A Return To Quaint And Historic Havre de Grace, No Paw Paws But Beautiful Scenery And A Lot Of Insects.

I returned for my second visit to Havre de Grace,  the town along the Susquehanna River where it enters  the Chesapeake Bay last Friday. The ancient Susquehanna River flows through Northeastern Pennsylvania and its meandering course takes it about 10 miles north of my home in Luzerne County. Visiting Havre de Grace where the Susquehanna River ends has been on my bucket list for half a century. I finally got there last Labor Day weekend and decided to return this year.

I left my home Friday morning taking the three hour drive through mostly rural Pennsylvania and Maryland. I again passed many Amish folks on their horse draw carriages in southern Pennsylvania.

I arrived at the Vandiver Inn Bed and Breakfast, where I stayed last year, around 1 pm. Check in was at 3 pm but I was told by the pleasant young ladies at the desk my room would be ready in about a 1/2 hour.

Not one to sit around, I decided to take a quick walk through quaint and historic Havre de Grace and down to the Chesapeake Bay. My plan was to get back check-in my room and explore one of the nearby Stats Parks.

Well, as I learned again on this trip,  more about that in another blog, the best laid plans, of mice and men, oft go astray. I walked past the well maintained homes on Foundation Street, most with large old trees and flower gardens.

At Girard Street walked past the large housing complexes along the Chesapeake Bay. I listened many of the residents have boats docked in the marina in front of the apartments.

I followed Concord Street , passing a local fire company,

and an ice cream shop before coming to,

Concord Point Park with it’s famous and historic lighthouse. First a walked out in the pier at Herons place to take in the beautiful views of the Chesapeake Bay filled with, in large part by the waters of the Susquehanna River after its 444 mile journey from the pristine waters of Lake Ostego in New York.

It was a beautiful late Summer afternoon and a beautiful place to enjoy it.

The only wildlife in the bay was a few mallard ducks,

and this osprey that flew overhead.

I walked down to the famous Lighthouse. I provided more history on Havre de Grace  and the Lighthouse in my blog post when I was here last year , which you can read in this link .https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/havre-de-grace-maryland-where-the-susquehanna-river-ends/

It was already almost a 1/2 hour since  I left Vandiver  Inn but I was enjoying the beauty of the park in the brilliant afternoon sunshine.

I walked out on a pier which was lined with wooden carvings of birds native to the Chesapeake Bay,

and I continued through the park, past the monument for Gold Star Families.

The park was crowded  with other folks enjoying the beauty of the bay.

I came to a boardwalk which  took me on a nature trail

 and a pollination yard behind the Maritime Museum,  along the trail on the  bay where  dozens species of native wildflowers, many of which I am familiar with hiking in the wetlands along the Susquehanna River near my home,

including New York Ironweed,

cardinal flowers,

New England asters and many others I see on my hikes along the Susquehanna River 135  miles north of Havre de Grace.

And, as I posted in a blog on a visit to the Susquehanna Wetlands recently, where there wildflowers there are insects.  There were hundreds of bees, wasps, butterflies and dragonflies visiting the many flowers along the trail and I couldn’t resist trying to photograph, and share all of them. I know not everyone wants to see insects, but some of my friends and followers appreciate their beauty like me, so sorry, just scroll down if you don’t like bugs.   They included this  colorful blue winged Scoliid wasp on a  goldenrod flower,

this eastern carpenter bee on a pickerelweed flower,

an eastern bumblebee on a pickerelweed flower,

a silver spotted skipper butterfly,

a Huron Sachem butterfly,

a pearl crescent butterfly,

a  eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly,

 and the now endangered monarch butterfly.

I also saw a lot of these slender bluet damselflies,

and large milkweed bugs. It took a while to capture these images but I enjoyed it and love to share. I hope I got the identifications right, I am no expert, and relied my iNaturalist iPhone app. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos of the birds I saw on my afternoon hikes.  Havre de Grace Maryland insect and flowers August 29  2025.

While observing the insects I was observed by this eastern gray squirrel.

I did see a few birds from the boardwalk including this  great blue heron who remained perched in this cove in the bay,

the entire time I was photographing the insects.

A few more ospreys and ring billed gulls flew over the bay,

and I was delighted to see a bald eagle fly overhead. Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos of the birds I saw on my afternoon hikes.  Havre de Grace Maryland birds August 29 2025.

I could have spent another hour in the park but decided to head back to  the Inn, I again walked through the old home in the streets of Havre de Grace,

seeing this pair of northern cardinals in one of the yards.  Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos from I saw on my afternoon  hike .  Havre de Grace Maryland    Susquehanna River  walk  August 29 2025.

I arrived back at the Vandiver Inn around 3;30. and my room, of course was ready. There weren’t any rooms available in the historic Vandiver  Inn itself ( you can read more about it in my blogs from last year) so I was staying in an apartment part of the bed and breakfast about a block away. I checked into my room,

I didn’t stay in my room long, I was off for another hike, and, to hopefully find some paw paws. I found a tree loaded with them last year in the McLhinney Park along the Susquehanna River. I drove to the park only a mile from my apartment and walked to the paw paw tree.

I was surprised to see no fruits on the ground under the large old tree. I looked up and saw the tree was loaded with unripe fruit.

They were as hard as rocks. I was surprised since I was here in the same day a year ago and most had already fallen to the ground and were overripe. Always expect the unexpected in Nature. There are no guarantees.

I continued through the park toward the Susquehanna River. It wasn’t a quiet walk. The noise from busy traffic on the Route 43 highway bridge was continuous. That I minded I didn’t mind the loud horns from the many passing trains on a railroad bridge over the river.

The trail took me over a bridge on small creek to a pond along the river,

with another motionless great blue heron perched on an island in the middle.

And, like in my earlier hike there were a lot of wildflowers, and insects along the pond.

In addition to most of the insects I saw earlier I also saw this small white butterfly,

this common buckeye butterfly,

and this Peck’s butterfly.

I left the pond and stood along the banks of the Susquehanna River reflecting how first walked along it’s banks while a student at Bloomsburg University. I then transferred to King’s College in Wilkes-Barre also along the Susquehanna River.   I practiced lawn Luzerne County for 42 years where the Court House overlooks this ancient and majestic river, and finally, I have come to love the wetlands along the river which I visit on an almost weekly basis. I have come to love this river and  now this quaint little town where it ends.

I left the river and walked past the Lock House Muesum, 

where I saw anorthern mockingbird,  which always reminds me of my dad. He loved this birds song.

I left the  Lock House Museum and followed the North Park Loop?Mason Dixon Trail  which took me along the Susquehanna River,

the trail continued through a woodland of ancient tulip,

river birch, silver maple and sycamore trees. They were some of the largest trees of these species Ihad ever seen. I walked the loop trail for about another  mile enjoying the peace and quiet of the old forest along the river.

There was a pond along the trail where I saw another great blue heron.

I finsihed my 2 mile hike. It was another great hike along my favorite river, but this time over 100 miles where I usually watch it flow.  Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos from I saw on my afternoon  hike along the Susquehanna River .  Havre de Grace Maryland   afternoon  Susquehanna River  walk  August 29 2025.

It was around 5 ;15 when I finsihed my hike.  I had dinner reservations at the nearby Water Street Seafood restaurant at 6 pm. I was hungry and tired and so stopped in and was able to get a bar seat in the crowded restaurant. I had a wonderful meal startiung witha hearty bowl of  Maryland crab soup and

then a seafood pasta dish.They were both deicious.  I returned to my apartment and edited photos until I retired early, falling asleep listneing to the horns from the trains passing on the bridge over the Susquehanna River.  I was disappointed in not finding any ripe paw paws but the beauty I found along theSusquehnna River overcame this diappoinment. I am beginning to love this little corner of the Chesapeake Bay.

“This is still the world’s most enchanting inland water.”
― James A. Michener, Chesapeake

“the burden of the thinking man is to calculate the probable good against the possible bad and to decide whether the change will be worth the risk.”
― James A. Michener, Chesapeake