Road Junkies: Virginia

Showing posts with label Virginia. Show all posts

Exmore, VA to Salisbury, MD
How invigorating! It was 70 degrees with low humidity when we began our day in Exmore, VA. We meandered our way up Virginia's Eastern Shore to Chincoteague Island and Assateague Island on the Atlantic.

Built in 1833, the Assateague lighthouse continues to be an active navigational aid.

Visitors are allowed to climb the 176 steps up the spiral staircase to the observation deck near the top where the views are spectacular. The original lamp was a candle lantern, which was replaced by an oil-burner lamp in 1867. Oil was stored in the shed next to the lighthouse and taken to the top in buckets. In 1939, the Coast Guard took over operations and installed a flashing electric light powered by generators. This system was in use until power lines were extended to the island in 1963.

Lighthouse keeper Peter "Eagle Eye" regaled us with lighthouse lore and his experiences bird watching from the deck. He earned his nickname from a visitor when he correctly identified an approaching eagle flying toward the lighthouse from a quarter mile away. According to Peter, eagles fly with their wings in a straight line, while buzzards, plentiful on the island, keep their wings slightly upturned.

These barrier islands are a study in contrasts. Chincoteague is densely developed with many shops, vacation rentas, restaurants and all the other features of a beach resort. Assateague was headed in the same direction in the 1950s when some 5,000 private lots were zoned and sold for resort development. A Nor'easter halted the development in 1962, destroying the few existing structures on the island and eradicating roads.

The Assateague Island National Seashore was established in 1965 to preserve the island in a natural state. Assateague remains unpopulated except for its wildlife, most famous of which is the Chincoteague pony.

Descended from domesticated horses that became wild, Chincoteague ponies have been on Assateague Island for about 300 years. The ponies graze in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. Because the ponies feed primarily on marsh grasses with a high salt content and drink a lot of water, they often look bloated.

The National Wildlife Service requires that the population of the pony herd be controlled to preserve the environment. In the Maryland portion of the island, this is done with contraception. Virginia ponies are managed Chincoteague Island, which reduces the herd by auctioning foals each year.

Wild ponies penned are an unhappy sight.

In Salisbury, MD, where we landed for the evening, we were fascinated by a display in the local grocery store, which allows shoppers to scan and bag their items as they shop. So one arrives at the register with nothing left to do but pay. An improvement or not?

Daily Stats:
Miles: 151
Letterboxes: 7
Weather: Sunny, high 70 degrees
Ponies: 21
Ticks: 2 (both on Dianne-- one found before he bit, one bit twice)

Chesapeake, VA to Exmore, VA
Leaving Chesapeake this morning, we pushed north, stopping in Virginia Beach for a few letterboxes before crossing the Chesapeake Bay. At Fort Story, a joint military base on the coast, we visited several historic sites. The Cape Henry Memorial Cross marks the approximate site where Jamestown settlers first landed in the New World in 1607. We found the letterbox there and were logging in when three ladies approached the area, taking their place on the opposite side of the cross from where we were working. We finished, closed up the letterbox and were getting ready to return it when we noticed the ladies still standing in the same place. It was then we realized they were praying. So we waited respectfully for them to finish so we could return the box to its hiding place(about three feet from one of the women) without being seen.

We waited. And they prayed. We waited some more, and they prayed some more. We continued waiting; they continued praying. Finally we decided to leave, taking the box with us, and go search for another box on the beach. Fortunately, when we returned, the area was clear and we were able to return the box with the necessary stealth. In the spirit of the national day of prayer, the ladies were still praying. They had just moved to another location in the area.

At last it was time to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Once named one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World, the 17.6-mile structure is comprised of 12 miles of low-level trestle, two one-mile tunnels, two bridges, causeway and four man-made islands.

One of these islands even houses a restaurant and gift shop. The underwater tunnels allow for continued use of busy shipping channels.

"Not your tax money at work" claims a CBBT brochure we had picked up. The total cost of the project was nearly half a billion dollars, but "not a dime of tax money was used."

We pondered how this had been accomplished until it was our turn in line to hand over our $12.00 toll.

On the Eastern Shore we visited the site of Arlington Plantation, a great mansion built in 1670 by John Custis II in Northhampton County. Custis left his plantation to grandson John Custis IV, father-in-law of Martha Custis, who eventually married George Washington. The mansion no longer stands but the graves of John II and John IV are open to visitors.

It is said that John IV's wife hated the isolation of Arlington and they had a miserable marriage. In his will Custis instructed his son, on pain of being cut off with only one shilling, to place on his marble tomb the wording that Custis died at the age of 71 "Yet lived but Seven years which was the Space of time he kept a Bachelors House at Arlington on the Eastern Shore of Virginia." Then was added, perhaps at the son's initiative, "This Inscription put on this stone by his own positive orders."

