A Few Slow Days Before Turning West

 August 16 - 20, 2022

Quinby, Virginia

I'm getting spoiled with these less-than-100-miles driving days, added when I did the final reroute back in March. Our first stop in Virginia has a rare 11:00 check-in, and we're at Virginia Landing RV Park at 11:30 with a whole day to enjoy, and our travel already behind us. The last five miles is another one-and-a-half-lane roads through the trees. 

At this point Bill expresses some skepticism - me too!

I'm not a Thousand Trails fan, having never seen one that was worth the rates they charge, and some of the most run-down parks we've encountered. While there's nothing upscale about this one, it's well-maintained (although there are a whole field of sites with electric boxes that no longer work), and the location is hard to beat. The website says they have 285 sites, but I see less than 100 even with the tent sites and seasonal spaces. The host (they're called rangers which is confusing) is delightful, and meets us at the entrance to lead us into the park where we can pick any available site. She has a couple recommendations, and we opt for no sewer with 50 amp to get the ocean view - duh!

Our first Atlantic Ocean-front site ever.

Plenty of room to spread out.

There are also a dozen shaded sites with 30 amp and water. 

This is a wonderful place to slow down and "just be", especially with the continued cooler-lower-humidity temps. I have nothing on my "list" of things to do and see for this stop, having anticipated we might have natural beauty to enjoy at our site. Two of the three RVs surrounding us are vacant, and the whole park is very quiet at all hours. Reading, a beach drive, adding a few more post-Labor Day reservations, naps, and a couple local eateries make up our four days. 

Burtons Shore Beach is too small for respectable zoomies so Tessa opts for a more sedate stroll along the water.

So different from the left coast.

More vintage structures in the surrounding small burgs.

The dated GPS in the Jeep gives us options for "attractions"  it will route us to. I choose Turner Sculpture which I mistakenly think is "a" sculpture - nope, it's a business on the highway :-))

Seeing the sun rise over the ocean is bizarre for me - but then seeing the sun rise period, is rare :-))

The Exmore Diner is a local hang out where we're the only ones who don't know everyone else. By the time we leave we know a few.

Maintaining its authentic diner vibe with mostly original details. 

Our last day is overcast with the Chesapeake Bay west of the campground providing a muted final look at this unique area.

From here we turn west with a route that will take us to granddaughters, high school friends, our 47th and 48th states, more NFL stadiums, and some historic and poignant locations. Hard to believe we're already on the "last side of the loop" - but we've still got lots to see!

Mr chill-big-kid Elliott with one foot up in the chair, eating his lunch :-)

Oliver and Mommy. Can't believe the youngest is almost eight months old already!

Finally Ponies!

 August 11 - 16, 2022

Newark, Maryland (for Assateague Island)

Hard to remember an easier drive than this 50 miles on one divided highway (113) south from Delaware into Maryland on Thursday. When we make our first and only turn I immediately recognize the location! I'm sure we've stayed here before and when we pull into Island Resort RV Park we both remember the park (9/2018).

This time we're in the back away from the lake and able to get level. 50 amp FHUs with open sky but no park WiFi. For the first time since April, we have four bars of LTE cell coverage! 

What's clear from this trip east is that one should stay in New England until after Labor Day! Heat and crowds are both intense compared with past trips we've made "over here". Fortunately the temps and humidity drop here, and we make a few lazy drives into the marshlands of Maryland - I love the natural beauty of this area! 

Old homesteads on backroads.

Where the road ends at the water we enjoy a tasty lunch at a local pub where everyone knows everyone.

Simple marina under dramatic skies.

Ezra turns 7 (!) on Friday and we join him on screen while he opens presents. Wish we could be there for his party! Bill joins me at 66 on his Saturday birthday with a day of pre-season football following an attempt to see the ponies at Assateague. It's Saturday so not surprising we find a crowd that keeps us from getting into the state park. 

We're rerouted onto the national seashore road of stopped vehicles. Eventually we make a u-turn to get home.

