578 - Fort Mahon
I’ve always wondered what happens in Delaware. Today, I decided to find out.
When’s the last time you met someone from Delaware? Or seen a movie about Delaware? Or even heard the word “Delaware”? I’d be willing to be 90% of the United States doesn’t even realize this place still exists.
And for good reason. It’s basically Kansas with a beach. But… it has a dirty secret. A very dirty secret. Delaware is one of only five states in the United States that doesn’t have any state, property, or local sales taxes.
This makes it a retirement haven, which is probably the reason you’ve never heard about it. The place is chalk full of oldies living out their best lives- and social media hasn’t even been invented here yet. That is, until I came along- ready to expose Delaware to my 1,300 followers on Instagram.
Since we were taking a trip back in time, I thought it’d be fitting to find a place to shoot the old fashioned way- through a good ole’ fashioned magazine.
And guess what? There just so happened to be a photography contest on the first few pages. Because old people have nothing better to do than take photos and judge them. Lucky me.
My eyes landed on an abandoned boat photo, and I immediately knew that’s where I wanted to be.
The only problem was that the location wasn’t listed- only the name of the artist. So I put the name in Google, tracked down her website, pulled up her Instagram, and scrolled down until I found the photo with a geolocation tag. Boom, baby. We’re in.
And as you can guess by the title of this shoot, the tag was Fort Mahon. Which, in all fairness, is a pretty large stretch of beach. But… I could work with that.
Rain suddenly began to trickle down my windshield. Oh perfect. I was waiting for the catch.
An hour and a half and an Arby’s sandwich later, I arrived on the beach. But I quickly realized the rain had brought another obstacle my way.
Since the road was entirely composed of dirt, several large swatches of mud guarded its entrance. Not a problem for 90% of vehicles… but my Prius was a proud member of that 10%. The body on this thing lays so close to the ground it might as well be a part of it.
So I was left with a decision. Risk getting stuck in the mud, or drive away with nothing. The problem was that I was in rural, rural Delaware, so getting stuck would not be fun. At all.
But if I left, I knew I’d regret it for the rest of my life. Or at least until the next morning,
So I let out a quick prayer to the Toyota gods, then floored it.
The 07’ whipped through the mud like a hot knife on butter. What a champ. I quietly patted my dashboard and looked outside. Now I just had to find this goddamn boat.
I drove for probably half a mile until I landed on an outlet that looked promising. Rain battered down from the heavens, but no boat was in sight.
What did exist there, however, was an old, wooden pier. I snagged this shotski:
“Stargate Atlantis”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Sony 24-105mm f/4 G
[ISO 50 ~ 34mm ~ f/22 ~ 1/2.5s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
The symmetry surrounding the middle square felt powerful to me.
Come to think of it, this whole place felt powerful. As I kept driving, more and more piers began to emerge. A forgotten metropolis of wood, wasting away in the winter rain.
Another outlet appeared. Perhaps this one housed the now infamous boat. Nope.
But I did find this lying around:
“Crusty Crustacean”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Sony 24-105mm f/4 G
[ISO 2500 ~ 24mm ~ f/4 ~ 1/80s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
I thought these things were extinct. Apparently not. The storm suddenly picked up again, angered by my lack of prehistoric knowledge.
I got back in my car and kept driving.
More planks emerged in the mist, except these ones were even more desolate. The further I went down shore, the more alien the landscape became:
“Sea Trance”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Sony 24-105mm f/4 G
[ISO 50 ~ 24mm ~ f/22 ~ 1/2.5s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
And then I hit a roadblock.
The mud here was over a foot high, which blocked my Prius from going any further. It wasn’t a question of if I could make it, it was how far I’d make it. I turned my car around. No abandoned boat today.
I’d underestimated this bastard of a state. Too much talk early in the game. It kind of felt like an old man had beat me with a cane. Not particularly painful, but disappointing.
A newfound respect for Delaware emerged within me. But I’d still come away with three solid pics, so I couldn’t be too mad.
We’ll call it even for now. But I’ll be back.
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