Tomorrow we'll continue to push north, still looking for cooler temperatures. Maryland and Delaware, here we come!

Weather today: sunny with a high of 90 degrees!
Letterboxes found: 8

Chesapeake, VA
Although we weren't particularly seeking them, birds seemed to flock our way today. We started the day at Dismal Swamp Park looking for another letterbox by the planter whose box we raved about yesterday. It hardly seems possible, but this letterbox was just as ingenious as the one we found yesterday.

The clue led us to this wooded area to a spot on the ground where we were to move the pieces of bark and leaves piled up. Underneath the pile was a wooden knob with a wire string attached to one end and a bungee cord attached to the other. When the bungee was released, the knob moved toward the pole where the birdhouse was mounted and the bottom of the birdhouse lowered to the ground to reveal the letterbox. Brilliant!

Our next bird encouter occurred when we went to search for a couple of boxes at Great Locks Park on the intracoastal waterway. Having seen many osprey nests along the Gulf coast, Ken immediately spotted something familiar at the top of a retired crane.

The osprey nest is a large heap of sticks, driftwood and seaweed built in forks of trees, rocky outcrops, utility poles, artificial platforms, or wherever they can find a suitable spot. Generally, sspreys reach maturity and begin breeding around the age of three to four years. But if there is a shortage of tall nesting sites available, young ospreys may be forced to delay breeding. Before we moved on to look for the boxes, we were treated to a demonstration of osprey fishing techniques by the male.

Traveling on a six lane divided street on our way back to the hotel in the midst of rush hour, we spied a pair of Canada geese with two goslings in the median. Clearly they intended to continue their trek across the street.

We stopped, of course, as did other drivers, and, unlike most opossums, they made it safely to the other side.

Since we arrived in Virginia yesterday, we have noticed an unusually large number of personalized license plates-- vanity plates, as they have traditionally been called: FLOOD ZN, CHOC TOO, DRK & SXY, POOPCE, ACC REF, GUNR MAC, to name a few. A little research suggested why there seem to be so many more of these in Virginia than we typically see. The added cost for personalized plates in Virginia is only $10. In comparison, Tennessee charges $35, North Carolina $30, and Delaware $40.

Our favorite plate today had to be this one, so appropriate for a convertible. While we were taking this picture, the owner returned to his car and was delighted that we liked it enough to photograph it.

Tomorrow we'll depart Chesapeake and head across the bay bridge to Virginia's Eastern Shore.

Weather today: hot and humid 83 degrees (feeling like 93)
Letterboxes found today: 6

Williamston, NC to Chesapeake, VA
Thanks to the rain system that blew through eastern North Carolina this morning, the weather was much more pleasant today-- lower humidity and temperature. After waiting for the rain to pass over, we left Williamston, NC, heading north toward Virginia.

Along the way we stopped in Edenton, NC, where the city has moved the 1887 Roanoke River Lighthouse to a park and is in the process of restoring it to its former glory. When the restoration is complete, the lighthouse will be operated as a historic site.

Later we visited Elizabeth City, NC, where we found the cleverest letterbox we have seen to date. We don't know how they did it, but the planters, a Coast Guard family, created a wooden box (see red star on photo) on the backside of the railing in this little riverside park. To access the letterbox, which was hidden in the wooden container, you had to locate a "key," which was hidden elsewhere on the railing. It was absolutely brilliant, leaving us pondering how we could improve our letterbox plants.

After watching the waterfront activity for a while, we meandered north to Virginia, settling into Chesapeake for the evening. We're expecting to spend a couple of days here exploring Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and the surrounding area before heading off to the Chesapeake Bridge and Tunnel and other points north.

We started today with a driving tour of Charlottesville's northern suburban areas. Unlike the Atlanta area where so many houses are built on 1/2 acre lots or smaller, most homes here seem to have much larger acreage. Subdivisions, which dominate the Atlanta housing market, appear to be the exception here, rather than the rule, based on our minimal observations. This house, for example, a mere 11 miles outside the city, is situated on eight acres, listed at a price similar to what the same house in Atlanta would sell for on a quarter-acre lot.

After our self-guided tour, we headed toward Charlotte, where we'll help celebrate the 88th birthday of Erika, Ken's mother. Along the way, we stopped for a little letterboxing and a little hiking. We were pleasantly surprised by this wetland restoration project in an industrial park in Daleville, Virginia.

We didn't find the letterbox which is supposed to be there, but we did encounter this massive and majestic oak tree.

It was like stepping into a time warp when we saw this cheap gas in Daleville. According to the fuel log we keep on our van, this is the lowest gas price we have seen in the three years we've had the van!