I remember from our last visit that the ponies mostly stay on the Maryland side until after Labor Day (they like to pilfer from campsites during the busy season), but we still head south on Sunday to see if we can find any in Virginia. Chincoteague is also a more laid back place than the Ocean City area, with beautiful views across the water and AJs on the Creek has the best Caesar salads ever :-) A lovely upscale eatery, they're suffering from the staffing shortages like everyone else and the food quality isn't what it was - still we have a very good lunch before visiting the national park.

Into the national seashore we find no ponies, no "sign" of ponies, but plenty of humans.

A very nice refuge visitor center. 

Just us and a thousand of our closest friends.

I'm happy for those who enjoy this, but it is definitely not for us.

Surfers must exit - too many people in the water.

Where we saw the ponies four years ago - such a beautiful place.

Wallops Island NASA location.

Our kitchen faucet springs a leak from somewhere I can't get to, and fortunately only when we turn the sink water on. Of course this occurs over the weekend so we live with it until Monday. Bill finds a mobile tech on Monday morning who arrives - no exaggeration - in five minutes! And then has it fixed in another ten minutes! It still cost a bunch, but we're very happy to have it resolved so easily.

Bill and I are excited that pro-football has started again - Tessa, not so much.

Our last day is 78 degrees with a light breeze and absolutely beautiful - perfect to give the ponies one more try! Misty and Stormy, from the fabulous Marguerite Henry books, kept me entertained for many hours when I was a little girl. I never dreamed I'd get to see these special animals. And even though this is our second visit, I'm no less excited to come around a corner and see them - right there!

Our first sighting - it's their home, the rest of us have to wait.

This adorable foal is right next to the Jeep but refuses to raise their head - of course!

A dozen people with clamming forks - looks like fun :-)

This area is one of my favorites on the east coast, but I'd still wait until late September to come back again. The state park on the water is also the better place to stay, although Island Resort is just about perfect for us.

Henry wishes his PopPop a happy birthday.

Ezra enjoying his 7th birthday party.

Next weekend we'll be hugging Penelope and Reese!

Virginia is next with one more stop before our much anticipated visit with the grand daughters!!

Doin' Delaware in a Heat Wave

 August 2 - 11, 2022

Houston, Delaware

Pennsylvania is a beautiful state with lots to see, but I'm relieved to get the motorhome off its roads on Tuesday. Between the potted and rutted highways and narrow backroads with steep drop-offs on the sides I'm ready for the smoother and wider options we find in Delaware! 

Three hours moving south, and just before 2:00 we're setting up at G&R Campground in Houston, Delaware. Given that the name is short for gun and rod, I'm skeptical about what we may find. An older park in the trees, none of my concerns are validated. It's a bit rough but well maintained and everything works well. The owner checks us in and leads us to our site that is supposed to be open sky. And it is - sort of. Bill's app that shows where the satellites are confirm they are all visible through the opening above us, but even after moving the rig to try and connect we're unable to do so. No satellite for ten days is not ideal. No park WiFi, but our MiFi does connect, just not real fast.

50 amp FHUs and mostly in the shade is a blessing with temps expected in the high 90's for the majority of our stay. Level, dirt sites, and all our neighbors are at least two spaces away.

Thinking that it will be cooler by the beach we make a day trip to Slaughter Beach and Rehoboth Beach only to find 95-101 degree temps follow us. The two areas are very, very different. 

Slaughter Beach is a laid-back, empty-beach, stretch of Atlantic coast line with older homes. 

Sadly the beach is strewn with over a thousand dead Horseshoe Crab. It's unpleasant and likely the reason for no people on a triple digit summer day. The water is about 80 degrees which is very weird for this west coast gal!

On the west side of the little road is a wildlife preserve adding to the quiet of the area.

A lone Osprey at this nest with added decor around the edges.

We brought our chairs but with these temps we have no desire to sit on the sand!

Instead we opt for an air conditioned late lunch in Rehoboth Beach where the streets, sidewalks, parking and beaches are packed with people. Given the two inch waves we see at the beach this mural seems like wishful thinking for local surfers!

