The name Okolona Plantation may call to mind a Japanese Tara, but it's better known as something far less romantic: an FAA-approved airstrip. In fact, Okolona Plantation is technically an airport, which would normally deter a home buyer, but given that there's no air traffic control tower and, in fact, no air traffic except you and your friends in private jets, you don't have to worry about noise. Okolona has another official use: It's a certified Delaware thoroughbred farm, which features a Eurociser (that's for a horse, not a visiting European who needs to get in shape), five pastures, five run-in sheds and an enormous dressage arena. When you're not flying, in other words, you could be riding.
From an income point of view, you could turn the whole thing into a haven for the horsey set: They keep their horses there; they fly in on private jets to visit them; they Eurocise them; they go to Philly for cheesesteaks—that kind of thing.
The house itself is a historically recognized mid-19th century "peach mansion"—so called because its original owners made their money growing peaches. It all sounds so incredibly Southern, doesn't it? If the mansion's six bedrooms and five baths in 5,500 square feet doesn't feel spacious enough, there's also a three-bedroom guest house on the 15-acre property. That's where you stick the poor relatives—the ones driving a Subaru instead of a Cessna.
· Listing: 1321 Shallcross Lake Rd., Middletown, Del. [RE/MAX 1st Choice]