Found a hotel to pass the night in Max Meadows, VA. On to Charlotte tomorrow!

We awoke to a very rainy day in Charlottesville and decided we would not be slowed down by the weather, even though the fog was so thick that we walked past our car three times before we found it. Alas, however, when we went to Monticello for a visit, the rain had reached a heavy downpour stage. As we prepared to leave the car and press intrepidly on, we realized we had left a bag in the hotel lobby as we were leaving and returned to retrieve it.

Since we were already there, we decided to stay for a while, make some tea, and check out the C'ville real estate situation by means of the internet. Interestingly, this area has a category for historic homes. We found homes on the market that were built as far back as 1738!

The rain slowed to a crawl by mid-afternoon, allowing us to visit Kemper Park, a well-designed pocket park near Monticello. Coincidentally, we found a letterbox there after a brief hike.

We drove out to Ash Lawn, the home of James Monroe, where we saw this gorgeous golden tree. By this time, it was too late for a visit to the house, so we pressed on, driving around some of the southern and western C'ville suburbs.

More exploring of the northern suburbs tomorrow.

On our way to the home of James and Dolley Madison this morning, we caught sight of this guy (the one on the left) standing inside a fence near the road. Of course, we had to stop so horsefeeder Ken could give him an apple. Before Ken could return to the car, a couple of other horses came running up to get their share as well.

Montpelier, the home of James and Dolley Madison, has been undergoing a massive restoration project since 2003. The new visitor center near the Montpelier mansion was completed last year and houses a gift shop, movie theater, gallery and other exhibit areas.

Built by James Madison's father, the mansion remained in the Madison family until it was purchased by William duPont in 1900. DuPont built massive additions, transforming the 22-room house into a 55-room compound. The estate remained in the duPont family until Marion duPont Scott made arrangements in her will to transfer the estate to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1984 so that it could be open to the public as a monument to Madison.

Deconstruction of the duPont additions and removal of the stucco facade was required before the house could be restored to the way it looked in the days of James and Dolley's retirement in the 1830's. Fortunately a $20 million grant from private sources was obtained for the work.

A series of photographs showing the deconstruction of the circa 1901 duPont additions to reveal the circa 1812 appearance of Montpelier.

Today the exterior is complete and restoration continues on the interior.

The Montpelier gift shop sells brick tea, blocks of finely ground tea leaves that have been packed in molds and pressed into block form. Traditionally used as a method to transport tea by camel along the silk road from central Asia, brick tea was in use when colonists dumped chests of tea into the harbor during the event we know as the Boston Tea Party.

Tea compressed into brick form retains its quality for a long time. To make tea, one simply removes a small bit and brews like any loose tea. At times brick tea has been used as currency. Scoring the brick on the back facilitated this use. The bricks were available in 4 by 6 inch and 8 by 10 inch sizes at Montpelier.

Driving along one of the many Virginia scenic byways we came across a charming farmhouse for rent. Hmmmm...

We found our way to Charlottesville's historic downtown mall. Considered one of the finest urban parks in the country, the tree-lined pedestrian mall is home to a vibrant collection of more than 120 shops and 30 restaurants located in the historic buildings on and around old Main Street.

On the mall we found Hamilton's, a restaurant recommended by one of Pam's friends who lives in Charlottesville.

A delicious meal later we went to find a letterbox in a golf course cemetery and called our first day in Charlottesville a success.

Today began with a visit to Watauga Chapel, a beautiful little church outside Abingdon, Virginia.

After locating a letterbox outside the church, we visited the nearby Watauga Trestle. Part of the 35-mile Virginia Creeper Trail, the trestle has been transformed into a boardwalk for hikers, horses, and bikers. As may be obvious, the Creeper Trail runs along the right-of-way of an old railroad. Coincidentally we found a letterbox on the trail after we crossed the trestle!

We've driven a good many miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but ninety-five percent have been in western North Carolina. So we had to check out part of the Virginia section of this spectacular road. It did not disappoint. Even though we arrived in the area about a week after peak autumn color, the drive was still quite colorful.

While on the parkway, we found our 100th letterbox! It was a new box planted last week by some grandparents and their two grandsons.

We also took a brief walk on the famous Appalachian Trail.

Coming off the parkway into Buchanan, Virginia, we found (a letterbox and) the perfect spot for lunch-- The Fountain at Ransone's Drug Store.

We ended the day in Culpeper, Virginia. Pam came down from Manassas and met us for dinner at Foti's Restaurant, whose food rivals the finest restaurants we've visited. Fabulous meal and even better companion-- after we dragged her out of the cemetery she was visiting when we arrived.