Before the weekend arrives I make a solo shopping run into Maryland, getting home just as a thunder storm arrives. It rains off and on all night but only drops the temperature a few degrees. We only venture out for some Mexican food and margaritas, and a quick visit to nearby Abbotts Mill. Otherwise we hang at home in the cool all weekend. 

These old beauties catch my eye outside Denton, Maryland.

It's amazing how every single flower follows the sun, turning their backs to me on my return east.

The mill originated in 1797 and was purchased by Ainsworth Abbott in 1919. Abbott worked the mill, and the growing homestead, until he retired in 1963. Now owned by the county, the on-site interpretive center holds classes and demonstrations.

Closed on the day we're there, the workings inside are visible through a window. 

The Boardwalk Loop Trail along the clear creek.

The park is planted with several varieties of butterfly-loving flowers.

Nearby Abbott Pond

Delaware's capital city, Dover, is 20 minutes to the north (it's Delaware so nothing is too far away). Still hot, we make a day trip to see what we can learn about our country's first state.  

The Dover Green Historic District  is a wonderful area of 79 buildings including the historic Green, and includes most of the inhabited part of the 18th century. It is equally drivable and walkable. On this hot August afternoon no one is walking! The buildings are beautifully maintained, and most continue to be occupied for residency, government or business. 

From this center green the men and boys of Delaware marched to fight for what would become an independent nation, never seeing their home become its first state. 

The original building is gone, but this is the site of the Golden Fleece Tavern where on December 7, 1787, 30 elected delegates signed the Federal Constitution making Delaware the first of the United States of America.  

Next door to the tavern, and on the Green, is the Ridgley home built in 1728 for Thomas Ridgley, the youngest of the 30 delegates to sign for statehood. Many Ridgleys would serve the people of Delaware through 1863.

The garden of Marjorie Ridgley, President of the Delaware Equal Suffrage Association 1919-1920. While Delaware failed to give women the right to vote in its 1920 legislative vote, Marjorie was able to vote in every election for 40 years after the amendment was passed in 1923.

Delaware Legislative Hall - the state capitol building. 

A grand old lady - the Old State Building.

What a unique visual at the front of the art museum - birds flying through the front window and into the gallery.

I love old movie theaters - I hope someone restores this one and opens its doors to movie lovers again.

One of few non-brick historic buildings, this stone block beauty is not identified on the south side of the Green.

Beyond the Historic Green area is the Victorian Dover Historic District with dozens of lovely vintage homes on tree-lined streets, including the Governor's Mansion.

This green slate two-story really stands out.

Woodburn - The Governor's House was purchased by the state as the residence for the governor's family in 1963. Built in 1798 by Charles Hillyard, it changed ownership numerous times before becoming home to Delaware's first family.

Dover is a great little city that has done a wonderful job of making their history both interesting and accessible. Come when it's cooler and check out all the buildings, information plaques, and street art. 

Lewes, Delaware, has a pretty little downtown where we actually find parking (unlike the crazy busy beach nearby). Shade helps make it walkable and the tiny coffee house serves a tasty iced Chai!

Zero breeze, triple digits, warm ocean, no waves, waaaaay too many people - not for us.

Last day we make a drug-run to Annapolis! Well we go to pick up prescriptions, so same thing :-). Although we've done all the advance calling and ordering for both the pharmacy and the laboratory we still have to make more phone calls to our provider to end up with what we need.  

I'm also hoping to see some history here, but we soon find the sites have no parking and the crowds are dense. We see a few places from the Jeep, and negotiate through some two lane streets that are actually 1/2 lane. The area was definitely developed pre-automobile - you know, historic!

Historic Colonial District

A quick glimpse of the Naval Academy. 

Lovely structures.

City Port

Rain moving in over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. 

Oliver is serious about his veggies!

M&M learning to milk a "cow" at the county fair.

When Daddy catches you on his work computer - oh Elliott!

Thursday we move on to Maryland for a few days.