Day One through Five

Day One – South to Jersey

On the road again and heading south this time…  Feels good to be starting out, although the weather seems to be unsettled.  But then we needed good rains right as we left so that our garden would get a good start.  Surely, these downpours won’t continue.  Right?

Ah, New Jersey, land of rampant corruption and much, much cheaper gas!  Still raining.  What’s this flashing sign about flooding?  Then we drove along some serious flooded roads in New Jersey – is this whole state flat and undrained?

We keep heading south until we reach the hotel.  A quick trip to the grocery store and dinner is in!  Tomorrow is the big day.

Day Two – Historic Philly

We waited for rush hour to pass and then rode in on the Philly subway.  Cool and drizzling again, but maybe that will keep the other tourists away. 

Historic Philadelphia is literally in the center of downtown city and is a 3 block square series of historic buildings and modern hotels.  Stopped raining!  So, we are off to see, and wow, all the sites were there and so were Revolutionary facts.

• Liberty Bell? Check (didn’t ring on July 4^th, 1776).
• Independence Hall? Check (doesn’t have the original copy of the Declaration).
•  Ben Franklin’s House and Museum? Check (didn’t live in the Colonies b/t 1759 and 1775).

They all thought it said "The Singer" and assumed that the
Declaration was sung out to the people.

A 4 block walk south in the sputtering rain to Ishkabibble’s for philly cheesesteaks, fries, and Gremlins (grape juice and lemonade!).  Walk back and we missed Ben Franklin’s grave (closed!). Another ride back on the train, this time in rush-hour, packed-to-the-gills with commuters.

Lesson 1 – At any given time in a historic area, one of the places you want to visit is closed.

Day Three – Down to See the Ponies

Leisurely check out (sign in buffet room reads “Do not put hard-boiled eggs in the microwave” – reminds us of last year) and we are heading south again. Raining and cool again (whoever said the South was warmer, let me tell you it is the same weather as back home).

Down through Jersey and across the wide Delaware River.  Delaware itself is dominated by Dover AFB, chicken processing plants, and small towns that alternate between beaches and farms.

Quickly through and into Maryland (that tiny little eastern part that has the weird cutouts).  This stick of land is called Delmarva (Del-Mary-Virg) and has its own culture and regional feel, very distinct from the rest of Maryland and Virginia.  Very rural and agricultural (lots of wheat drying and potatoes in flower here). 

We fight the GPS and detour through Ocean City, Maryland – only to discover that Ocean City sits on a narrow barrier island and is one long strip of beach hotels and tourist traps (their mini-golf courses have waterfalls with blue- and pink-colored water!).

Then we zip down the beach edge all the way to Assateague Island.  Assateague is north of Chincoteague but is one long barrier island without the massive tourist industry farther north.  It is also much easier to see the wild ponies here – we saw our first harem band right inside the park entrance!  The ponies may be wild, but they are blissfully unconcerned with humans being near them.

Farther south on Assateague we took a 1-mile hike along the dunes – the wind really kicked up here and it began to spit a bit of rain.  We finished the loop trail and could hear the surf… we can resist a beautiful walk along a…. a… a… where is the ocean? It’s all fog, wind, and spume!

Back out again, and inland, and down to Chincoteague Island – just a few miles away as the crow flies, but an hour as the car drives.  Raining more steadily now.  We cross the bay on a long, low highway at near high tide (Eiley was a bit nervous about this).  One side of the road is protected, the other is not and hosts all the billboards for the island.  More rain.

A quick few minutes to drive through Chincoteague’s village and through to the wildlife refuge.  It is not really birding season, but we saw snipe, plover, a tri-colored heron, ibis, and plenty of mosquitoes.  

Light was failing us, so we zipped and placed a pizza order and popped up the tent at the campground before the pizza was ready.  Just as we get the tent up and running, the wind starts kicking up, too.  We are not ocean-side but we are smelling lots of salty air.  We stay in and play a long game of Mille Bourne (Eiley won!) and the rain really starts in. 

By midnight, the rain was sheeting down in curtains and drumming on the rainfly hard enough to wake us all up – but you can’t do anything about it at that point, right? 

Lesson 2 – Flexibility is key, but so is water-resistant tent fabric.

Day Four – Rain, Tunnels, and Jamestown(e)

We make it to a soggy morning, though the tent stayed dry inside, and pack up our damp camp.  What makes Chincoteague for us – on the way out, on Chicken City Rd (really), a girl with headphones and an umbrella is dancing along the road and spinning her umbrella around, doing her “Singin’ in the Rain” impression.

Now, the rain has let up (a bit) but we are determined to head south and outrun this weather (sadly, weather radar would have shown us that the rain was spiralling up from the Carolinas).  We drive south-south-south, down the peninsula to its very tip and then onto the Bridge-Tunnel-Bridge-Tunnel-Bridge that is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (“if you think this is bad, wait until the Keys”).  Rain and fog hide the view a bit, but we are properly impressed with the construction, I think.

At last in Virginia proper, we pass through Virginia Beach and Norfolk and US Navy everywhere.  Finally, we cross the James River and head up that finger of land towards Williamsburg.  First stop – Jamestown.

Jamestown has two sites – the recreated one and the actual one that wasn’t discovered until the 90s, well after the recreation has been there.  We tour the actual Jamestown NP first and spend a lovely couple of hours walking in a mist, listening to rambling Virginia volunteers, and hearing alien-sounding Southern frogs.

The recreated Jamestown(e) looks much like Plimouth Plantation – a Native village, a half-hearted recreated village, and boat(s).  Jamestown had 3 ships in that first landing and 2 of the 3 are here (much better than Plimouth’s 0 out of 1 ship present).  More mist, more rambling guides, and a generally satisfying end to the day.

Lesson 3 – Never ask a Southerner about their family (or anything, really) if you are in a hurry.  Ever.

Day Five – The Skies Open Up, The Royals Hid Away

Rain all day in the forecast, but this is the day for Williamsburg so we head out.  Park and ride the bus into W’burg and it is raining harder now.  We make to the main street and our first stop is the Dancing Mistress to learn to “give honours” and a simple country-dance.  It is hilarious for everyone dancing and watching.  Then we switched places and watched the other half dance!

Then we went to the Local Court and stood in the gallery (“bar”, “stand”, and “middleman” are actual physical terms in British courts).  Saw the house and garden of the man who taught law to a generation of Founders.  Toured the Governor’s sumptuous palace on the eve of his fleeing the capitol.  Then joined a tour of a house of 2 supported by 27 slaves! (the guides gave a very balanced view of life from both white and slave POVs).  Off to the Capitol building on the eve of rebellion and in the High Court, Eiley was charged with larceny (stole her mistress’ spoons) but was found not guilty.  At the Public Gaol, we became the goalkeepers and everybody got a chance to be locked up.  Unlike Blackbeard’s sailors, we were all freed at the end.

The family trooped through more and more rain, covered in ponchos, and called it a day.  A quick stop at the Sonic drive-up for dinner and yummy shakes and then back to the hotel for time chilling in the pool.

Lesson Four – It will always rain.  Just keep walking.