New York to Outer Banks road trip: 24 stops worth the detour

A free, hangar-sized museum of giant Cold War and modern cargo/tanker aircraft (C-5 Galaxy, C-141 Starlifter, KC-135) parked wingtip to wingtip at an active Air Force base -- walk under planes that once ferried the nation's airlift missions, no admission charged.

A mature public course in central Delaware.

a big three-mile boardwalk resort beach at the Chesapeake mouth

The 1732 courthouse is the literal center of a 12-mile-radius arc that still defines the Delaware-Pennsylvania border today -- stand in the building and you're standing at the geometric origin of a state boundary. Outside, the cobblestone Green (laid out by Peter Stuyvesant in 1655) and colonial streetscape make this one of the best-preserved small historic

Longtime riverfront favorite with seafood staples, a raw bar, upscale fare and cocktails right on the Christina River. Order: Raw bar platter.

Laid-back waterside clam-shack on Lynnhaven, serving the freshest local seafood from its deck for 25-plus years. Order: Steamed oysters.

a bayside town beach famous for sunsets on the Eastern Shore

a quiet bay beach where the first Jamestown colonists landed

Cozy, energetic Little Italy bistro with brick walls and soft lighting crafting seasonal plates with local flavors. Order: Bistro filet.

A Civil War fort on an island you can only reach by boat -- 33,000 Confederate POWs passed through here, and today costumed interpreters and a haunted-history reputation make it one of the most atmospheric stops in the state. The ferry ride itself, past channel markers and osprey nests, is part of the experience.

A classic city municipal course.

Built around illustrator Howard Pyle and his student N.C. Wyeth (godfather of the Brandywine School of American illustration), plus the largest Pre-Raphaelite art collection outside the UK -- a surprising, story-rich stop that most road-trippers wouldn't expect to find in Wilmington.

Part steakhouse and part butchery driven by a serious wine obsession, sourcing veal, seafood and local produce. Order: Long bone tomahawk.

The du Pont family's original 1802 gunpowder works on the Brandywine -- walk between reconstructed powder yards, a working 19th-century machine shop, and the family's first American home, all on 235 riverside acres. The origin story of the entire du Pont/Brandywine Valley dynasty that also built Winterthur and Nemours, so it anchors the corridor rather than

A scenic Ocean City–area municipal.

the first lighthouse authorized by the U.S. government (1792), at the mouth of the Chesapeake

Alfred I. du Pont's 1910 gift to his second wife: a 77-room French neoclassical chateau modeled on Versailles and the Petit Trianon, fronted by the longest formal allee of fountains in North America -- the 'American Versailles' story is an easy, vivid hook for road-trippers.

A rolling daily-fee course in New Castle County.

an upscale Outer Banks village beach with soundside boardwalk and Atlantic sand

undeveloped dunes and wild ponies on Maryland’s barrier island