Winnona goes UNDER the sea

Thursday October 3, 2013
Assateague National Seashore
Anvil Campground Williamsburg

 

 

On a simply glorious perfect day, we are forced to leave the National Seashore.

 

 

There is a mini exodus at about 10:30.  Most folks left yesterday.  We are putting the car on the dolly as the four remaining file out in a line of RVs.  Wish I’d had my camera.  Poignant picture.  I’m pretty sure we are the last to leave.  Not unusual. We are going past the check in booth at about 10:50.  Deadline for a police escort is 11:00.

 

 

 

Big barriers and a police stake out are the last things we see of this beautiful place.   The horses and Sitka deer and turkeys and herons and egrets and others have it all to themselves.

 

 

 

 

I’m seriously sad as we pull away.  What is the point of all this?  It seems such a game to me.  One that the voters won’t even remember come mid term elections in 2014.  I’ve written my congressman, have you?  Maybe the voters don’t actually care.  There sure doesn’t seem to be much of a constituent uprising.  But I care and I’m very sad to be leaving here before my time is finished.   This place has taken hold of my heart.

 

 

 

 

My last views of the wetlands are as we cross the bridge to mainland Maryland.  I miss them already.  I’ve discovered that the mid Atlantic coast really is the home of my heart.  It is the place I get most teary eyed about. Especially an unchanged spot like Assateague or Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge or False Cape State Park to which you have to backpack if you want to camp.  Bugs, heat, humidity yes but give me a spot on the ocean and I’ll deal with it all.

 

 

 

From here we are on our way down the Eastern shore of Maryland and into Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  This peninsula is called DELMARVA because the northern most part is in Delaware, the middle is Maryland and the bottom Virginia.  I guess when they were drawing up the state boundaries everyone wanted a piece of the Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay.   Can’t blame them.

 

The bridge tunnel is truly an engineering marvel.  It goes from Virginia’s Eastern Shore to Virginia Beach on the Mainland.  It goes over and under open waters where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It will be 50 years old next year.  Wonder what kind of a party they will have for it?  Free travel?  HA! 

 

The Bay Bridge Tunnel is 20 miles long.  The crossing consists of a series of low-level trestles interrupted by two approximately one-mile-long tunnels beneath Thimble Shoals and Chesapeake navigation channels.

 

 

 

This is going to be very exciting for Winnona after her ride over the sea on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry just a short time ago.

 

Here we are, tunnel #1 – Winnona goes under the sea.  These lanes look mighty narrow to me.

 

 

Down down we go.

 

 

and then light at then end of the tunnel and up to another bridge.

 

 

It’s foggy in the middle of the Bay

 

 

We approach the second tunnel

 

 

 

We can see the mainland now

 

Manmade islands, each approximately 5.25 acres in size, are located at each end of the two tunnels. There are also high level bridges over two other navigation channels: North Channel Bridge and Fisherman Inlet Bridge. Finally, between North Channel and Fisherman Inlet, the facility crosses over Fisherman Island, a barrier island which includes the Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuge administered by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Of course it too is closed.

We pay $28 for our 4 axels to cut off nearly 100 miles to go around the top of the Bay at Annapolis.

We pick up Route 64 through Norfolk and the traffic is nuts.

 

Fifty five SERIOUSLY??  Heading for a tunnel where I am positive, from past experience, the traffic will be nearly stopped.

 

 

Right again!  Time for another tunnel.  This one goes across the James River at what is known as Hampton Roads.  Thus it is the Hampton Roads tunnel.   It’s a single tunnel connecting the Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Chesapeake/Suffolk area with the Hampton/Newport News/Williamsburg area. The whole mess is known as the Tidewater Region. 

There was formerly a toll for the tunnel but wonder of wonders, when they paid it off, they made it free.  I guess in 50 years they haven’t paid off the CBBT.  Or the tourists coming to Virginia Beach on the HRT complained a lot more than they have about the current shut down.

Winnona goes under the sea for a 3rd time in one day!  She’s amazing isn’t she??

 

 

Much shorter tunnel.

 

And then we are out.  

 

 

We pass Hampton and Newport News and following the campground’s excellent signs, we find our way to Anvil Campground where we will spend 4 nights visiting Colonial Williamsburg for the first time in many years.  We have driven an uncustomary 185 miles from Assateague to Williamsburg.   We are tired.

 

 

We opt for a standard FHU which is the least expensive at a Passport America rate which comes out to be about $30 a night.  The site is narrow and fairly short.  More expensive sites are wider and longer.  The campground has been family owned for 60 years and they provide exceptional customer service.  Anything you need or want, they will work to get it for you.  There is a shuttle which comes to the campground entrance to pick you up and take you to the colonial area.  They have discounted tickets to Colonial Williamsburg.  We are able to get a ticket good from now until the end of the year for $40 each.  That’s the normal price for one day.  Now that isn’t all the campground.  Colonial Williamsburg is running a fall special for folks over 50.  But we do get $3 off the special price by buying the tickets at the campground.

 

 

Even though quarters are tight and I’m not usually a private campground user, I like this place very much. Until I am totally surprised to find that there is a train track about 6’ behind our rig and when the trains come by every 2 hours all day and ALL NIGHT, the entire coach shakes.  Either I didn’t do my homework or this wasn’t mentioned in reviews I read.  Probably the former.  Who could neglect to mention this?   You can take a more expensive site on the opposite side of the one street through the campground and perhaps you could avoid the shaking but that’s not far enough to avoid the noise and your rear would then be right next to the main road.   Never the less, as you can see from the duckie view, the campground is packed.

 

It’s a lovely little family campground.  Neat, tidy, and cute.  But the train is a killer for me.  Even earplugs and white noise won’t put a dent in this.  But I’ll be gone nearly all day each day we are here so it’s only my sleep that will suffer.