Making it easy

I can't believe the detailed responses I got to my plea a few weeks ago for the most direct route from Dick's Sporting Goods on Concord Pike to the Wild Birds Unlimited shop in Hockessin. (I described the roundabout Route 82 route that I took and was sure there had to be a better way.) Thank you to all of you who sent me your favorite routes!

1. Robert of Unionville suggested a very sensible option: taking Route 202 south to Route 141 (aka Powder Mill Rd.), crossing over Route 52, staying on 141 (now known as Barley Mill Rd.) to Route 48 (Lancaster Pike), and turning north onto 48 until it runs into Route 41 (still Lancaster Pike). "This leads you to Hockessin and the intersection of Yorklyn Rd. & Lancaster Pike."
2. Shelley tweaked the 141-to-48-to-41 route: "The faster route would have been to turn off 202/Mt. Lebanon onto 92 which turns into Rte 100, turn right on 141 and then right again on 48, which turns into Rte 41. It would be interesting to time both routes to see which is faster. But the way you went is most direct and certainly very pretty."
3. Jim G. offered this route: Naamans Road (Route 92) to Route 100 to Rockland and Montchanin; then north on 52, left onto Old Kennett Pike (the traffic light at Winterthur), then pick up Snuff Mill Rd. to Creek Rd. (Rte. 82) to Yorklyn. He added parenthetically, "I agree that Wild Birds Unlimited is a terrific store and would add Dover Saddlery and Concord Pet Foods & Supply to the list."

4. Richard B. of Landenberg suggested a slight variation of Jim's route: Beaver Valley Road to Smith Bridge Road, cross Route 100, take Center Meeting Road to Route 52, north on Route 52, left onto Snuff Mill Road ("it jig jogs at Old Kennett"), down to Route 82 at the Red Clay Creek. "Turn right on 82; follow 82/Creek Rd. to STOP sign and a left turn and over bridge at Yorklyn ... now you're on Yorklyn Rd....Wild Birds of course is at the end of Yorklyn Rd." He points out that motorists taking this route get to see Granogue, the historic/restored Center Meetinghouse, and Smith's Bridge ("one of the two or three covered bridges left in Delaware"). A former English teacher, Mr. B also noted a grammatical error that I made a few weeks back.

5. Before giving me her detailed directions, Marietta of Unionville first offered her qualifications as a direction-giver: she lived in northern Delaware for almost 30 years and worked at AstraZeneca on Route 202 until last year. She too suggested the Beaver Valley Road/Smith's Bridge/Snuff Mill Road option. "This one is almost as straight a line across northern Delaware . . .well, as straight a line as you can get in hilly terrain like that," she said. "But there are other ways that are a lot more user friendly but take longer and go miles out of the way. I'm a straight-line person. "   

6. And finally, Helen W. mused, "What is it that causes one to send an e-mail about directions on Christmas night?" She said she used to take the route I took but now endorses the same Beaver Valley/Smithbridge/Snuff Mill/Creek Road route given above. "I’ve found it to be a shorter drove when needing to get from one place to another, but not as scenic as 82 from Hoopes."