RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Delaware >> New Castle County >> Mermaid Run >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Mermaid Run, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mermaid Run and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • Astronomy & Satellites ...
    • Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
    • To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Mermaid Run:
    • 39.740390, -75.694098
    • Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Mermaid Run
  • Bird Watching ...
    • We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
    • The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected New Castle County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for New Castle County
    • Since Mermaid Run is near Chester County and also Cecil County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Chester County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cecil County
  • Waymarking ...
    • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Mermaid Run

Curious and Interesting Names Near Mermaid Run ...

As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.

  • Birch Pointe
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Birch Pointe is located in New Castle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birch Pointe
  • Brackenville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Brackenville is located in New Castle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brackenville
  • Charter Oaks
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Charter Oaks is located in New Castle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Oaks
  • Coffee Run
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Coffee Run is located in New Castle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee Run
  • Corner Ketch
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Corner Ketch is located in New Castle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corner Ketch
  • Cornish Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Cornish Hills is located in New Castle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornish Hills
  • Deacons Walk
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Deacons Walk is located in New Castle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deacons Walk
  • English Village
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • English Village is located in New Castle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
  • Foxfire
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Foxfire is located in New Castle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxfire
  • Green Valley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Green Valley is located in New Castle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
  • Heather Valley
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Heather Valley is located in New Castle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heather Valley
  • Heritage
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Heritage is located in New Castle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage
  • Continue List   (27 more) ...
    • Heritage Farms
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Heritage Farms is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Farms
    • Hickory Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Hickory Hill is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
    • Hickory Ridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Hickory Ridge is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Ridge
    • Limestone Gap
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Limestone Gap is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone Gap
    • Limestone Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Limestone Hills is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone Hills
    • Loveville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Loveville is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveville
    • Manley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Manley is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manley
    • Maplecrest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Maplecrest is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplecrest
    • Meadowbrook
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Meadowbrook is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
    • Mermaid
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Mermaid is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mermaid
    • Milltown
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Milltown is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
    • Mockingbird Hill
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Mockingbird Hill is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mockingbird Hill
    • Mockingbird Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Mockingbird Hills is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mockingbird Hills
    • Pepper Ridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Pepper Ridge is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pepper Ridge
    • Pike Creek
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Pike Creek is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike Creek
    • Pike Creek Valley
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Pike Creek Valley is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike Creek Valley
    • Pinecrest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Pinecrest is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinecrest
    • Plum Run
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Plum Run is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Run
    • Quail Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Quail Ridge is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Ridge
    • Rolling Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Rolling Hills is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Hills
    • Rolling Ridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Rolling Ridge is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Ridge
    • Roseville Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Roseville Park is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville Park
    • Skyline Crest
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Skyline Crest is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline Crest
    • Skyline Ridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Skyline Ridge is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline Ridge
    • Stirrup Farms
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Stirrup Farms is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stirrup Farms
    • Tree Top Valley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Tree Top Valley is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tree Top Valley
    • Winterbury
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Winterbury is located in New Castle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterbury

How Far From Mermaid Run to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Mermaid Run to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Mermaid Run and extending to:

  • Wilmington, which is the Seat of New Castle County, lies just to the East.
  • Dover, which is the State Capital of Delaware, lies 41 miles [66 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could walk a straight line from Mermaid Run to Dover, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 92 miles [148.1 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,805 miles [9,342.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,511 miles [10,478.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,387 miles [7,060.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mermaid Run) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day.
<3>The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Mermaid Run to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mermaid Run. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7404, Longitude: -75.6941       In this case, the coordinates for Mermaid Run have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.035 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.60 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.809 degrees.