel for the next 2 nights.  Once we cleared the ‘civilization’ of Bethany Beach and Ocean View Delaware, we crossed the handsome looking Indian River Inlet Bridge…and the buildings and commercial operations ceased being our view of the coast line.  The highway continues north for 6 miles through the Delaware Seashore State Park before coming to Dewey Beach and Rehoboth Beach Delaware.  The park covers 2,835 acres of shoreline along the Atlantic Ocean, Indian River Bay and Rehoboth Bay.  Millions of beachgoers visit this park every year.  Learn more at Delaware Seashore - Delaware State Parks (destateparks.com).

Next stop…Rehoboth Beach, the seashore and the boardwalk.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for continuing to follow along on our road trip!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave